Like many churched kids, Julia Patterson grew up going to Sunday school where well-meaning teachers taught the class Bible stories and quizzed them afterward. If children recited the answers correctly, they were rewarded with a piece of candy. Patterson later graduated college with a degree in child development and took a job at a megachurch where children were taught in a similar way.
But today, as Children’s Catechist at Redeemer Anglican Church, the Santa Cruz, California church plant she and her husband helped start two years ago, Patterson chooses a different approach. If you walked into the Atrium, the children’s ministry space in their rented facility, on a Sunday morning, you would observe an unusual child-guided and contemplative approach to children’s spiritual formation that’s more focused on asking questions than memorizing answers, and sensory processing than just listening. The model, which combines principles of Montessori with Scripture to nourish a child’s soul, empowers each child to connect with God personally. Patterson designs her own curriculum based on Godly Play and other Christian education programs that celebrate the power of story, wonder and play.
“We come alongside the children to help them make their own personal faith real to them,” Patterson says. “Our goal is to support families to give their children a great foundation, a joyful relationship with God. Building on a solid foundation will make all the information we add more rich and meaningful for their whole lives.”
Each week, a mixed group of children ages 3 to 10 gathers around Patterson as she tells a Bible lesson using specific visual materials. For the creation story, she might unroll a long piece of black felt that displays cards with pictures of each day. The children listen quietly, modeling the presentation of the Word as it’s read aloud in services. Then Patterson asks probing questions like, “What part of the story did you like best? Is there any part of the story we could take away and still have everything we need?” These questions are designed to help children think about how all the parts are necessary and why, and the ensuing discussions promote critical thinking as well as how the lessons apply to them personally here and now.
The children usually want to share what they think, engaging in funny, honest and playful conversation. But when there is silence, Patterson offers language that comes alongside the children and affirms they’re in this together. “I wonder about that, too. It’s OK if we don’t know. We can keep wondering and coming back to the story again and again.”
“We’re all trying to figure out what these Bible stories mean, and I try to be honest about that with them,” she explains. “With the parables especially, there is a lot of mystery around them.”
After the discussion time, the children respond by choosing from a variety of sensory materials to work with under adult supervision. The concrete materials help the children rehearse and internalize abstract concepts. With special training on how to observe children in the Atrium, teachers consistently see the children reenacting the stories down to the last detail when using the materials. Teachers then come alongside to ask guiding questions about the application of the story to each child’s life.
Patterson also ensures children begin to understand elements of the Anglican worship service. She sometimes teaches liturgical lessons and sets up a miniature altar with labeled imitation chalice and candlesticks, and the children pretend to serve one another. They enjoy learning liturgical vocabulary such as the different parts of the vestments.
For some parents and volunteers, this non-traditional approach to children’s ministry requires a learning curve. They worry when their children cannot repeat back to them exactly what they learned that Sunday.
“It takes a lot of faith in the child and also in the Holy Spirit and trusting that God is at work in them as they are exposed to His Word and taking the Sacrament,” Patterson says. “I’ve heard the analogy of a garden—a longterm approach. It may take years of watering and tending before you see a harvest because faith is taking root. We’re setting a genuine and joyful foundation which will last for a lifetime.”
The deeper processing continues at home. Parents tell Patterson that their kids unexpectedly share things that expound on what they learned on Sunday. Some weeks there is amazing fruit, and sometimes it’s just about trusting the process. Patterson looks forward to finding a permanent church space and obtaining more specialized training to fully flesh out the ministry’s potential.
“It really is a beautiful way of being with children, and it’s the most effective that I’ve seen,” she says. “I look forward to it every single time, seeing how much joy they get from it. They are really joyful in what they are doing, and it’s contagious.”
Learn more about Redeemer Anglican Church.