One small ask can have a big impact
Listening Tour Launch
An update from our Associate Director, Amanda Herridge:
I am excited to share an update on the successful launch of our Listening Tour! Our team has been diligently engaging with churches across Texas, and we recently held our first in-person interviews at my home congregation: Covenant Lutheran (ELCA) in Temple, Texas.
Alongside Rev. Dr. Carolyn Helsel, Project Director, and Kenzie Tuttle, our Austin Seminary student assistant, we conducted interviews with 14 students, 2 staff members, and 6 parents/volunteers. The focus was to learn how children view worship and experience God.
In addition to the wonderful stories and insights from the interviews, another highlight was witnessing the youth-led children’s sermon, a recent initiative at Covenant inspired by our grant. It was exciting to see how the children of the congregation responded with enthusiasm and engagement as one of their peers delivered the message.
After asking one child to lead a Children’s Sermon, church staff have been approached by more children wishing to lead a Children’s Sermon themselves, as well as those looking for more engaging ways to lead within the worship services. It has become clear already that this approach is making a meaningful impact!
If you're interested in learning more about how our team can visit and interview your congregation, I would be delighted to connect with you.
We are very excited to launch the Children in Worship Cohort communities, which will discuss and learn from the information gleaned from the Listening Tour. I also invite you to join our upcoming webinar with talented author and editor, Carol Wehrheim. This will not only benefit those leading within Children’s Ministry, but the broader church as well, as she instructs on Biblical storytelling within worship services. Hope to listen and learn from one another soon!
A youth member at Covenant Lutheran ECLA in Temple, TX delivers the Children’s Sermon during worship. (Photo: Amanda Herridge)
The Listening Tour’s weighted stuffie “Lilly” keeps the seat warm between interviews. (Photo: Carolyn Helsel)
We are looking for pairs of participants - a children’s minister and senior/worship pastor - from various churches to join a 6-month-long cohort community to explore the role of children in worship through guided conversations. These small groups will meet twice monthly on Zoom and create a supportive space where participants can reflect on how faith is experienced and shared within their congregations.
The Children in Worship Cohort requirements:
One pair of church staff members willing to commit to twice-monthly meetings together. This pair will be composed of (a) your congregation's children's ministry leader and (b) the senior pastor/worship leader.
Each member of the pair needs the ability to meet online through Zoom.
In order to facilitate conversation, churches in the cohort should have gone through the Listening Tour or should schedule a Listening Tour visit.
Applications will close on November 1, 2025 and the cohort will be announced by November 15, 2025. A church’s application to the cohort is not complete until both applications have been submitted. The plan will be to hold twice-monthly meetings from January to June 2026.
Our team wants to learn from your children’s ministry in action. As the work of the Children’s Sermons by Children grant launches this year, we are looking for churches that are willing to have our team come onsite for video-recorded interviews to gather fresh insights from children, those working with children, and worship leaders. We’re calling this the “Listening Tour.” Sunday morning interviews are currently scheduled throughout the fall; however, additional opportunities to join are available.
If your church would like to be a part of the Listening Tour, please take a moment to fill out our Interest Form so we can be in touch about specifics and scheduling.
On Friday, October 17, we will host Carol Wehrheim for an online workshop. Carol Wehrheim has written and edited church school curriculum for years, including serving as general editor of Feasting on the Word resources for children’s sermons. Now retired, she serves as Clerk of Session at Nassau Presbyterian Church, Princeton, NJ, but her most favorite times are when she is telling the Bible story in congregational worship, which she has done for over 20 years.
Workshop Title: "Telling the Bible Story in Worship"
Date & Time: Friday, October 17, from 11:30 a.m.- 1 p.m. CST
Format: Zoom Webinar with Q&A
Many congregations include a “children’s sermon” or a “time for the children” in the order of worship on Sunday morning. A good use of that moment is to tell a Bible story. During this workshop, we’ll look at one set of best practices for telling the Bible story in congregational worship, and then we will explore the various ways that might happen. We invite faith-sharers of all roles and responsibilities to join us for this enlightening time with Carol Wehrheim.