Engaging Disability With The Gospel has received a $1.25 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to establish Room on Our Pew: Making Space for All Children in Worship. This new program will equip churches to implement enduring, inclusive prayer and worship practices for children of all abilities.

The program is funded through Lilly Endowment’s Nurturing Children Through Worship and Prayer Initiative, a national initiative designed to help Christian congregations more fully and intentionally engage children in intergenerational corporate worship and prayer practices. Engaging Disability With The Gospel is one of 91 organizations from a broad spectrum of Christian traditions funded through the latest round of the initiative.

“With this generous grant, the entire mission and ministry of Engaging Disability With The Gospel will be strengthened and expanded,” says Executive Director Ashley Belknap. “We have an exciting opportunity ahead to empower churches to help all children build the skills needed to more fully participate in worship, and we are deeply grateful for Lilly Endowment’s support.”

Room on Our Pew encourages churches to ask the question, “Is there room on our pew for all children, especially those with disabilities?” Building on Engaging Disability’s 17 years of church coaching experience, Room on Our Pew will enroll 100 churches over five years in an 18-month cohort training program. Participating churches will gain the knowledge and skills to better include children with disabilities in Reformed corporate prayer and worship practices.

The initiative will also equip churches, families, and children with engaging, developmentally appropriate, and distinctly Reformed resources, including five accessibility toolkits. These toolkits will reflect the essential elements of a Reformed worship service, including the preaching of the word, the singing of the word, the praying of the word, and the sacraments of baptism and communion.

“Congregational worship and prayer play a critical role in the spiritual growth of children and offer settings for children to acquire the language of faith, learn their faith traditions and experience the love of God as part of a supportive community,” said Christopher L. Coble, Lilly Endowment’s vice president for religion. “These programs will help congregations give greater attention to children and how they can more intentionally nurture the faith of children, as well as adults, through worship and prayer.”