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New and Recent Formation Resources for Advent

Advent is an exciting season in the church year. As many of the resources below underscore, Advent ushers in a new liturgical year and offers stories, hymns, and practices that can inspire Christians’ faith in countless ways as we attend to how God is moving in our lives and in our world to “mak[e] all things new” (Rev. 21:5, NRSVUE).

If your community is looking for ideas and resources to deepen members’ faith formation during Advent, this list of new and recent formation resources can help you get started. The list that we’ve curated includes resources that can be used with children, youth, adults, families, and intergenerational groups. It offers activity kits, books, curricula, and devotionals, and some of these resources also feature an array of accompanying materials like videos, worship bulletins, sermon planning suggestions, Advent calendars, and even a Christmas pageant guide.

Most of the resources require purchases. Some offer discounts for buying in bulk, and others provide sliding scale prices depending on church size. If you are interested in more free Advent resources, you may want to check out “Building Faith’s Favorite Free Christian Formation Resources.”

If you know of a helpful new or recent resource that isn’t included in this list, leave a comment and tell us about it!

Activity Guides & Kits

1. Advent and Christmas Digital Activity Kits

This downloadable kit provides an array of activities for children, youth, and families to explore faith at home together during the Advent and Christmas seasons. Activities include options like coloring pages, crafts, recipes, and Bible reading guides.

  • Age group(s): children, youth, families, intergenerational
  • Publisher and date: Sparkhouse, 2022 (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America)
  • Additional details: $49.99; two more editions are available through a subscription to Sparkhouse Digital

2. Advent Theater House

This activity box enables children and families to tell and dramatize stories for Advent with a buildable theater. The box includes figures for Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus as well as animal characters, and it provides four plays to enact.

  • Age group(s): children, families
  • Publisher and date: StoryMakers NYC, 2024 (not affiliated with a specific denomination)
  • Additional details: $25

3. Families Celebrate Advent and Christmas

This collection of activities for Advent and Christmas comes in the form of a deck of cards illustrated by Carolina Farias. It is designed for families with children to use one card for each day of Advent and Christmas to engage scripture, pray, and do fun and meaningful activities together.

Books & Bible Studies

1. “Calling All Angels: An Advent Study of Fearlessness and Strength“

This book invites readers to embrace the angels’ message “Do not be afraid” in the scripture stories surrounding Jesus’s birth of Zechariah, Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds. It contains four chapters for each week of Advent with an additional chapter for Christmas, and the Advent chapters include short daily meditations on scripture, which gives this book the flexibility to be used as an adult formation resource and as a devotional.

  • Age group(s): adults
  • Author: Erin Wathen
  • Publisher and date: Westminster John Knox, 2024 (Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.))
  • Additional details: $17; discussion questions, an Advent playlist, and worship resources are all included in the book, and introductory videos for each chapter are available at the publisher’s website

2. “The First Advent in Palestine: Reversals, Resistance, and the Ongoing Complexity of Hope“

This book investigates the stories in Matthew’s and Luke’s gospels about Mary, Joseph, and Jesus in light of the political, social, and economic dimensions of first-century Palestine. It also puts the texts and their context in conversation with experiences of contemporary Palestinians.

3. “Stay Awhile: Advent Lessons in Divine Hospitality“

This book dives into the Advent themes of hospitality and preparation in conversation with prophetic and gospel texts in scripture in order to help readers reflect on what it means to create places where people “feel safe and loved.” It offers a chapter for each week of Advent as well as a chapter for Christmas Eve and a chapter for Christmas Day, and the chapters include short daily meditations and prompts for the Advent season. It can be used as an adult formation resource and as a devotional.

  • Age group(s): adults
  • Author: Kara Eidson
  • Publisher and date: Westminster John Knox, 2023 (Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.))
  • Additional details: $17; discussion questions, worship resources, and introductory videos are all available in the book, and it also includes a Christmas pageant guide

4. “Women of the Nativity: An Advent and Christmas Journey in Nine Stories“

This book offers a creative retelling of the story of Jesus’s birth from the perspectives of nine women. In addition to Elizabeth and Mary, the book highlights women like Rachel and Anna, along with the innkeeper’s wife. The book also features painted illustrations for each story.

Curricula

1. “Do Not Fear” from Follow Me

“Do Not Fear” is one unit in the “Follow Me” curriculum, which explores Christian practices to help people live more fully into their faith. It underscores God’s presence with us amid fear. It consists of four lessons that explore Old and New Testament scriptures, and like other units in “Follow Me,” the curriculum provides lesson guides for children, youth, adults, intergenerational groups, and congregation-wide sessions.

  • Age group(s): children, youth, adults, intergenerational
  • Publisher and date: Growing Faith Resources, 2023 (Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.))
  • Additional details: $15 – 35 for a leader guide, depending on age group; curriculum materials are available in both printed and digital formats and also can be purchased in bundles

2. “From the Manger“

This digital Advent curriculum and resource collection focuses on the themes of hunger and food in conversation with the story of Jesus’s birth. The curricula for each age group include five lessons, one for each week of Advent plus a lesson for Christmas. Lessons feature Bible stories, story cards and coloring pages, storytelling videos, discussion questions, activities, and prayer.

  • Age group(s): children, youth, families, intergenerational
  • Publisher and date: Illustrated Ministry, 2024 (not affiliated with a specific denomination)
  • Additional details: $19.99 – 34.99 for children’s or youth/intergenerational curriculum, depending on church size; additional resources (including an Advent calendar, coloring pages, worship bulletins, and more) are available for purchase individually or in bundles for at-home and church use

3. “Words for the Beginning“

This digital Advent curriculum and resource series explores the themes of beginnings and endings that are part of the Advent season. The curriculum offers 6 lessons, one for each week of Advent plus one for the First Sunday after Christmas and one for the Feast of Epiphany. Lessons include stories related to scripture, song suggestions, discussion questions, activities, prayer, and quilt squares to combine for a season-long creative project.

  • Age group(s): children, adults, families, intergenerational
  • Publisher and date: A Sanctified Art, 2024 (not affiliated with a specific denomination)
  • Additional details: $20 for the curriculum; additional resources (including a devotional booklet for adults, liturgies, a sermon planning guide, Advent calendars, and more) are available for purchase individually or in bundles

Devotionals

1. “2023 Advent Guide: A Journey Towards Justice for Women and the LGBTQ+ Community“

This free digital devotional offers short weekly meditations on the Revised Common Lectionary scriptures for Year B that focus on seeking justice and inclusivity for women and those who identify as LGBTQIA+. It includes entries for all four weeks of Advent, Christmas Day, the First Sunday after Christmas, and the Feast of Epiphany.

  • Age group(s): adults
  • Authors: Ren Martin, Jennifer Copeland, Arlecia Simmons, Carrilea Hall, Rachel Baker, Donna Parks Hill, Susannah Tuttle
  • Publisher and date: North Carolina Council of Churches (multidenominational), in collaboration with Justice Revival (not affiliated with a specific denomination), 2023
  • Additional details: free

2. “Good News, Great Joy: Devotions for Advent & Christmas 2024 – 2025“

This devotional booklet offers daily meditations for the Advent and Christmas seasons that engage the theme of joy in the good news of God in Jesus Christ. The meditations follow the Revised Common Lectionary readings for Year C, and they include images and prayers.

  • Age group(s): adults
  • Authors: Michael Coffey, Priscilla Austin, Troy M. Troftgruben, Annabelle Markey, Dena Williams, and Felix Javier Malpica
  • Publisher and date: Augsburg Fortress, 2024 (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America)
  • Additional details: $3.50; discounts are available for bulk purchases

3. “Melodies of Faith: An Advent Devotional for African American Churches & Families“

This daily devotional is designed for African American congregations and families. It features African American authors who offer personal narratives and meditations to engage Advent and Christmas scriptures and songs that have impacted their lives and faith communities, including church carols, African American spirituals, and contemporary music. The entries also include reflection questions and prayers.

  • Age group(s): families, intergenerational
  • Editor: Tanya J. Tyler, compiled by Charisse L. Gillett
  • Publisher and date: Chalice, 2024 (Christian Church (Disciples of Christ))
  • Additional details: $5.99; discounts are available for bulk purchases

4. “Ordinary Blessings for the Christmas Season: Prayers, Poems, and Meditations“

This book contains poetry, prayers, and meditations to bless “ordinary and not-so-ordinary moments of the season,” as the publisher’s website says. Its entries cover a range of topics, from “For Retail Workers” and “For Passing on a Beloved Family Recipe” to “For the First Christmas without Them” and “For Holiday Fatigue.” It also provides entries for Advent, the 12 days of Christmas, and reflecting on the nativity stories in scripture.

5. “Preparing the Way: Christian Practices for Advent“

This devotional provides daily meditations for Advent that aim to help readers embrace “a gentler way,” as the publisher’s website says, through the often busy time of the season. Its entries highlight various Christian traditions and rituals of Advent as well as ways to invite God’s presence into other activities during the season, like Christmas tree decorating. A helpful feature of this devotional is that it is undated, which means it can be used in any year.

  • Age group(s): adults
  • Authors: Scott Gunn, Richelle Thompson, Lindsay Barrett-Adler, Hugo Olaiz, and Miriam McKenney
  • Publisher and date: Forward Movement, 2023 (The Episcopal Church)
  • Additional details: $10; discounts for bulk purchases, and an ebook version is also available for purchase

6. “Show Me Your Ways, O Lord: Devotions on the Psalms of Advent“

This devotional offers daily meditations that focus on the psalms that appear in the Revised Common Lectionary for the Sundays in Advent for all three years. The entries combine personal narrative with reflections on the psalms, and they include prompts for further reflection and action. This devotional is also undated, so it can be used year after year.

  • Age group(s): adults
  • Authors: Kathryn Nishibayashi, Beth-Sarah Wright, Nancy Frausto, and Kim Fox
  • Publisher and date: Forward Movement, 2024 (The Episcopal Church)
  • Additional details: $10; discounted price available for bulk purchases, and an ebook version is also available for purchase

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on October 14, 2024. It has been updated on October 23, 2024 to feature an additional resource.

Featured image is by Abigail Lynn on Unsplash

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  1. So much to choose from . I’m a retired director of children’s formation and I still love reading about all the opportunities given to those who care about children , Jesus and teaching the love of Christ !! Thank you