Planting Grow Christians

In the early 2010’s, I was a young mother of young children. Back then, blogging was fresh and new, and I found myself reading parenting bloggers from the Roman Catholic church. I appreciated their focus on practicing faith and living the liturgy at home. I felt deeply at home in the Episcopal Church, but we didn’t seem to have any parenting blogs.

I knew that raising my children in the Christian faith needed more than an hour and a half on Sunday morning. I knew I wanted to cultivate a home life where we practiced faith. But as an adult convert to Christianity myself, I had no idea how to bring that vision to life. 

In those days, I was a half-time Associate Priest. My work focus was the Christian education program of St Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It was easy to implement published curricula, which was my job. But as I talked with other parents there, I sensed the same hunger I felt. We wanted a life of faith together that extended beyond Sunday morning.

Fortunately, I had started attending the “e-formation” conferences hosted by Virginia Theological Seminary in those days. I was experimenting at St Andrew’s with integrating technology into teaching faith. After my first “e-formation,” I decided to integrate my passions for faith formation, digital technology, and creation care, and do something I didn’t know how to do yet. That year, the youth group and I made a video about practicing faith and caring for creation. I also researched how other religious education leaders were integrating the making of videos into the teaching of faith. Then, at the next e-formation conference, I presented a workshop sharing what I had learned.

That year, Scott Gunn, the Executive Director of Forward Movement, offered me a ride to the airport. In the car as we were leaving, he asked my advice on how Forward Movement could step up its offerings to young families. I said, “The Episcopal Church needs a group blog where parents share what it is like to practice faith at home. I’m reading the blogs of Roman Catholic parents to find a digital community, but our faith and values are not the same. Could Forward Movement create a space on the internet where parents can share stories about practicing faith with their children?”

God bless him, Scott said, “yes.” This was when Plainsong Farm was in its first stages of life; I still thought we might grow a digital ministry. So the initial version of the Grow Christians blog was announced as a partnership between Plainsong Farm and Forward Movement. But the $1000/month that Forward Movement contributed as their portion of the costs was also the first funding that Plainsong Farm received. (It was so hard to get funding to start Plainsong Farm that I am not sure it would exist today without this agreement with Forward Movement. Later on, Scott and I agreed that Grow Christians made more sense as a project of Forward Movement.)

We decided to launch in Lent. That gave me the perfect opportunity to ask for the perfect first post. Derek Olsen was happy to write about why he brought his children to Ash Wednesday services. I had a feeling that post would go “church viral,” and it did. We were all pleased with the strong launch, and settled in to grow a community from there. 

I loved beginning Grow Christians, I loved reading Grow Christians, and I loved writing for Grow Christians. I stepped away from it, as from many things, as Plainsong Farm grew to need full-time attention. I am deeply glad Allison Sandlin Liles stepped up when I stepped down, a book grew from the writings gathered here, and that the archives now have a permanent home on the internet. 

May this site provide future parents ways to practice faith at home with their children as members of the Episcopal Church. I give thanks to God for having been part of its beginnings. Glory to God from generation to generation in the church, and in Christ Jesus forever and ever.