Learning Faith From Children
Photo, taken by my friend Beth, of me showing the kids my favorite part of the liturgical calendar, using a tool from Godly Play
I’ve started talking about children’s ministry a lot. Sometimes I’m writing about contemplative prayer or creative practices for adults, and somehow it comes up again.
And it’s not just because it’s my job, though I do love it and have been doing it for ten years now.
No, it’s actually because children’s ministry reminds me of something central to our faith: the way God calls all of us to approach Him, with openness, curiosity, and trust.
When Jesus said, “Unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven,” He wasn’t just talking to kids’ volunteers. He was talking to all of us. It’s a call for all of us to learn humility, wonder, and receptivity to God. It’s a posture of heart that can be cultivated at any age. To enter the kingdom like a child means to stay curious, open, trusting, and willing to play. It means remembering how to approach God with wonder instead of certainty.
In children’s ministry, I watch kids naturally explore, notice, wonder, and create. They don’t need complex explanations about God or prayer; they just engage with the world and the stories of faith with full attention. And as I watch them, I realize that this is the same kind of attentiveness and openness God invites adults into, we just forget how to get there sometimes. It reminds us that part of our calling is to create space: to listen, to wonder, and to let God be present in ordinary moments.
That’s part of why I talk about it so much. Children’s ministry isn’t only about teaching Bible stories or keeping kids busy during worship. It’s spiritual direction in action.
In Godly Play and other similar approaches, we don’t rush to explain or give the “right” answers. We make space, ask wondering questions, and trust that God is already at work. That’s exactly what spiritual direction is for adults too: creating space, listening deeply, and paying attention to how God might be speaking.
When I talk about contemplative play, this is what I mean: making space to engage God through imagination, art, and curiosity. It’s a practice that helps adults reconnect with that childlike posture Jesus talked about. It’s a way for adults to practice openness. It’s about slowing down, engaging your imagination, and noticing God at work around you.
We don’t become like children in a magical or automatic way. Play can be a spiritual discipline, a tool to help us remember how to trust, be curious, and fully show up to God. You don’t have to be “good at art” or have it all figured out. You just have to show up, slow down, and let yourself play a little. It’s another way of listening for God.
That’s why I’ve been talking about children’s ministry so often. It’s not just for kids. It’s a living example of how we can all cultivate a posture of childlike faith: open, attentive, and trusting. Every time we make space for wonder, creativity, and quiet noticing, we’re stepping into the kind of faith Jesus calls us to. Children’s ministry simply reminds us what that looks like in practice.