Announcement: What’s Next for Grow Christians

Dear Grow Christians community,

After ten years of ministry, Grow Christians will conclude its active publishing in September and become a permanent archive of reflections, resources, and stories shared over the past decade.

When Nurya Parish founded Grow Christians in partnership with Forward Movement, the vision was simple and much needed: create an online space where families could find resources for observing the liturgical year at home through an Episcopal lens. There were crafts, recipes, Feast Day celebrations, and practical ways to help children encounter the rhythms of our faith.

Over time, the needs of our community evolved, and so did Grow Christians. While we continued celebrating Saints, Feast Days, and seasons, the site grew into a gathering place for progressive Christians raising children in faith. I felt this shift most prominently in the submissions received in 2020. Post after post embraced a spirit of “we’re all in this together.” Parents, clergy, youth ministers, godparents, and grandparents wrote about new ways of offering faith formation over Zoom, the struggle of live-streamed worship in the living room, and maintaining community in the midst of mandated social isolation.

Though it felt like a shift at the time, looking back, I recognize that we were simply living into Nurya’s original vision. As an online community, we explored what it means to raise children in the Church, trusting that no one person has all the answers and that faith is nurtured best in community.

And through it all, Grow Christians remained rooted in a vision of a radically loving God whose grace never runs out and whose love embraces every child.

This summer Grow Christians will feature retrospective posts from contributors, including writers from the early years and those who wrote frequently later on. We’ll gradually retire new content and share greatest hits posts. All existing content will be organized into a searchable, indexed archive so that you can continue returning to Grow Christians for ideas, prayers, and support. Even though Grow Christians will no longer publish new content, I am confident that the wisdom and faithfulness contained in this collection will remain a gift to the Church.

If you have a story about how Grow Christians has impacted your parenting, caregiving, or ministry, please share it in the comments below. I truly think of us as a community that gathers strength, prayer, and encouragement from one another as we nurture the faith of children in our care.

Faithfully,
Allison Sandlin Liles, editor