Video summary

How to introduce faith in a busy toddler group - Thriving Families Conference June 2026

Main summary

Key takeaways

Educational

Main ideas & lessons

  • Introduce faith through the daily rhythms of toddler-group life—not only through formal religious teaching.
  • Understand and use “spirituality” and “faith” as related but different realities:
    • Spirituality is described as present in everyone (an innate human capacity / “roots”).
    • Faith is the outward expression and development of spirituality—often shaped by religious practice (“leaves”).
  • Routines help children and carers feel safe, secure, and belonging, supporting spiritual flourishing.
  • Rituals give meaning:
    • They can be religious (baptism, worship, prayer services),
    • or everyday/relational habits that carry spiritual significance.
  • Create “awe and wonder” moments (often unnoticed by adults) so children can experience God-shaped wonder in the present moment.
  • Build “mogs” (moments of grace)—short, profound, spiritually significant moments that happen naturally with children.
  • Use child-led, multi-sensory, playful approaches so children can encounter God directly and confidently (not only through adults).
  • Include reflection and care for leaders/volunteers after sessions (including supervision where needed) to process what helpers experienced.
  • Make toddler ministry visible to the whole church through thanks, reporting, commissioning/recognition—so the invisible work is valued as real church ministry.

Key concepts explained (Ronnie Lamont)

1) Language for faith: use shared “translation”

Ronnie humorously references a “Babel fish” idea (from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy) to suggest:

  • If you use different “faith language” from your audience, find a way for everyone to understand and translate into shared meaning.

2) Routines vs. rituals

  • Routine: a sequence of actions regularly followed.
  • Ritual: a series of actions done with some importance, often in a prescribed order (not necessarily solemn or religious).

Why this matters for toddler groups

  • Routines structure the day and reduce anxiety—especially important for young children and neurodivergent children.
  • Rituals create expectation and meaning, shaping belonging and spiritual sense.

3) “Mogs” (Moments of Grace)

Ronnie defines mog as:

  • A special, transient, quiet moment of profound thought/awareness—like “bottling” the moment afterward.

Children may not consciously notice these moments, while adults often need to tune in.

Why it matters

  • Children’s spirituality can appear in ordinary speech and small moments.

Example

  • A child says: “God must have enormous boots.” (God is “wearing big boots” like the vicar’s large footwear—childlike understanding with depth.)

4) Examples of rituals (ordinary and spiritual)

Ronnie lists rituals across life, community, and family culture, including:

  • Church rites
    • Baptism
    • Marriages
    • Funerals
  • Church-related family moments
    • Assemblies / collective worship
    • Gift events
    • Transition events (children leaving toddler groups or moving through age stages)
  • Family and relational rituals
    • A granddad tradition: tomato soup + cheese on toast (“tradition demands it”)
    • A bath-time song that calms a baby (parents sing; the child becomes still)
    • Sports superstition (Marcus Rashford): clicking heels four times, speaking a word to his nan—believing a missed penalty was due to not doing it
    • Board game ritual (Carcassonne): lining up pieces as a meaningful habit

5) Routines in toddler groups: belonging and familiarity

Ronnie emphasizes that toddler groups can be more than activities—they can become:

  • “Church for us” (a place families genuinely feel part of)
  • A major day of belonging, especially for families facing hardship.

She references NISA research highlighting that:

  • Singing, sharing food/drink, and consistent session routines create
    • familiarity and belonging
    • sustained community
    • transition cues (signs) that help children feel part of the group

6) Awe and wonder as spiritual flourishing

  • “Awe and wonder” is presented as a key marker of spiritual flourishing (aligned with Ofsted language).
  • Adults often miss wonder moments.

Example

  • A child staring at stained glass and saying “cobwebs”—a quiet sacred discovery moment.

Practical implications

  • Design activities that intentionally create wonder.
  • Go outside where nature supports wonder.
  • Include calming practices that allow stillness.

7) Stillness/quiet with children (and unchurched carers)

Ronnie offers ways to introduce gradual “grace” moments:

  • Outside spaces for birds/insects
  • A small ritual: song → silence → prayer/silence to close
  • Stillness supports “here and now” engagement
  • Children can practice silence; she cites a rule of thumb:
    • ~1 minute per year of life

She also suggests non-threatening focus tools:

  • Candle-like focal points (with appropriate safety)
  • Calm music
  • “Sleeping bunny” style quiet practices (mentioned by others)

8) Godspot and session design (critical question)

Ronnie raises a challenge:

  • If you have a designated “God spot” and move into another room/space, does it imply:
    • God is only “in” the new space?

She frames the intent as:

  • The focus should be being with Jesus together, not spatial “God containment.”

9) Volunteers: faith vs spirituality awareness

A key point:

  • Volunteers/helpers need to understand faith and spirituality are not the same thing.
  • Everyone has spirituality; faith is how it’s expressed and developed.
  • Parents/carers need language to interpret children’s spirituality rather than dismissing it.

10) Reflection & safeguarding culture

After sessions:

  • Provide a space for helpers to reflect on:
    • what moved them
    • what they noticed
    • any concerns
  • If someone has been personally affected, ensure appropriate safeguarding/supervision and support.

11) Value and visibility to the whole church

Ronnie strongly argues that toddler ministry is often invisible within church life. She calls for a ritual of thanks:

  • feedback to the team
  • commissioning services
  • recognition in annual reports
  • prayer for volunteers

The work “makes church possible” by relationally serving families.

Practical methodology/tools (Sarah Cornweight)

A) Core aims (the “building block of faith”)

Sarah encourages leaders to be ambitious and keep a simple, clear message for each session—called a building block of faith.

  • Make the key aim explicit and tie everything back to it.

Techniques to reinforce the aim

  • Shout-outs / whisper-outs / “robot voice outs” (repeated spoken reminders)
  • Repetition
  • Sensory play
  • Creativity
  • Help children and families understand “what we’re doing and why” in accessible language.

B) “Encounter Fun” play tool (multi-sensory, child-led)

Sarah’s play tool is described as:

  • Play and sensory play
  • Multi-sensory ways to explore faith
  • Harnessing childlike heart (wonder, curiosity, imagination, questioning)
  • Empowering parents/carers to bring God into everyday life
  • Slowing down and being child-led

Method: open-ended and child-led structure

  • Prefer open-ended activities over fixed outcomes.
  • Model it so parents/carers can join and learn.
  • Use what children are doing as the spiritual entry point.
  • When appropriate, “play out the story” while guiding toward the session’s building block of faith.

Example “Encounter Fun” activities

  • “Holy Spirit fill me up” (using containers/pots)
  • “Happy hearts” (heart cushions/soft toys; exploring God’s love)
  • “Jesus love hugs”
    • pass around a cushion/toy slowly
    • speak truth over children/families (e.g., “Jesus love for me is like a great big hug”)
  • Windmill / wind-of-the-Spirit exploration
  • Using “Encounter zone” cards/resources (downloadable session materials)
  • Context variations:
    • resources for church-faith settings
    • resources for exploring faith with unchurched families

How adults participate (practical guidance)

  • Comment on what children are doing.
  • Ask open-ended questions:
    • “Tell me about that”
    • “Explain what’s happening”
    • “Describe it to me”
  • Speak truth gently while children engage (without forcing outcomes).

C) “Adventure Times” prayer tool (imagination + Jesus friendship)

Sarah presents Adventure Time as a prayer/imagination practice with goals:

  • Experience Jesus’ love and friendship directly
  • Help children learn to hear/see/sense Jesus
  • Build confident, joyful friendship with Jesus (without needing an adult as mediator)

Method structure

  • Simple, short, and designed for very young children
  • Use imagination to open the “door of the heart”
  • Jesus is presented as knocking/coming (based on Revelation 3:20)
  • Keep it short (attention spans are limited)
  • Use the daily/weekly theme already in the session

Example themes she gives

  • Being in a Bible story (e.g., in a boat with Jesus noticing the fish)
  • Seeing “Daddy God” in heaven and giving him a high five
  • Hide-and-seek with Jesus
  • Jesus finding a child who feels afraid
  • Angels in the room
  • Pebble/beach imagery: Jesus comes to find the child, then the child plays

Participant experience she models

  • A brief prayer, then guided imagination:
    • imagine the heart as a home with windows and a door
    • Jesus walking up a path, knocking
    • invitation: do you open the door?
    • what does Jesus say/show/give?

D) Additional advice from the Q&A portion

Quiet moments for unchurched families

  • Introduce with:
    • a quieting song + breathing + look at a candle
    • or time awareness (e.g., watch a second hand go around for one minute)
  • For toddlers/younger:
    • use tactile/comfort items (shells, heart cushions), blankets, snuggling, “sleeping bunnies,” bubbles

Quiet with neurodivergent children

  • Advice focuses on:
    • variety across the session
    • accessible options for different needs
    • “don’t expect children to sit quietly”—try quiet-like moments at different points
  • Parents/carers are treated as the best experts on the child’s needs.

Training volunteers who don’t feel confident

  • Model first
  • Create atmosphere and expectation:
    • God is present; helpers are part of the team
  • Use “baby steps” and small roles
  • Celebrate progress and learn from mistakes
  • Reframe roles (e.g., tea-making is ministry; relational care is spiritual formation)

Workshop/Session flow elements emphasized across both speakers

  • Use session routines so children and carers know what’s coming.
  • Include:
    • community-building (songs, stories, shared food/drink)
    • wonder (nature, objects, sensory exploration)
    • mogs (notice and value profound moments)
    • quiet/reflective rituals (small and safe, with props/tools where needed)
    • volunteer reflection and support after the session
  • Ensure the ministry is communicated and valued by the whole church.

Speakers / sources featured

Speakers

  • Melanie K — managing director of Roots for Churches (webinar host/introducer)
  • Ronnie Lamont — priest (ordained 1994), spirituality/children’s spirituality author and educator
  • Sarah Cornweight — children’s faith formation leader (Adventure Times / Adventures with Jesus)

Organizations / groups mentioned

  • Ecumenical group including:
    • Methodists
    • United Reformed Church
    • Quakers
    • Church of England
  • 1277 Make Them Count Network of Toddler Groups
  • Roots for Churches
  • NISA (NISA group / Anglican growing faith movement context) — including homes, schools, and church relationships

Reports / publishers / authors/books mentioned

  • Faith in Children (Ronnie’s book)
  • Understanding Children Understanding God (Ronnie’s book)
  • The God Who Leads Us On (Ronnie’s book)
  • Faith in the Nexus report (referenced multiple times)
  • A Family Matter by Cláir Lynch (spelled in subtitles as Cla Lynch)
  • The spiritual child by Lisa Miller
  • Seeing the wood for the trees (Sarah Brush’s faith development theory; exact subtitle phrasing is approximate)

Other named references

  • Douglas Adams (Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy “Babel fish” reference)
  • Marcus Rashford (superstition ritual example)
  • Gareth Southgate (BBC example reference)
  • Ofsted (language for awe/wonder and spiritual flourishing)
  • Graham Kassen (researcher referenced re: awe and wonder)
  • Revelation 3:20 and Revelation 4 (biblical basis for Adventure Times)
  • Matthew 18; Luke 18:16–17 (Jesus and children verses)

Original video