Learning Lab Resources

Easy, budget-friendly worship engagement tools to try today!
Thank you to everyone who spent the day with the ECI Team! It was such a joy to create, craft, and dream together. We really appreciated the ideas that you all shared and your energy for creatively engaging children at your contexts! 

Check out what we did: 

🔗 Amazon List - This Amazon list includes the needed materials for the Make-and-Take projects: Liturgical Ribbons, Prayer Block Kits, Emoji Prayer Bracelet Kits, Magnet Prayer Kits, and the Liturgical Tracker.

🔗 Prayer Bears

• How-to sheet & Theological Why's coming soon! 

🔗 Kid's Bulletins 

• How-to sheet & Theological Why's coming soon! 

🔗 Pew Cards: Expansive Words of Welcome for Families, Congregations, and All our Neighbors 

• How-to sheet & Theological Why's coming soon! 

🔗 "Why" boxes for Worship 

• How-to sheet & Theological Why's coming soon! 

🔗 Magnet Prayers 

• How-to sheet & Theological Why's coming soon! 

🔗 Magnet Prayer sticker for packaging

• How-to sheet & Theological Why's coming soon! 

🔗 Prayer Blocks

• How-to sheet & Theological Why's coming soon! 

🔗 Emoji Beads Prayer 

• How-to sheet & Theological Why's coming soon! 

🔗 Liturgical Ribbons 

• How-to sheet & Theological Why's coming soon! 

🔗 Liturgical Tracker 

• How-to sheet & Theological Why's coming soon! 

Some techy tips from the ECI Team and experts to support your ministries!  

🔗 Slide Show: From Tech Equipping Event at Synod Office 

🔗 Canva: How-to's, tips and tricks, & getting started!

Presentations: PowerPoint, Google Slides, Canva Slides, EasyWorship

🔗 Google Suites: What's available, how to use it, best practices

🔗 Social Media: Utilizing social media for Youth Ministry in 2025 

🔗📕 From Social Media to Social Ministry: A Guide to Digital Discipleship -- Nona Jones

This is where you’ll find our latest sparks and ideas--Check back regularly for updates!

🔗 Global Refuge Neighbor Kits

🔗 Faith Five

🔗 Illustrated Ministries: backpack tags for Back-to-School Blessings!

🔗 Grief Support Gunderson Health: Free monthly resources and sessions for grief-support 

🔗 Illustrated Ministries: RCL Children's Resources 

🔗 Hand Prayer from Bishop Felix:

🔗 Welcoming Pew Card Examples 

Let us know if you have a resource you'd like to share; a book, product, or child engagement tool!

For Pastors, Educators, & Youth Leaders:

• Prayer & Multiple Intelligences: Who I Am is How I Pray -- Bernadette Stankard

• Listening to Children on the Spiritual Journey -- Stonehouse & May

• Teaching Godly Play -- Jerome W Berryman

• Shaped by the Story: Discover the Art of Bible Storytelling -- Michael Novelli

• The Congregation in a Secular Age: Keeping Sacred Time... -- Andrew Root

• Bible Gems to Remember: 52 Devotions (5 word verses) -- Robin Schmitt

• From Social Media to Social Ministry: A Guide to Digital Discipleship -- Nona Jones

• The World is About to Turn: Mending a Nation's Broken Faith -- Rouse & Ingram

• The End of Youth Ministry? -- Andrew Root

• Saying is Believing: The Necessity of Testimony -- Amanda Hontz Drury

• You Can Talk to God Like That: The Surprising Power of Lament -- Abby Norman

• How (NOT) to be Secular: Reading Charles Taylor -- James K.A. Smith

• The Uncontrollability of the World -- Hartmut Rosa

• The Anxious Generation -- Jonathan Haidt

• Children’s Ministry and the Spiritual Child -- Turner & Okholm

• Playing & Reality -- D.W. Winnicott

• Adventures and the Way of Jesus -- Greg Robinson, PhD

• Frogs Without Legs Can't Hear -- Anderson & Hill

• Let's Kill Sunday School (before it kills the church) -- Dr. Rich Melheim

• How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity & the Hidden Power of Character -- Paul Tough

• RICH Learning: Brain Based Learning on Arts Based Platforms -- Dr. Rich Melheim

• Experience = Everything -- Michael Perry

For Parents, Caregivers, & Adults:

• Sticky Faith: Everyday ideas to build lasting faith in your kids -- Dr Powell & Dr Clark

• 150+ Screen-Free Activities for Kids -- Asia Citro MEd

• It Takes A Church To Raise A Parent -- Rachel Turner

• Ash & Starlight: Prayers for the Chaos & Grace of Daily Life -- Arianne Braithwaite Lehn

• When Kids Ask Hard Questions: Faith-filled responses for tough topics -- McCleneghan & Jackson

• Faithful Families: Creating Sacred Moments at Home -- Traci Smith

• The Opt-Out Family: How to give your kids what Technology Can't -- Erin Loechner

For Kids:
*Included for inclusive imagery and expansive theological concepts.

Theological Books:

• A Very Happy Easter: Tim Thornborough

• How Can I Pray? An engaging retelling of Jesus teaching how to pray the Lord's Prayer: Steph Williams

• Board book: God Hears Me (For the Bible Tells Me So)

• Your Amazing Hands: A Training Young Hearts Rhyming Book

• What Are Hands For? Board Book: Training Young Hearts Abbey Wedgeworth, Emma Randall

• I Love You When You're Angry (Winters HeartHug Series) 

• The Gospel (Big Theology for Little Hearts)

• God Made You to Be You

• What Is God Like? Held Evans, Rachel, Turner, Matthew Paul, Tan, Ying Hui, Jonce Evans, Daniel

• God's Very Good Idea:

• Esther-Very-Brave-Bible-Stories

• Books with Theological Themes

• Stone Soup: Brown, Marcia

• The Rainbow Fish: Pfister, Marcus

• The Giving Tree: Shel Silverstein

• Oh, the Places You'll Go! Dr. Seuss