Faith Formation Resources
Welcome to our Diocesan list of resources. This list is not meant to be exhaustive, but to serve as a starting point for congregational leaders. If you would like a resource included or curated, please reach out to Canon Micalagh Moritz.
This list has been adapted from the Diocese of Indianapolis resources and a huge thanks goes to Heather Kenison for the compilation of resources.
Episcopal Nuts and Bolts
Professional Organizations and Training Opportunities
Forma: A collaborative site with resources gleaned from youth workers across the Episcopal church.
Education for Ministry: EfM: This is a 4-year small group formation program that nurtures a call to Christian service.
Episcopal Beliefs
Core beliefs of the church, including the Book of Common Prayer, Baptismal Covenant, Creeds, and Sacraments
10 Things Christians should know about the Episcopal Church
The Episcopal Christian Educators Handbook builds upon the success of The Episcopal Handbook, this handbook taps into and expands on the most accessed pages of the Building Faith website and its online resource room.
General Convention
General Convention Official Youth Presence: How our youth are invited to participate in the Episcopal church at the global level.
Devotional Resources
D365: A daily devotion written for youth and adults. The devotion follows a five-step format – Pause, Listen, Think, Pray, Go.
Six Smooth Stones: A simple book introducing spiritual practices and their benefit.
Safe Church Forms
Examples of forms and tools: Updated in 2018, these policies are a statement for the Episcopal Church, setting forth expectations for its leaders in their relationships with children and youth. The purpose of these model policies is to foster the highest standards of behavior in ministry settings.
Curriculums
Lectionary-Based
Episcopal Lesson Plans That Work: These lesson plans are written by experienced church teachers using practical approaches to respond to the needs of volunteer teachers. They are designed to follow the Revised Common Lectionary and published by The Episcopal Church.
Dollar Store Children Sermons: These lesson plans follow the lectionary and are written by a pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
Grow Curriculum: Very loosely based on the lectionary, this ecumenical year-long curriculum includes everything you need for a youth meeting, even including annual events. You can also level up your membership to include a strategy for developing leaders and partnering with parents. Grow partners with a variety of authors from all different backgrounds. You can request a free sample of their current curriculum to see if it’s a good fit!
Confirmation
Confirmation Collaborative: A study done by Virginia Theological Seminary that sought to provide Christian leaders with examples of good practice and strategies that are effective in helping young Christians grow as disciples of Jesus Christ.
Confirm Not Conform : Confirm not Conform Episcopal retains a strong Anglican ethos, deeply exploring Scripture, Tradition, and Reason.
Journey to Adulthood: Journey to Adulthood is an online, downloadable youth ministry program of spiritual formation for 6th-12th grades. Fully revised and updated, it is centered on inclusive, relational ministry through Bible study, prayer, rites of passage, and outreach ministries. Creative, developmentally appropriate lessons are arranged within three categories of Self, Society, and Spirituality.
Rite Formation Webinars: Webinars on Journey to Adulthood and Rite 13.
My Faith, My Life “A Place for Episcopal Teens and Their Mentors”: Includes a thorough offering of practices, tools and program content resources for leaders, as well as teens.
Queer Confirmation: This resource is a 1-year curriculum for LGBTQ+ teens and allies, accompanied by a safe adult. While it is specifically a resource of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), much of it can be adapted to the Episcopal Church.
Other Curriculum
The Bible Project videos: These videos are short and engaging visual explanations that show how the Bible is a unified story that leads to Jesus.
How2Charist: Digitally instructed Eucharist.
Diversity Course: Diversity is one of a series of modules developed for older youth who are in senior high school. The curriculum is based on the promises made in the Baptismal Covenant found in The Book of Common Prayer.
Building Faith Curriculum Center: Part of Life Long Learning from the Virginia Theological Seminary, this website has lots of resources for all stages of formation and topics.
StoryMakers: StoryMakers is a not-for-profit organization that designs Gospel resources for kids of all ages to bring the Bible to life. Contact Canon Micalagh Moritz for the Diocesan Partner Code to use at checkout and receive 50% off subscriptions.
Cokesbury Kids: Cokesbury Kids has several Bible-based Sunday School curriculum for kids with videos that pair with activity pages. It has a diverse representation of kids in their material. They also have VBS programs for purchase.
Little Way Chapel: Resources for each church season “following Jesus by following the church year.” Includes lessons, coloring sheets, and beautiful graphics.
Illustrated Ministries: Progressive faith resources for church and home based on the church calendar with beautiful coloring sheets and weekly lessons. They also have youth focused and intergenerational coloring posters, VBS curriculum, and fun and encouraging stickers.
Godly Play: Making meaning through story, wonder, and play. Many training options and resources are available on the Godly Play Foundation website. Contact Canon Micalagh Moritz for more information about Godly Play in our Diocese.
Abundant Life Garden Project: A FREE curriculum from Episcopal Relief & Development that provides formation lessons in 6 sessions: Water, Seeds, Soil, Animals, Harvest, and Celebration.
Being With: A 4-part series for those new to the Church and Christianity.
Topical Lessons & Resources
Justice
Climate Justice for Youth and Young Adults: As disciples of Jesus Christ, we seek truth and practice faith. “The curriculum assumes that young adults are familiar with the basic facts about climate change: it is real, it is human-caused, it is a long-range consequence of the industrial revolution (when society began to burn fossil fuels), the impacts are serious and those impacts unjustly fall on the poorest and most vulnerable. If you are not sure that everyone is familiar with these facts, include review of them in your opening sessions.”
Peace and Justice: Episcopal Curriculum for Youth: Youth will be able to plan a study of peace and justice issues that relate to their lives.
Becoming Beloved Community: Christian formation resources including curriculum, films, and books
Holy Troublemakers and Unconventional Saints: This beautiful book by Daneen Akers highlights diverse people of faith, both current and past. You can also purchase a curriculum as a companion to work through this book with teens.
Anti-Racism
Dismantling Racism: A Youth Curriculum (Part of the Absalom Jones Center for Racial Healing)
Becoming Beloved Community Labyrinth: The Episcopal Church’s work toward racial reconciliation, healing, and justice is guided by the long-term commitment to Becoming Beloved Community. We organize our ministries around the four quadrants of the labyrinth. Each quadrant represents a commitment that is vital to lasting change within us, our churches, our communities and society at large.
Sowing Seeds in the Sand: Storytelling around racial justice, the earth, and other topics, rooted in our Baptismal Covenant, and the belief that racism and other “isms” stem from the lie that some people are better than others. These stories challenge that lie to invite us all to be in right relationship with God, one another, and ourselves.
Mental Health and Suicide Prevention
Teen Wellness Compass: Curriculum for kids, youth, and adults on mental health and wholeness.
Mental Health First Aid: Mental Health First Aid is a course that teaches you how to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental illnesses and substance use disorders. The training gives you the skills you need to reach out and provide initial help and support to someone who may be developing a mental health or substance use problem or experiencing a crisis.
Episcopal Health Foundation: A list of resources available to the Episcopal Church about mental health needs.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration: Federal resources regarding mental health.
Keep/Watch: A training and suicide prevention resource from the Diocese of Atlanta.
LGBTQ+ Resources
TransEpiscopal: TransEpiscopal is a group of transgender, nonbinary, and allied Episcopalians dedicated to fostering the full embrace of trans and nonbinary people, and our loved ones within the Episcopal Church, and to inspiring faith-based advocacy for trans and nonbinary justice in the wider world. This includes a list of resources for families, youth, and parishes.
Beloved Arise Youth Alliance: A youth-led network committed to making the world a safer, more loving place for LGBTQ+ youth of faith. The Alliance is open to youth and young adults (ages 14-24) and is free to join!
The Naming Project: The Naming Project is a Christian ministry that walks with youth wherever they are on their own faith journey. Youth from around the country attend this summer camp, and they communicate with youth, parents, pastors, youth workers, and others who care for LGBTQ youth.
Reconciling Works: A Lutheran organization focused on teaching how to be inclusive of LGBTQ+ folks.
Q Christian: An organization cultivating radical belonging among LGBTQ+ Christians and allies. Includes online support groups, a conference, regular webinars, and theological information online. There are also resources in Spanish.
The Safe Zone Project: Free training and curriculum for basic understanding and allyship of LGBTQ+ folks.
Worship
Church Publishing: Church Publishing produces an expansive portfolio that includes official worship materials and resources for The Episcopal Church, such as hymnals and prayer books as well as books on a range of topics that support clergy and lay employees of the church.
Resources for Youth Leaders
Books to Read
General Youth Ministry
- Sustainable Youth Ministry: Why Most Youth Ministry Doesn’t Last and What Your Church Can Do About It by Mark Devries
- Revisiting Relational Youth Ministry: From a Strategy of Influence to a Theology of Incarnation by Andy Root
- Growing Young: Six Essential Strategies to Help Young People Discover and Love Your Church
- Faith Beyond Youth Group: Five Ways to Form Character and Cultivate Lifelong Discipleship
- Ministry by Teenagers: Developing Leaders from Within
- Speaking to Teenagers: How to Think About, Create, and Deliver Effective Messages
- Leading a Special Needs Ministry
General Leadership
- Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts. by Brené Brown
- The 4 Disciplines of Execution: Revised and Updated: Achieving Your Wildly Important Goals
- Fierce Conversations: Achieving Success at Work and in Life One Conversation at a Time
- The Leadership Challenge: How to Make Extraordinary Things Happen in Organizations
Organizational Leadership
- How to Keep House While Drowning: A Gentle Approach to Cleaning and Organizing
- Organizing Solutions for People with ADHD, 3rd Edition: Tips and Tools to Help You Take Charge of Your Life and Get Organized
- Do More Better: A Practical Guide to Productivity
Working with Volunteers
- Building Your Volunteer Team: A 30-Day Change Project for Youth Ministry
- The Volunteer Effect: How Your Church Can Find, Train, and Keep Volunteers Who Make a Difference
Soul Care for Youth Leaders
- The Godbearing Life: The Art of Soul Tending for Youth Ministry by Kenda Creasy Dean
- Bonhoeffer as Youth Worker: A Theological Vision for Discipleship and Life Together
- Contemplative Youth Ministry by Mark Yaconelli
- Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership by Ruth Haley Barton
- Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster
Mental Health & The Brain
- Seen: Despair and Anxiety in Kids and Teenagers and the Power of Connection
- The Anxious Teen: Ministry with Stressed and Fearful Students
- Brainstorm: The Power and Purpose of the Teenage Brain by Dan Siegel
- Boosting Mental Toughness for Teenagers: Reduce Stress, Tackle Social Anxiety, Conquer Fear, and Build Social Confidence
- The Teenage Brain: Understanding Anxiety and Depression in Teenagers: A Guide for Parents, Counselors and Teens
- A Parent’s Guide to Understanding Teenage Brains: Why They Act the Way They Do by Mark Oestricher
Books for Parents
- And Then They Stopped Talking to Me: Making Sense of Middle School by Judith Warner
- Faithful Families Series by Traci Smith
- Sticky Faith: Everyday Ideas to Build Lasting Faith in Your Kids
- Right Click: Parenting Your Teenager In A Digital Media World
Books for Teenagers
- 3 Big Questions that Shape Your Future
- Beyond the Spiral: Why You Shouldn’t Believe Everything Anxiety Tells You
Sex & Sexuality
- Queerfully and Wonderfully Made: A Guide for LGBTQ+ Christian Teens (for youth) Provides answers to the most pressing questions about sexuality, gender, mental health, safe sex, and more. We recommend parents preview the youth addition before giving to a teenager, as the book may have varying reactions to it.
- Welcoming and Affirming: A Guide to Supporting and Working with LGBTQ+ Christian Youth (for adults)
- A Brief guide to Ministry with LGBTQIA Youth
Games & Icebreakers
- Download Youth Ministry: Great for PowerPoint games.
- The Source 4 YM: Great website where you can filter size of group, length of game, prep time, location, and supplies needed. You can even choose your grossness level!
- 30 Icebreakers for Youth Groups
- 30 Youth Group Games & Activities
Podcasts
Youth Ministry Podcasts: The best Youth Ministry podcasts from thousands of podcasts on the web and ranked by traffic, social media followers, and freshness.
Mess Makes Meaning: Lifting up children’s spirituality for all the grownups. This podcast has lots of practical interviews and information about children’s formation and spirituality, and parenting.