For the project, Hispanic Access will develop a culturally competent toolkit, Niños Gigantes en la Fe (Kids with Giant Faith) for Latino pastors nationwide and in Puerto Rico to use in working with Latino children in their congregations. These bilingual Spanish-English materials will be delivered through monthly gatherings with clergy members, and the toolkit will include videos and activities to help congregations actively incorporate children in their worship and prayer practices and nurture Christian values among them. 

Our goals with the project will be to:

• Support Latino congregations (pastors, children, children ministries, and worship leaders) by creating a sustainable and scalable program to involve children and help them actively participate in the worship and prayer practices of the church
• Support Latino parents/caregivers by developing and providing resources to help them to practice spiritual disciplines with their children
• Actively incorporate children in their worship and prayer practices

“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.” 

Hispanic Access is one of 91 organizations funding through the latest round of the initiative. They represent and serve congregations in a broad spectrum of Christian traditions, including Catholic, mainline Protestant, evangelical, Orthodox, Anabaptist and Pentecostal faith communities. Several organizations are rooted in Black Church and Hispanic and Asian American Christian traditions. 

“Congregational worship and prayer play a critical role in the spiritual growth of children and offer settings for children to acquire the language of faith, learn their faith traditions and experience the love of God as part of a supportive community,” said Christopher L. Coble, Lilly Endowment’s vice president for religion. “These programs will help congregations give greater attention to children and how they can more intentionally nurture the faith of children, as well as adults, through worship and prayer.”