Catalogue of Resources
for Children and Family Ministry
We remain committed to supporting children and families and are praying for them at this time.
Messy Church have published these key points to keep in mind when incorporating faith at home:
- Get started: It is never too late to start exploring, discussing and living out faith in the home.
- Flexibility: There is no set or right way to live out faith in the home. What works for one family will not be right for another. It is important to work out what works best for you.
- Build in: Families need not add pressure to their already busy lives by creating numerous additional hours every week. It is possible to build faith into the everyday activities that they already do.
- Learn together: Adults do not have to know all the answers. It is more important to be on a journey together as a family. People may all be at different stages but will enjoy the opportunity to explore, discuss and learn about faith together.
- No judgement: It is not about success and failure, or about measuring levels of faith. Faith is an ongoing learning experience throughout life.
- Include others: Faith in the home is not necessarily restricted to those living under the same roof but can also include the extended family, friends and the wider church. For those in a church setting, inviting those who are single, divorced and widowed offers a richness of experience and enables important relationships to be established. This may be even more beneficial if a family does not have close or easy contact with their relatives.
- Have fun! Whatever the family’s preferences and learning styles, one of the key aspects is enjoyment. It is worth taking time to find out what works best for a family, taking into consideration ages, time and budget available. Be flexible and adapt as the seasons of family life change.
Sunday Worship Alternatives (on screen)
Hannah, our Children and Families Minister, has put together weekly vlog style videos for primary school aged children which tell the stories of Jesus and other biblical characters in a fun and memorable way. Each week there is a practical challenge to get involved with too!
More weekly videos are available at Faith4FurnessFamilies.
- ‘Worship for Everyone’ (under 11s): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2dYemDuCz36mIKAt0DwhcA
- For babies and toddlers: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCU0THiwLn9TCAHLrcpYGL8A
Sunday Worship Alternatives (not on screen)
- Church @ Home (4-11 years) – Click here to download the latest PDF
- Faith @ Play (under 5) – Click here to download the latest PDF
Podcasts for families
Family Devotionals
- Online devotional study – https://faithink.com/
- ‘Barnabus Family Bible’ – https://www.brfonline.org.uk/products/the-barnabas-family-bible?fbclid=IwAR1T2gZhIFE4TtxJL0vCLIEDuR8BsvhFO1tMmL1ajzHHUo57Sd9yHVa7lNo
- Family devotionals on the Bible app – https://www.youversion.com/the-bible-app-for-kids/
- Superbook Kids Bible App – https://us-en.superbook.cbn.com/app#X
Engaging Children’s Bibles (stories to read aloud)
- ‘The Lion Story Teller Bible’ – https://www.eden.co.uk/the-lion-storyteller-bible-paperback/
- Rhyming Bible – https://www.eden.co.uk/bibles/childrens-bibles/storybook-bibles/bob-hartmans-rhyming-bible?site_id=162595&adtype=pla_with_promotion&device=c&product_id=4826519&gclid=CjwKCAjw95D0BRBFEiwAcO1KDCwBTjS0JE4X1suXaSt1Ntu7EYHwvBcj5HY32y5Uf3Ceog4nZnI8YBoCvEsQAvD_BwE
- Family Time devotional book with tips about family devotionals –
- https://www.downanddromore.org/cmsfiles/*down/files/Family-Time-Book.pdf
- Seeds Family Worship 20 verses for 2020 devotionals –
- https://www.seedsfamilyworship.com/twenty-verses-in-2020/?fbclid=IwAR3ff6XGXyokgqhcYO2IwzvFi_pGtDh1oTuj_miDuZria5VEwwmz8EFOQ9s
Printable Resources
- Bible Chat Mats – https://www.bathandwells.org.uk/supporting-children/youth-children/resources/bible-chat-mat/
- ‘Together At Home’ Facebook group offers weekly printable resources – Visit the Together at Home Facebook Group
- ‘Illustrated Ministry’ have produced a free booklet of beautiful printable colouring pages – Download PDF
- ‘Pilgrimage at Home’ from Bath & Wells Diocese allows you to go on a journey both spiritually and physically within your own home with activities, Bible verses, reflections and prayers – Download Pilgrimage at Home
- ‘ROOTS’ (weekly printable activity sheets) – Visit the ROOTS website
‘Frog & Gnome’ (free booklet of colouring pages) – Visit the Frog & Gnome website - Big Picture Bible Crafts – https://static.crossway.org/excerpt/big-picture-bible-crafts-pdf.pdf
Ideas for Faith at Home (not on screen)
- https://www.thykingdomcome.global/resources/bright-prayer-ideas-family-home?fbclid=IwAR1z5UVfRPuCiX2wOE2cvGqv-BJo1vakTxEVUEn2GGq3cDyzKPC5jV-CAkk
- https://godventure.co.uk/category/prayer-activities/
- http://flamecreativekids.blogspot.com/p/things-to-do-at-home.html
- https://www.pinterest.co.uk/revmaryhawes/faith-in-the-home/
- https://www.pinterest.co.uk/MessyChurchBRF/outdoors/
Ideas for Faith at Home (on screen)
Apps:
- ‘Guardians of Ancora’ (Free online parkour game/app) – https://guardiansofancora.com/
- ‘Adventures in Odyssey’ (Radio program and videos) – https://www.oaclub.org/
- The Bible app – https://www.youversion.com/the-bible-app-for-kids/
YouTube:
- ‘Jesus Story Book Bible’ read by David Suchet (Illustrated Bible stories) – https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=jesus+storybook+bible+
- ‘The Beginner’s Bible’ (Illustrated Bible stories) – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiM9mWNxTWpKY-V9Eb9TfkA
- ‘Story Keepers’(Illustrated Bible stories) – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjcHJ-t7E5VSML2oqjrEQnA
Livestreams
- Faith in Kids Junior Jivers for pre-schoolers on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays at 10:30am – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjsrpzbSmvdxflD0emk88Yw/featured
- Faith in Kids Daily Family Bible Time on weekdays at 8:30am (don’t worry you can catch up later on the video section!) – https://www.facebook.com/faithinkids/
- Michael J. Tinker weekday livestreams at 11am – https://www.facebook.com/michaeljtinker
- Awesome Cutlery livestream at 4pm on Mondays – https://www.youtube.com/awesomecutlery?fbclid=IwAR30327ilWjAcq8uSnZNJNiINE33Z_weL3q4XwZ552efAcDoLwk4Nfm8DYQ
- Dumb Rocks livestream at 4pm on Thursdays – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHnrtyt0BrA&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR3hDx3HXD9OZXBKKqOqlHe2d3Fg2CPZJfWpe3p91BB4vLsyGlEHb3jMhz8
- Family Friday’s with Olly Knight – https://www.facebook.com/ollyknightmusic/
Podcasts for Parents and Carers
Websites, blogs and articles for parents
- ‘Faith at Home (YCW)’ (digital magazine) – Visit the Faith at Home website
‘Starting faith at home’: https://kitchentable.org.uk/10things/ - Children’s Everyday Faith – https://www.oxford.anglican.org/childrens-everyday-faith/
- ‘Parenting for Faith’ – https://parentingforfaith.org/parents
Devotionals
- Be Refreshed (14 devotionals) – Download Be Refreshed
Talking about Coronavirus with children
Dealing with anxiety
Seasonal Resources
- Lent & Easter activities – https://www.bathandwells.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/All-Things-Lent-and-Easter-Ideas-Booklet.pdf
- Journey to the Cross / Holy Week activities (daily devotionals) – Click here to download the PDF
Music Resources
- Awesome Cutlery – https://www.awesomecutlery.com/resources/
- Seeds of Faith – https://www.youtube.com/user/seedsfamilyworship
- Dumb Rocks – https://dumbrocks.com/songs/
- Michael J. Tinker – https://wwwyoutube.com/user/michaeltinker/featured
- Slugs and Bugs – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4ZnK7U7Sx0BbHdl5tu7OcA
Resources for Young People
A FEW IDEAS
DOWNLOAD A PDF VERSION
of this material
Faith &
A Network Youth Church podcast about faith in real life for young pepole. Andy and Ruth explore different topics with young people and special guests.
Shaken
http://www.thebighouse.org.uk/blog/
This is a resource of short videos which is designed to help you make good choices to live well when life shakes you.
Prayer Spaces at Home
https://www.prayerspacesinschools.com/prayer-spaces-at-home
Ideas of different, engaging ways to pray in your own home, by yourself or with others.
The Bible Project
If you fancy diving deeper into the Bible with engaging, animated videos, this is the place for you.
YouVersion Bible App
https://www.youversion.com/the-bible-app/
Keep the Bible with you all the time. Easy to use, lots of versions, thousands of Bible studies, helpful notifications.
Soultime
Christian meditation made simple. This app is easy to use and very soothing
If you would like any more ideas, support or would just like to chat or pray, please contact Ruth Hutchings via email at
ruth.hutchings@carlislediocese.org.uk