Journey With Jesus: An Easter Story

Holy Week can be a tricky time to be in ministry with children and families. Worship services are usually at times that are challenging for young children. The content is graphic. The actions are, at best, harsh. We have a generation of parents that are not as comfortable with our sacred texts because they did not grow up in the pews. We need all the tools we can get to help us make this most meaningful week accessible to children and families. When Journey With Jesus, An Easter Story by Ann Ingalls landed on my desk from Paraclete Press, I snatched it up to see if I had a new tool. Short answer: yes, yes I do.

Journey With Jesus is a sweet little book, sized just right for young children. The text brings us through the events of Palm Sunday through Easter Sunday, told through gentle rhymes paired with soft illustrations. The story is told simply, but gives enough details to help children know that this was not an easy time for Jesus and that he chose to do this for us. The text is nicely spaced, making it easier for the youngest readers to enjoy. 

There are several different ways to use this book in your ministry. Because so many children and families do not make it to worship services during Holy Week, you can bring the story to them virtually. Using Journey With Jesus as the spine, you can have a virtual childrens chapel time on Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. Gather in your Zoom room, have everyone light a candle, pray together, read from Journey With Jesus and the Scripture passage for the day, interact with the stories by drawing collaboratively on the whiteboard, and close in prayer. There is much power in gathering even for 15 minutes, allowing families to interact and worship together. The illustrations provide much inspiration for personal reflection, so you could also use this book for a multigenerational gathering during Holy Week. Bring out the good watercolor paper and watercolors, roll out some butcher paper and put out the tempera paint pots, or even spread the table with printer paper and bring out the paint pens for the youngest ones. Read from the book and have people create their own responses based on what they have heard. Hang their masterpieces around your Fellowship Hall or even use them as liturgical art for the week. This book can also be used during your children’s moments, but know that you won’t have enough time in that setting to discuss questions that will arise about why Jesus chose as he did. It will only take a bit of coordination with your children’s minister, and you can carry this through into your Sunday School time so that you don’t have to brush off the questions that arise. You’ll find that you can get a lot of ministry mileage out of this small book!