Here are some suggestions and your ideas and feedback would be appreciated.

For babies:

Baby Blessings Bible by Alice Joyce Davidson

A board book with removable soft cover. Brightly coloured and textured, so babies can look, hold, chew, taste and get to know this Bible. A great gift at baptism because it is likely to be read and enjoyed by the family and not put on a shelf to gather dust.

For young children:

The Little Children’s Bible retold by Anne de Graaf and published by Scandinavia Publishing House

A charming version of many Bible stories with things to do that help children relate to the story.  For example at the beginning of Genesis when God changed the darkness into light, it suggests turning the light off and on again. When Mary is visited by an angel, it invites children to close their eyes and hold their breath and imagine an angel standing next to their bed. Or when talking about the fact that nothing is more important than the love of God, to hug someone you love.

Scripture Unions

The Big Bible Storybook by Maggie Barfield contains 188 Bible stories to read with young children.

Another good one is The Big Picture Story Bible by David Helm.

Zondervan have recently published a version of the Bible for children called Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name by Sally Lloyd-Jones and they also have Faithgirlz and The Adventure Bible for older children in backpack versions.

For children who are learning to read there is the Learn to Read Bible for Rocket Readers by Paul Bellet. For children who are visual learners try The Lion Graphic Bible and for older children the Comic Book Bible and Manga Bible.There are a range of magazine format Bibles (Biblezines) for different age groups including preteens and these make good graduation presents for primary age children starting high school: Blossom for girls and Magnify for boys, and Refuel for teen boys and Revolve for teen girls.

Of course most children now get information from a computer screen and so the Sandbible.com website and the Zondervan Jesus Storybook Bible are available on line. The Children’s Animated Bible is available as two DVDs.

by Judyth Roberts Dec 21st, 2009

In late 2009 research was undertaken in the US and the UK by the Uniting Church Assembly to explore ways that Godly Play may be nurtured and implemented in the Australian church context.

Godly Play is able to provide a powerful way to engage children’s spirituality, through a focus on scripture, ritual and worship and it is important that we collaborate with others to develop a Godly Play network in Australia. 

This could be achieved through advocating for reflection on children’s spirituality and the theology of childhood, providing Godly Play presentations and demonstrations, linking networks of interested Godly Play practitioners, creating a website in Australia to support the network and provide information and work towards a national, collaborative Godly Play network that can become part of the international Godly Play community.

The Uniting Church in Australia has many large well-resourced churches and schools that could become centres for Godly play and provide ‘model’ classrooms and regional support. It is possible that many churches would be interested in Godly Play but be unable to commit the resources required, but most churches would be able to incorporate elements of Godly play to their work with both children and adults.

Recommendations

Short term (within 12 months)

• Create a website and brochure
• Provide ‘tasters’, workshops
• Supply articles about GP to church publications
• Get GP on agenda at presbytery meetings and synods
• Keep a practitioner network or data base
• Support trips to UK for training
• Explore possible grants to support GP

Medium term (2- 3 years)

• Set up some GP classrooms, at least one per state
• Explore a GP Australian model adaptable to the Australian context
• Get GP material into church libraries, theological colleges and their libraries
• Work out an organisational structure here to nurture GP
• Link with international GP
• Launch GP in Australia

Long Term  (3 – 5 years)

• Research
• Teacher training
• National Conference

There will be barriers to the above.  If the Uniting Church is sure of the benefits of Godly Play, then there should equally be a commitment to support people who are interested in learning more.  It may be that Godly Play will be provided in a spectrum; from an occasional story told in a way that reflects Godly Play principles, to a uniquely adapted form of Godly Play in Australia, perhaps called something else; to the recognisable form of international Godly Play using scripts, resources and materials in a Godly Play classroom.

The barriers for many churches will be:

• No strategic vision for children’s ministry 

• Lack of money to get books and resources and training
• Children’s ministry seen as fringe issue for parents, therefore

      lack of commitment 

• Lack of children’s space in churches, and security for resources
• Difficulty of adapting Godly Play training and practice
• Difficulties because of size of Australia – some communities

      are very isolated outside of capital cities

• Godly Play can be seen in a very limiting way as a great method of storytelling, but it can be so much more. 

I believe the absence of children from most of our churches is impoverishing them.  We have failed to articulate clearly a vision for integrated children’s ministry, for nurturing children’s spiritual formation. Further we have failed to respond compassionately to the changes in society that are impacting on families, or recognise the failure of program-driven, ‘info-tainment’ methods which have resulted in the loss of generations of children.  We urgently need to find new/old ways of relating to children and their families and responding to Jesus’s call to welcome them and share our rich spiritual heritage in ways that can be transforming to the whole church and honouring to God.   

                        Biologically, adults produce children.

                               Spiritually, children produce adults.

                                      Most of us don’t grow up until we have helped children to do so.

                                                                       Thus do generations form a braided cord.

Andrew tours extensively around Australia, New Zealand and North America, visiting schools and parishes, sharing his faith through music. To find out more visit www.butterflymusic.com.au

The Gospels in Playdough contains 73 stories about Jesus. Each story is set out in a way that guides the parent or teacher through the process of engaging their children. The appendix contains more examples and a recipe for playdough.

Rev’d Neil Millar, a lecturer at St. Mark’s National Theological Centre, has described that book as “a creative and enjoyable way of introducing children in their most formative years to the life-changing story of Jesus”.

Visit  The Gospels in Playdough website. Judyth has some copies of the book for $20 each, or it can be ordered through the Koorong website.