The Next Gen Department of The Wesleyan Church is thrilled to have been awarded, through Lilly Endowment Inc., a $1.25 million grant for the “Kids in Worship Initiative.” This project is aimed at transforming how we engage children in corporate worship and prayer. This five-year initiative will help churches throughout our denomination build more inclusive and intergenerational worship experiences.
On February 26 the team hosted an informational zoom call for pastors and leaders. If you missed the meeting or want to go back and review it, you can find the full zoom call recording here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4UXauAu8nQ
The Kids in Worship Initiative will focus on:
- One church from each district participating in a 2.5-year journey of growth and exploration, holding six intergenerational worship services with financial and training support.
- Training pastors and ministry leaders through collaboration events, gathering for specialized training together.
- Equipping churches with resources and a 3-year curriculum for kids K-4th grade, which teaches traditions of faith, provides a structured framework for their spiritual education, and increases belonging in intergenerational worship gatherings.
- Creation of 100 lyric videos to use in intergenerational worship.
- Connecting interns with participating churches.
- Sharing our learning with all Wesleyan Churches.
For church participation information, download the “Kids in Worship – Church Participation Criteria” document for full details.
Applications will be open from March 15, 2025 – May 31, 2025.
The link for the application will be provided on this page on March 15, 2025.
We cannot wait to connect with interested churches and to see how this initiative impacts our worshipping communities across our denomination!
