Exactly one year ago, our working team’s leader, the late Rachel Graves Jones, circulated a list of questions to help spark our creativity in dreaming together about a new formation resource for children and their grown-ups.

Some of the questions she asked were the sort you might expect from a creative type well-versed in the spiritual formation of young people (though with that slight twist in perspective that was so unique to her):

“If this project were a biblical figure, who would they be?”

“What saying(s) from Jesus and/or the Prophets does this project know by heart?”

She was trying to get us to think in a fresh way about what is essential to our faith tradition and what we would hope to plant in the hearts of the little ones who will grow up using this resource.

Other questions came from a slightly more unexpected angle:

“What car would this project drive?”

“What three flowers would be in this project’s bouquet?”

“What junk food and bev combo can this project not live without?”

As we shared our answers, the team became radiant with laughter and the glow of our own childhoods. We smiled together about Volkswagon Bugs (punch buggy!), grass-stained blue jeans, and mixing playdough to make new colors. And, of course, we reminisced in great detail about our absolute favorite childhood snacks.

Now you might be wondering: What do snack foods have to do with sharing the gospel? The answer is at the heart of the new resource from the Episcopal Church: The BIG Way of Love for Kids.

A Resource Made for Kids and Their Lives

This on-the-go, infinitely adaptable formation resource is designed to get sticky with spilled juice, to live in the glove box of the car, and to come out on the sidelines at soccer. It can flex as easily toward dinnertime, bathtime, or bedtime as toward Sunday morning. The deep hope for this resource is that it will be useful in making moments of spiritual formation possible in the beautiful, busy mess of everyday life because that’s where Jesus meets us.

The heart of the resource is a deck of 76 cards with short prompts for prayer, conversation, and activity that engage the seven practices of the Way of Love. The practices in these cards are ones that we are never too young to learn and can never outgrow:

• TURN to Jesus
• LEARN about him
• PRAY to God
• WORSHIP God
• BLESS people close to us
• GO walk with people who are different
• REST in God’s love

Through small moments of scripture, prayer, and play, these cards invite children of all ages, from all backgrounds and contexts, to discover what it looks like to love like Jesus. And they’re all packed in an adventure-ready box that a child can tuck into their pocket and take wherever they go—even climbing a tree.

Ways to Use “The BIG Way of Love” Cards

How do you play with the cards? There are no rules! The BIG Way of Love for Kids can be used by one child or by many, at home or at church, with a grown-up or on their own. Throw all the cards into a big pile and “Go Fish!” for the one that draws you, or collect all the cards of one color together and do a deep dive into one practice across the week or the month.

In a church context, the cards might be the stem for a children’s sermon or the root of a formation activity. You might place a few cards into “Play and Pray” bags, or have decks available at the back of the sanctuary. You can splay them across the table in the Sunday School room or onto the lunch tables at Vacation Bible School.

In family life, the cards can become part of any number of times and places for connection. Parents and caregivers can bring the cards along as a conversation starter on the drive to school, to the waiting room before ballet, to the breakfast table, or in that sweet and tender time before bed. The cards are simple enough that kids can explore them alone, with a friend, or with one of their grown-ups.

Additional Resources to Accompany the Card Deck

The adaptability of this offering extends beyond the cards themselves. In addition to the card decks, which can be purchased in English and in Spanish, the same content is available online for free in English, Spanish, and French in two printable versions. The color version features the content for each Way of Love practice in three variations to support children across diverse ages and developmental stages. The black-and-white coloring version lets kids think with their hands as they follow Jesus on the Way of Love (see our “BIG Way of Love for Kids Resources” page to download these materials).

The BIG Way of Love for Kids also includes two additional companion resources that are available online for free in English, Spanish, and French (see below for links to access these materials):

• Grown-Ups Companion Guide, which includes an extra section of group-friendly games for each Way of Love practice, perfect to play with in formation contexts or intergenerational groups
• Audio Stories, which feature gospel stories told by familiar voices (even Presiding Bishop Emeritus Michael Curry!)

Equipping Children to Live the Way of Love

You’re never too old or too young to walk the Way of Love, and it just doesn’t have to be hard. Our team’s hope for this resource, above all, is to make it very easy for formation leaders and parents to fold moments of formation into the midst of life. The Way of Love, after all, is not just for Sunday mornings, and it is not homework we need to hunker down and endure. The Way of Love is a way of life. We hope this resource will encourage kids to pick a card, any card, and see where God is inviting them today.

We pray that this simple, beautiful offering will move and grow with the children in your orbit and help us all to draw closer to the heart of God. If you have questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to our team by email.

The BIG Way of Love for Kids Resources

The BIG Way of Love for Kids Playing Cards / El GRAN Camino del Amor para Niños Barajas de cartas

• Age group(s): children ages 2–10, intergenerational
• Publisher and date: Forward Movement, 2024 (The Episcopal Church)
• Cost: $10

The BIG Way of Love for Kids Printables (English, Español, Français)

• Age groups(s): children ages 2–10, adults, intergenerational
• Publisher and date: The Episcopal Church, 2024
• Cost: free
• Contents: includes deck of cards, foldable color sheets, DIY black & white coloring pages, guide for adults

The BIG Way of Love Audio Stories / El GRAN Camino del Amor para Niños Historias Sonoras / La GRANDE Voie de L’Amour por les Enfants Histories Audio

• Age group(s): children, intergenerational
• Publisher and date: The Episcopal Church, 2024
• Cost: free

Featured image was created by article author, Kristin LeMay