Building Faith is a resource website dedicated to Christian Formation for children, youth, and adults. Fresh articles are offered every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday written by experienced educators and formation leaders. Their creative ideas, tips, and resource reviews, make Building Faith a site to be bookmarked and subscribed to so you don’t miss each golden nugget when it appears.

Begun as part of my ministry with Church Publishing Incorporated in 2010, Virginia Theological Seminary’s Center for the Ministry of Teaching now (since 2013) provides the administration and editorial oversight of the website. In addition to the articles regularly posted, with titles such as “The Best Vacation Bible School Programs of 2015,” “Creating a Lenten Prayer Space at Home,” and “Epiphany Resources and Ideas for Churches” there are numerous pages of free, downloadable content. An area to explore that has a plethora of materials is the Resource Room, an online library including a Curriculum Center (with downloadable charts comparing a variety of curricular programs for children, youth, and adults), Seasonal Resources (with practical ideas for Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, Pentecost, and more), Intergenerational Ministry (ideas for practicing faith formation with all ages), Bible Resources (bible briefs, summaries, tools, maps, links, and more), Sacraments (resources from an Episcopal theology), Children in Church (worship ideas), and a Virtual Bookcase (top ten lists of books for the educator’s shelf).

Lastly, there is a section listing a variety of educational opportunities (workshops, conferences, and trainings) that are offered throughout the country (and sometimes beyond).

Building Faith was developed as a free resource to support those called to the ministry of Christian Formation. Now in its fifth year of ‘online publication’ it continues to fulfill its mission with passion and creativity.

Sharon Ely Pearson, Editor and Christian Formation Specialist with Church Publishing Incorporated

Virginia Theological Seminary (M.A.C.E.)

She lives in Norwalk, Connecticut and is a volunteer assistant at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Wilton, Connecticut.