By Meg Rooney and Aaron Weaver
DECATUR, Ga. — When Harrison Litzell began asking how worship could be more hospitable to neurodivergent children, he wasn’t thinking about a grant proposal. He was thinking about the kids and families he encountered in churches—those who didn’t quite fit the mold and often weren’t sure if they belonged.
“My interest in neurodivergence and children in worship grew out of my own ministry experience,” said Litzell, program coordinator at Mercer University’s Baugh Center for Baptist Leadership. He had seen firsthand how neurodivergent children and their families were often sidelined by traditional approaches to children’s ministry. “There were so many churches who were asking these questions for a variety of different reasons,” he said.
That early interest has grown into a key component of a five-year initiative led by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF) to help churches nurture the spiritual lives of children through worship and prayer. Funded by a $1.25 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc., the initiative equips congregations to make worship spaces safe and inclusive for all children—especially those who are neurodivergent or have disabilities—while engaging kids as active participants in prayer and worship.
Litzell said a core goal is ensuring that “when we include children, we include all children from the start,” giving special attention to neurodivergent children so none are left out.
From inclusion to collaboration
Thanks to a generous grant from Lilly Endowment Inc, CBF was able to start the Thriving Children’s Initiative on nurturing children through worship and prayer.
In churches, the conversation is shifting from simple inclusion toward true collaboration with children in worship. “In a lot of what I do, I’ve even moved beyond the language of inclusion,” Litzell explained. “Often I’ll use the language of collaboration. I think of inclusion as an on-ramp on an interstate—we have this interstate, what can we do to make sure people have access to what we’re doing. But when I think of collaboration… [it’s] saying, because of your presence here, what might it look like for us to all worship together?”
This means adapting worship not just for children but with them. Litzell recalls a mentor’s insight that “when children are involved in worship, it shouldn’t be an opportunity for us to teach them how to worship, but instead an opportunity for them to worship.”
Rather than simply instructing kids on proper behavior, churches are encouraged to ask, “How do children connect with God, connect with the community, and what can we do to support them in that?”
Why churches are seeking change
Several trends are driving churches to rethink children’s spiritual formation in worship. One is a growing awareness of neurodiversity in society at large.
“There’s more awareness around neurodivergence, and churches are realizing that the practices, policies, and procedures they have in place are ineffective,” Litzell said.
Harrison Litzell, program coordinator at Mercer University’s Baugh Center for Baptist Leadership, speaks at the CBF Thriving Children’s Initiative event in Waco, Texas.
Routines that worked for past generations may not serve children with autism, ADHD, sensory processing differences or other forms of neurodivergence. As congregations come to recognize these needs, many are looking for new approaches so that neurodivergent kids feel truly at home in church.
Another wake-up call for congregations is the noticeable absence of young families in some churches.
“I talk with a lot of churches who are in a place where they’re like, ‘We don’t have a children’s ministry. There aren’t young families and children in our church,’” Litzell noted. “So it gives them this opportunity to say, what does it look like for us to completely reimagine worship?”
Whether motivated by an empty nursery or by parents’ desires for family worship, “so many different churches are coming to these questions from different places with different motivations,” Litzell said—yet often arriving at the same solution: “Hey, let’s all gather here together. What does it look like to worship together as a community?”
Equipping churches for neurodivergent inclusion
“Neurodivergence is simply the atypical experience of how a person’s brain functions,” Litzell explained. “It refers to differences in areas like sensory processing, executive function, and social interaction. The term grew out of the autistic community, but it also includes ADHD, learning disabilities, and other ways people’s minds work differently. Neurodivergent people may benefit from different kinds of support in community life—and that includes how we worship together.”
CBF Texas Coordinator Ellen Di Giosia shares about inclusive worship at the Thriving Children Initiative gathering.
Through the Lilly-funded Thriving Children initiative, CBF is providing practical tools to help congregations welcome children of all abilities and needs. Litzell has already begun hosting regional training workshops on neurodivergence and children’s ministry—one took place in Waco, Texas, this fall, with another set for February in Richmond, Va., and more planned in 2026 and 2027.
These workshops introduce church leaders and volunteers to the basics of neurodivergence and offer strategies to create calmer, more accommodating environments. CBF will also release a series of short “Neurodivergence 101” videos with discussion guides, explaining “what does neurodivergence mean and what does it look like in our churches?” Litzell shared.
Crucially, the initiative also coaches churches in practical planning for inclusive worship. Volunteers are learning to think ahead with flexible “Plan A, B, C” approaches for those moments when things don’t go as expected.
“We plan for Plan A, and then as soon as we move away from Plan A, we’re like, well, I’ve never even considered this to happen—what do I do now?” Litzell said. In fact, “we try to talk through plan A, plan B, plan C, and if we move all the way to plan Q, okay, this is what we’re doing at this point,” he said with a laugh. By mapping out scenarios, churches can respond calmly and compassionately to sensory overload or meltdowns. These preparations replace panic with an agreed-upon game plan.
Another key element is fostering a network of churches who can learn from each other’s experiences. “I wanted to create opportunities for generosity among churches to share with each other,” Litzell said of the initiative’s design. “Okay, let’s try something new and let’s see if it works. And if it works, let’s share. And if it doesn’t work, let’s share that too.”
Children are the Church now
Underpinning this initiative is a conviction that children are not merely “the future of the Church” – they are the Church right now. Litzell challenges the old assumption that adults must introduce children to God.
“Children are spiritual beings. They have a relationship with God,” he said, “and our role is not to introduce them to God, but to give them the language, the experiences, the opportunities to make meaning of their relationship with God that they’re already experiencing.”
Because children already have genuine faith experiences, they can fully participate in worship today. “Children aren’t the future of the church. They are part of the church now,” Litzell stressed. “It’s not that one day perhaps they’ll have a relationship with God. It’s that they are experiencing who God is now.”
At the Thriving Children Initiative event in October, participants gathered to learn how congregations can better support children through worship, prayer, and welcoming spaces for families of all abilities.
Engaging the whole congregation
This work can’t rest solely on children’s ministers. “It requires whole-congregation conversations,” Litzell emphasized. Often, he begins by asking churches, “What does it mean to worship? Why do we gather? What are we trying to achieve?” Clarity around those questions is essential before introducing new practices.
And when churches adopt inclusive practices for kids, the impact ripples outward.
“People say, ‘Oh, this is something we’re talking about to include children, but this would benefit me as well,’” Litzell said. “Yeah, that’s the beauty of inclusion – it so often impacts more people than we originally intended.”
CBF’s Thriving Children initiative continues to develop training events, video resources and opportunities for congregations to connect and share. Churches of all sizes are encouraged to join the effort and reimagine worship spaces where every child can connect with God and community—just as they are.
Learn more at cbf.net/children.