“For more than a decade, Hispanic Access has been committed to serving Latino communities by partnering with a robust network of Latino clergy representing tens of thousands of churches of all denominations,” said Hispanic Access’ President and CEO Maite Arce. “Using our proven model of listening to Latino communities and then walking with them hand-in-hand to respond to their needs, we are excited to launch this curriculum for Latino churches to work with parents to help them nurture faith and practices in their children.”

For the project, Hispanic Access has included the following preliminary guiding discussion topics in the curriculum:

1. Loving God, Loving Others. How do we love our neighbors as ourselves? Living in a diverse society, how do we promote tolerance and respect?
2. Substance Use. What does the Bible say about temperance? What are the scientific reasons why it is dangerous to use drugs? How do we talk with our children about avoiding recreational drug use and not succumbing to peer pressure? How do we set good examples ourselves as parents?
3. Youth Violence and Aggression. What forms of youth violence and aggression are our children facing? Bullying? Gangs? What does the Bible say about love, peace, and gentleness? How can we help our children to respond constructively when they witness, or themselves are victims, of violence or aggression?

Hispanic Access is one of 77 organizations that are receiving grants through this competitive round of Lilly Endowment’s Christian Parenting initiative. Reflecting the diversity of Christianity in the United States, the organizations are affiliated with mainline Protestant, evangelical, Catholic, Orthodox Christian and Pentecostal faith communities. Many of the organizations are rooted in Black church, Hispanic and Asian Christian traditions.

“While we are a secular organization, we uphold and celebrate the key role the church plays in the lives of the Latino communities we are missioned to serve,” said Arce. “It’s an honor to be able to provide the support to Latino communities to help them strengthen their children’s understanding, beliefs and practices around faith and see how this knowledge impacts children’s moral development.”

“We’ve heard from many parents who are seeking to nurture the spiritual lives of their children, especially in their daily activities, and looking to churches and other faith-based organizations for support,” said Christopher L. Coble, Lilly Endowment’s vice president for religion. “These thoughtful, creative and collaborative organizations embrace the important role that families have in shaping the religious development of children and are launching programs to assist parents and caregivers with this task.”

Lilly Endowment launched the Christian Parenting and Caregiving Initiative in 2022 because of its interest in supporting efforts to help individuals and families from diverse Christian communities draw more fully on the wisdom of Christian practices to live out their faith fully and well passing on a vibrant faith to a new generation. In the final roll-out of the project, the final curriculum will be available for free to at least 22,000 Latino churches across the nation. To learn more about the “Nuestras Familias, Nuestros Valores (Our Families, Our Values)” project, please visit https://lillyendowment.org/news/grants-to-help-parents-share-faith-with-their-children/.