About - The Connectional Journey

About The Connectional Journey

The idea behind The Connectional Journey is to provide ideas to create a space where all generations old, young and the in-between can be shaped by God’s Story through Family Ministries and Intergenerational Experiences. All of us, parents/grandparents and Ministry Directors need to develop strategies to reach our young people’s hearts so they can rest in Jesus until they have such joy over His beauty and what He’s done for them that it spills out into the way they live.

This website includes podcasts that were created to help churches design intergenerational worship experiences that brings all ages in the family of God together. In these worship designs, there are ideas for including children in worship for our Covid-19 Safe Spaces during these unprecedented times. Family Devotions connecting with educational goals are also included for creative hands-on messages for sharing. Also, outlines are provided for using classic children’s/young people’s literature in a creative way as a springboard for faith formation.

My prayer is that this website will help to connect people to Jesus in creative ways each and every week and to make sure families are fueled with Jesus on their faith journey as parents and grandparents follow Deuteronomy 6:4-9

Deuteronomy 6:4-9

Common English Bible

4 Israel, listen! Our God is the LORD! Only the LORD!

5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your being, and all your strength.

6 These words that I am commanding you today must always be on your minds.

7 Recite them to your children. Talk about them when you are sitting around your house and when you are out and about, when you are lying down and when you are getting up.

8 Tie them on your hand as a sign. They should be on your forehead as a symbol.

9 Write them on your house’s door frames and on your city’s gates.

About the Creator of The Connectional Journey Website

I’m a proud mom of two grown boys and a grandmother of a boy, age 12 and a girl, age 11. I’ve had extensive experiences over the years in developing and designing worship experiences, along with leading children and youth ministries. My passions have been in developing multisensory worship designs, directing children’s choirs and youth choirs, along with leading music camps in churches, camping environments and on Mission Trips in Belize and Slovakia. Presently, I’m an active member of First United Methodist Church in Pulaski, Virginia, on the Holston Conference Children’s Ministry Team of the United Methodist Church and soon will be leading a “Lunch n’ Learn” for the New River District churches focused on Building relationships, Ministering, and Learning & Growing together.

As a Speech-Language Pathologist for 28 years in school settings, hospitals and private therapy, I’ve had comprehensive experience in language learning and literacy with Pre-K through High School students and worked as Adjunct Supervisor of The Speech-Language & Hearing Clinic at Radford University. Throughout my career, I’ve developed skills in the areas of social media, graphic design and various audiovisual platforms including creating and editing online videos .

My passion for ministry and education is fueled by my love of God and growing on my own faith journey. My goals for kids in ministry have always been for those growing disciples in Christ to catch this “rock-their-world” vision of Jesus and to live out their faith journeys so to always connect the cross to every part of their Christian life, including their education in literature and historical fiction and their own living world.

We always need to teach them along the way to notice how God responds in His stories and make sure we let our kids observe our desire to see Jesus in the world through the reading of educational literature. Children and youth are called to be part of the faith-building church at home with family and in close fellowship with others. We need this contagious faith in our own homes and communities of believers each and every day during this unprecedented time in our world.

In His Praise,
Barbara