01/09/2023 - Surround Yourself With Supportive People
By: Deborah Gline Allen - Leadership Development Making DisciplesI am envisioning thriving congregations full of supportive people.
Blogs
Blogs
10/11/2022 - Is There a Future for Youth Ministry?
By: Deborah Gline Allen - Making DisciplesWhat do today's teens hunger for and how can we feed them?
09/06/2022 - 5 Effective Keys to Recruiting and Nurturing Your Volunteers
By: Deborah Gline Allen - Leadership Development Making DisciplesThe pandemic has made the recruiting of volunteers a little more challenging, yet people still want to feel needed and know that they have something to offer.
05/10/2022 - The Bridge Initiative Includes and Inspires
By: Deborah Gline AllenNo one stands alone on one side of the bridge.
03/01/2022 - Talking About War with Children & Teens
By: Deborah Gline Allen - Making DisciplesEach one of us has the ability to offer some support.
02/07/2022 - Intergenerational Worship: Edwards Church in Framingham Explores and Experiences the Excitement
By: Deborah Gline Allen - Making Disciples Worship & SpiritualityWelcoming children and families into worshipping as the Body of Christ together!
01/10/2022 - Our Whole Lives (OWL) - Holistic Sexuality Education for UCC Congregations
By: Deborah Gline Allen - Leadership Development Making DisciplesA healthy approach to one’s sexuality.
11/07/2021 - Best Boundary Practices for Faith Formation Church Staff Members
By: Deborah Gline Allen - Leadership Development Making DisciplesWith careful attention, each situation can be managed with successful outcomes.
10/11/2021 - Passing On the Faith Without Sunday School
By: Deborah Gline Allen - Church Innovation Making DisciplesLet us experiment - there can be no mistakes!
08/26/2021 - Faith Formation and the Delta Variant
By: Deborah Gline Allen - Making DisciplesAs followers of the Jesus who welcomes children, let us not forget to protect them.
08/10/2021 - Trained Faith Formation Leaders Needed for Post-Pandemic Times
By: Deborah Gline Allen - Making DisciplesThe SNEUCC Faith Formation Leadership Program offers adaptive skills for faith formation.
06/27/2021 - 7 Ways to Support Your Faith Formation and/or Youth Ministry Leader
By: Deborah Gline AllenUpdated handbooks/guides are now available for search and call as well as support.
05/10/2021 - What Is the Best Age for Confirmation?
By: Deborah Gline Allen - Making DisciplesOR: Is Our Confirmation Model Still Valid for the 21st Century?
04/06/2021 - Let Anyone with Ears To Hear — Sowing the Seeds of Faith
By: Deborah Gline Allen - Making DisciplesSome [seeds] fell into good soil, and when it grew, it produced a hundredfold. (Luke 8:8, NRSV)
03/24/2021 - What We've Learned from the Pandemic - Moving Forward
By: Deborah Gline Allen - Making DisciplesWhat will be the best ways to be the Body of Christ post-pandemic?
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03/08/2021 - Post-Pandemic - The Many Faces of Faith Formation
By: Deborah Gline Allen - Leadership Development Making DisciplesThe question to ask is, "How do we pass on the faith knowing what we know now?"
02/09/2021 - Youth Ministry in Pandemic Times (and Beyond)
By: Deborah Gline Allen - Leadership Development Making DisciplesWalking alongside teens on their spiritual journeys remains our focus.
01/20/2021 - Faith Formation Classes Offer Adaptive Skills During the Pandemic
By: Deborah Gline Allen - Leadership Development Making DisciplesHow do we navigate uncertainty while ministering to our congregations?
11/10/2020 - The Twelve Days of Christmas - At Home This Year
By: Deborah Gline Allen - Christmas Making DisciplesPerhaps the biggest Christmas gift was can give ourselves will be the gift of experimentation, and being allowed to fail at designing “the perfect Christmas.”
10/13/2020 - What To Do with the 400th Anniversary of the Mayflower Landing
By: Deborah Gline Allen - Making DisciplesThis fall is a perfect opportunity for confirmation programs to look back at our history.
10/07/2020 - Breathing Life Into Theories and Practices
By: Deborah Gline Allen - Conference programming Leadership Development Making DisciplesHow will you most effectively walk the path of faith with your congregation?
09/16/2020 - Boundary Training for Faith Formation and Youth Ministry Leaders
By: Deborah Gline Allen - Leadership Development Making DisciplesBlurred boundaries can result for lay staff who are also members of that congregation.
08/20/2020 - An Adult Education Model for Churches, with a Twist
By: Deborah Gline Allen - Leadership Development Making DisciplesIn this time of polarized opinions and beliefs, an attitude of humility toward our approach to the Bible and to each other is surely what God is desiring of us.
08/17/2020 - Lifelong Faith Formation Thrives with Trained Leaders
By: Deborah Gline Allen - Conference programming Leadership Development Making DisciplesWe owe it to our congregations to offer high quality faith formation and youth ministries, particularly during these uncertain times.
06/09/2020 - Can Children Be Racist?
By: Deborah Gline Allen - Justice and Witness Making DisciplesChildren can exhibit racist behavior as early as the age of five.
05/22/2020 - Guidance for Returning to In-Person Faith Formation
By: Deborah Gline Allen - Making DisciplesMany faith formation and youth ministry leaders are wondering just how safe it will be to gather the children and youth in person.
03/12/2020 - Faith Formation Leadership Training Is For Today’s Congregations
By: Deborah Gline Allen - Conference programming Making DisciplesI have been wrestling with the term “Sunday School” for almost as long as I’ve been a Christian educator. I sometimes even take issue with being called an “educator” in ...
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01/07/2020 - Youth Can Thrive in the Southern New England Conference
By: Deborah Gline Allen - Making DisciplesWe are fortunate in the Southern New England Conference to have a wide variety of support for local church youth ministries.
11/19/2019 - What To Do with the 400th Anniversary of the Mayflower Landing
By: Deborah Gline Allen - Making DisciplesWhat do we do with the parts of our congregational history that include colonialism and slavery?
11/12/2019 - What's a Pray-Ground?
By: Deborah Gline Allen - Making DisciplesA Pray-Ground in a service of worship allows children to feel connected to the rest of the Body of Christ.
10/23/2019 - Faith Formation & Youth Ministry for All
By: Deborah Gline Allen - Making DisciplesThe classes offered through the Faith Formation Leadership Training Program are open to ANYONE who wishes to further their education of the Church.
10/09/2019 - Youth Help Super Saturday Attendees Assemble 275 CWS Hygiene Kits
By: Deborah Gline Allen - Conference programming Making DisciplesTwenty-three youth from five Southern New England UCC churches and their leaders gathered for a Youth Program at the Super Saturday event on October 5th ready to put ...
06/18/2019 - Children and Racism
By: Deborah Gline Allen - Making DisciplesThis is a true story of how church educators stood up to a large publishing company to stop perpetuating racism through our children.
05/29/2019 - Many Voices, One Mission: It's All About Relationship
By: Deborah Gline Allen - Conference programming Making Disciples Many Voices, One Mission Together, As One"Faith is more caught than taught." —Debbie Gline Allen
04/03/2019 - Faith In the Home
By: Deborah Gline Allen - Making DisciplesEmpower the parents, grandparents, and caregivers in your congregation to take back their role as Christian educators and faith-formers in the home.
03/19/2019 - Talking with Children After a Tragedy
By: Deborah Gline Allen - Making DisciplesWith the news of last week’s shootings in New Zealand I again offer these resources for talking with children.
02/27/2019 - Retreat!
By: Deborah Gline Allen - Making DisciplesCome outside with us to meet God through Christian community.
02/18/2019 - 7 Ways to Support Your Faith Formation and Youth Ministry Leaders
By: Deborah Gline Allen - Making DisciplesHere are 7 key ways that can ensure your congregation will receive the best from its faith formation staff person.
02/06/2019 - Lent Is For Families
By: Deborah Gline Allen - Making DisciplesParents are the primary and most effective faith educators for their children. So let's help them to celebrate Lent at home!
01/16/2019 - Many Voices, One Mission: This In-Between Time
By: Deborah Gline Allen - Conference programming Many Voices, One Mission Outdoor Ministries Together, As One"What do we do in this in-between time where the answers are not readily apparent, let alone within reach?" —Debbie Gline Allen
01/08/2019 - What Does Effective Intergenerational Worship Look Like?
By: Deborah Gline Allen - Making DisciplesEach congregation has a unique culture, and the process used to transition children into corporate worship will need to be an individualized one.
12/12/2018 - Children and the Christ in Christmas
By: Deborah Gline Allen - Making DisciplesIt is my hope that our children will grow up knowing the true reason we celebrate Christmas. Let's get intentional!
11/13/2018 - This Is How We Grow Christians
By: Deborah Gline Allen - Making DisciplesChildren are constantly taking in what is going on around them, even when they don’t appear to be paying attention.
10/24/2018 - It’s All About Relationships…and Networking…and Resources
By: Deborah Gline Allen - Making DisciplesChristian Education Youth Ministry Communities of Practice provide opportunities to gather monthly to share resources, ideas, and support.
09/18/2018 - Spiritual Development - Children Are "Smarter" Than We Think
By: Deborah Gline Allen - Making DisciplesChildren are capable of understanding way more about God than we tend to give them credit for.
09/05/2018 - Best Practices for Staffing Your Faith Formation Ministries
By: Deborah Gline Allen - Making DisciplesYou have discerned that your congregation needs to hire a Christian educator and/or youth ministry leader. So now what do you do?
08/22/2018 - Three Christian Educators Provide a Legacy
By: Deborah Gline Allen - Making DisciplesThe season of retirement has come for three longtime Christian educators: Merrill Noble, Ruth Ann White, and Nancy Sides. Well done good and faithful servants!
08/01/2018 - Many Voices, One Mission: Forming the Faith of 21st Century Congregations
By: Deborah Gline Allen - Church History and Identity Conference programming Making Disciples Many Voices, One Mission"We need to stop believing that teaching the Bible in an educational setting will bring ...
06/19/2018 - Summer Offers a Little Extra Time to Look at Your Curriculum Materials
By: Deborah Gline Allen - Making DisciplesBefore you head to the beach, bookmark this blog to use when you review the curriculum materials you're using.
05/29/2018 - Talking with Children About Difficult Topics
By: Deborah Gline Allen - Making DisciplesWhile advocates speak out for child safety, who is paying attention to how the children are processing the violence they see in the news?
04/10/2018 - Curriculum - Which Resource Is Best For Your Church?
By: Deborah Gline Allen - Making DisciplesThere are so many Sunday School curriculum resources out there — how do you even begin to choose the best one for your church?
04/04/2018 - Children's Messages - Helpful or Harmful?
By: Deborah Gline Allen - Making DisciplesI have a love-hate relationship with children’s messages. I love that the offering of a children’s message provides a time for talking about God with children within the ...
03/14/2018 - Seeking and Supporting a Faith Formation Staff Member
By: Deborah Gline Allen - Making DisciplesNew and updated resources now available: "Seeking a Christian Educator or Youth Ministry Leader" and "Youth Ministry Handbook"