Adolescent Faith Formation

Prayer &
Spiritual Life
​This curated list of online resources includes free to use resources (with acknowledgement of the source of the activity) and selected fee-based resources which often offer subscriptions for churches so that the programs can be provided to everyone in the church.

Practices, Activities, and Videos
Building Faith
buildfaith.org
Building Faith, a service of Virginia Theological Seminary, provides hundreds of articles and activities for faith formation with all ages. Use the "Articles by Topics" category to find prayer activities and resources.
Christian Practices: Prayer
www.lifelongfaith.com/practices.html
Lifelong Faith's Christian Practices project has produced faith forming activities - for age groups and for families - with a teaching plan for ten Christian Practices. All activities are included on separate MS Word document so that you can create handouts for sessions, a booklet, online playlists and activities, social media posts, etc. Each Activity can be done in 20 minutes (approximately). ​There are 26 reproducible prayer activities. 
Good Ground Press Online Retreats
goodgroundpress.com/faith/retreats/
Online retreats give you a chance to look at where you are in your journey to God, to be more aware of your journey, and of the loving God with whom you journey.  There are two free youth retreats.
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Ignatian Spirituality
www.ignatianspirituality.com
IgnatianSpirituality.com ® is a service of Loyola Press, a ministry of the USA Midwest Province of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). It offers information on and experiences of Ignatian spirituality from Jesuit and Ignatian sources around the world. IgnatianSpirituality.com provides pathways into the major areas of Ignatian spirituality: prayer, spiritual direction, retreats, and making good decisions. 

Learning to Pray with Fr. James Martin
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFA_2Z1L-3trG2uB4ghong_ QNUTU7j1qB
Based on his book Learning to Pray: A Guide for Everyone, James Martin, SJ has produced six short (3 minute) videos: Five Common Ways to Pray, What is Prayer?, How Can I Deal with Distractions in Prayer?, Why You Should Pray, What Happens When You Pray, and What is Spiritual Direction.  
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Loyola Press Prayer Resources
www.loyolapress.com/catholic-resources/prayer
A resource center with prayers and activities for personal prayer, Ignatian prayer, contemporary prayers, traditional Catholic prayers, and more. 

Praying the "Our Father" with Jesus - A Four Part Program
https://www.bc.edu/content/bc-web/schools/stm/sites/encore/encore-access/our-father.html
In this presentation Michael Simone, S.J. helps us view the Lord’s Prayer through Jesus’s eyes.  This is a personal project that Fr. Simone pursues in addition to his academic research and writing.  Simone reminds us that the library of books we call the Hebrew Bible or the "Old Testament" was the only Bible Jesus knew.  As Simone explores selected phrases or segments from the “Our Father,” he points us to passages and words that may have captivated the mind of Jesus when Jesus uttered that prayer.  Simone’s reflections demonstrate to the modern Christian believer just how powerful a source of revelation the Hebrew Bible continues to be. ​

Saint Mary's Press Resource Center
​www.smp.org/resourcecenter
The Saint Mary's Press Resource Center has resources for download including maps, activities, lesson plans, prayers, articles, worksheets, and videos on many topics in Catholic faith formation. Follow the Prayer link to access resources.
​VCAT - Catholic Video Catechism for Teens: Prayer
http://vcat.org
www.youtube.com/c/ODBFilms/playlists
The Video Catechism for Teens includes videos developed around the Creed, sacraments, morality, and prayer. At the heart of each video is a key message from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, presented in stories and language that make it more understandable for young people. 
Vibrant Faith at Home Activities
​www.vibrantfaithprojects.org/teens--families.html
Hundreds of activities for home and church, created by Vibrant Faith, are available to download as PDFs. Discover the youth activities Prayer. 

Visual Faith Activities 
​www.vibrantfaithprojects.org/visual-faith-activities.html
Vibrant Faith has created 32 Visual Faith Experiences that connect a Bible passage to visual images that you can download as PDFs and use as thematic lessons at home or church throughout the year. There is also a guide for using the experiences on online platforms. Use this visual experiences for personal or communal prayer. 

Wesleyan Resource Center - Youth Spiritual Formation
​resources.wesleyan.org/?fwp_categories=kids&fwp_topics=spiritual-formation
The Wesleyan Resource Center curates theologically Wesleyan and holistic resources motivated to move people from making decisions to trust Christ to actively following Jesus in close discipleship communities. All of the resources are free. Includes small group studies on a variety of biblical and faith themes, seasonal programs, and videos. 

Daily Prayer
3-Minute Retreat 
3-Minute Retreat invites you to take a short prayer break right and spend some quiet time reflecting on a Scripture passage.  
Abide
Abide is a Christian meditation app to stress less and sleep better. Listen to stories based off the Bible. Wake up with the daily meditations that will fuel your mind for the day.
d365 - Devotions 365 Days a Year (Young Adults)
In these devotions, you will read honest struggles and questions, all in the context of real faith. As you read the thoughts of the writers, think about your own response to the scripture for the day. Let the writer’s words serve as background for your own conversation with God. Instrumental music is available for your devotional experience. 
Daily Prayer
Daily Prayer is an experiential app designed to develop long lasting spiritual rhythms of prayer and scripture reading. Join in prayer and read scripture in the morning, midday, and evening, 
Franciscan Media Prayer Resources
f you are drawn to words of inner reflection, Minute Meditations could be for you. If you find strength and solace in the lives of the saints, you’ll love our Saint of the Day. If you are looking for a simple way to pray, Pause + Pray can provide an easy structure to create a daily routine.
God Pauses
​www.luthersem.edu/godpause/
God Pause are short, meaningful daily devotions brought to you by the alumni of Luther Seminary. God Pauses can be accessed online or delivered via email each morning.

Pray As You Go
Pray As You Go is a daily prayer session, designed to go with you wherever you go, to help you pray whenever you find time, and lasting between ten and thirteen minutes with music, Scripture and questions for reflection.