Spiritual Formation of all ages is an integral part of who we are here at First Baptist Greenville. It has been so wonderful to step into a Children’s Ministry that is thriving and built on an incredible foundation of education and service for the youngest among us. While spiritual education is always a piece of what we do here, we know that we are not the primary faith educators of children. One of my greatest callings is to partner and help equip families to engage with faith outside of the walls of the church.

Reverend Traci Smith has had a huge impact on how Children’s Ministers view this partnership with families. As a mom and a minister, her work has deeply impacted how I educate and engage in faith within my own family.

Traci has embarked on a new journey and has helped to spearhead a new research program focusing on families with young children. This is a grant-based opportunity that has been made possible by the Lilly Endowment. We are excited to announce that First Baptist Greenville has been chosen to participate in this program. Seventeen churches from the United States and Canada will participate in this opportunity, and we are one of them! In addition, we are the only Baptist church that has been accepted into this program. Because of our experience, we have been asked to serve as a Mentor Church in this program and will help walk alongside smaller congregations and those with ministers who are newer to their calling.

What does all of this mean? We will receive a total of $7500 over three years that will be used with families in our congregation that have children under three. This program will help us to begin a small group that will commit to three years of study together surrounding faith at home. What we learn in this group will be used to further research in this area of ministry that will be used to help shape the future of faith formation for children in churches all around. In addition to the funding, we will receive individual coaching, educational opportunities for me, and our church will receive a small faith formation library.

The three-year cohort program is designed to empower faith formation leaders to effectively support parents of young children in integrating faith practices into their daily lives. More details will be available in the coming months about opportunities to join this cohort, but until then, I hope that you will celebrate this honor with us.

—Bridget Kokolis, Minister to Children

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