About Us
Who We Are
The Children's Spirituality Summit (CSS) (formerly the Children’s Spirituality Conference: Christian Perspectives) is a Christ-centered and ecumenical organization of scholars and thoughtful practitioners dedicated to promoting informed practice regarding children's spirituality. We currently meet biennially and represent a broad range of Christian faith traditions.
Our key purpose is to create opportunities for dialogue and collaboration between researchers and practitioners through our gatherings and publications. We serve as a thought leader in the global discussion of children’s spirituality from a Christian perspective to influence practice in the varied contexts where children are spiritually formed.
Our Board
Mimi Larson, PhD
Executive Team Member
Dr. Mimi Larson serves as Executive Director of the Center for Faith and Children and Assistant Professor of Educational Studies at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Prior to joining the TEDS faculty, she spent more than 25 years in local church ministry and later served as Visiting Assistant Professor of Christian Formation and Ministry at Wheaton College.
Dr. Larson’s research focuses on children’s faith formation, with particular attention to the early childhood years and the ways faith takes root through relationships, experience, and practice. She serves on the board of the Society for Children’s Spirituality: Christian Perspectives and is co-editor (with Robert Keeley) of Bridging Theory and Practice in Children’s Spirituality: New Directions for Education, Ministry, and Discipleship (Zondervan, 2020).
In addition to her academic work, Dr. Larson regularly consults with churches and ministry leaders, helping them cultivate meaningful, theologically grounded approaches to ministry with children and families. She has also contributed to the development of curriculum for children’s ministry in local church contexts.
Robin Turner, DMin
Interim Board Chair
Robin serves as Catechist at All Saints Dallas where she equips families, creates resources for intergenerational worship, assists the children's ministry team in curricula and training. She's spent over a decade leading and advising Anglican family ministries across the USA and runs a resource website, www.WorshipWithChildren.com. She served as co-editor of Children's Ministry and the Spiritual Child: Practical, Formation-Focused Ministry.
Robin earned her Doctorate of Ministry in Leadership and Spiritual Formation at Portland Seminary and an MA in Christian Formation & Ministry from Wheaton College. She lives in Dallas, Texas with her husband, Sam, who leads an urban Christian school, and their three young children: Davy, Jack, and Caroline.
Kirsten Hitchcock, MA
Secretary
Kirsten Hitchcock is the Director of Children's Discipleship Resources at David C Cook and is the Children's Pastor at The Practice Church. For fifteen years, she has served in many capacities including curriculum and content development, divorce and grief care for kids, and ministry leadership. She is passionate about helping kids discover God's wonder in their everyday lives and supporting families in their spiritual growth. She has an MA in Christian Formation and Ministry from Wheaton College Graduate School and focused her studies on the ontological root of divorce and the spirituality of children. She is a wife and a mom, is an extreme extrovert, and loves to meet people over a cup of coffee.
Dana Kennamer, PhD
Dana Kennamer, Ph.D.
Treasurer
Dana serves as the Associate Dean of the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Abilene Christian University where she teaches courses in early childhood education and children's ministry. Prior to entering higher education, Dana served as a classroom teacher in preschool and elementary grades in Miami, Houston, San Antonio and Abilene.
Dana earned a doctorate from the University of Texas at Austin in Early Childhood Education in 2001. Her dissertation explored young children’s perceptions of God from a contextualist perspective. This research was later included in Children’s Spirituality: Christian Perspectives, Research and Applications under the title Six Children Seeking God. Dana’s other publications include Along the Way: Conversations about Children and Faith, I Will Change your Name:
Messages from the Father for a Heart Broken by Divorce, and Let All the Children Come to Me: A Practical Guide Including Children with Disabilities in Your Church's Ministry.
Despite Dana’s busy life as an administrator and academic, on Sunday mornings you can find her with her kindergarten and first grade friends at church. She has served in children’s ministry at her church in various capacities for almost forty years where multiple generations know her simply as "Teacher Dana."
Robin Barfield, PhD
Dr. Robin Barfield is Lecturer in Practical Theology and Director of the Foundation Award at Oak Hill College, London, UK. He teaches in the areas of children’s, youth and family ministry, practical theology, and digital theology. Robin completed a PhD in children’s ministry, examining the theological and pedagogical assumptions behind Godly Play and evangelical approaches to ministry with children.
Before moving into theological education, he spent nearly twenty-five years serving in local church ministry, particularly in deprived urban contexts in South London and the North West of England.
Robin is the co-author of Sunday DIY and has published in journals including Journal of Youth and Theology, Christian Education Journal, and International Journal of Christianity and Education. His work explores the theology of childhood, spiritual formation, and the ways practitioners can reflect theologically on their ministry with children and families.
Rev. Sarah Becker, MA, MDiv
Sarah Becker is the Children’s Pastor of First Baptist Church Elm Mott and teaches middle school art at a public charter school. Sarah grew up in the church and grew up in ministry, beginning to volunteer in the church nursery when she was 12 years old. God called her to the ministry when she was 20 years old and laid children’s ministry on her heart while she was in seminary. Sarah holds a Master’s degree in Biblical Studies from Wheaton College as well as a Master’s of Divinity from Northern Seminary. Sarah lives in Waco, Texas and loves hanging out with her niece and nephews, listening to audiobooks, and eating chocolate chip pancakes. She is always searching for new ways to be creative and new art supplies to acquire.
Tim Beilharz
Tim Beilharz is the Kids Pastor at Soul Revival Church, author of The Child In God’s Church, and co-host of both The Shock Absorber and the Cross Formed KidMin podcasts. Tim lives in the southern suburbs of Sydney with his family, where they don’t have much, but they do have books.
Stacey J. Davis, PhD
Dr. Davis’s passion is helping others discover their gifts and talents for works of service which
the Lord Jesus Christ planned for them. Before joining the faculty of Dallas Theological
Seminary, her vocational ministry experience included ministry positions at Saddleback Church, Willowcreek Community Church, and Mariners Church.
She holds a PhD in Educational Studies from Talbot School of Theology, and her research interests include children’s spirituality, the teaching and learning process, and ministry effectiveness. She is thankful for the opportunity to serve the students at Dallas Theological Seminary and prays Numbers 6:24-26 for herself and her students: May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you His favor and give you His peace.
Natalie Frisk, ThM
Natalie Frisk has served in pastoral ministry and spiritual formation for nearly 20 years. After earning a Master’s in Theological Studies from McMaster Divinity College and spending thousands of hours ministering with children and youth, she now focuses on curriculum development and equipping church leaders. Natalie is the author of Raising Disciples: How to Make Faith Matter for Our Kids and a few children’s books. She regularly speaks to churches, ministry leaders, and parents about helping the next generation develop a meaningful and lasting faith.
Natalie currently serves as the Director of Curriculum for RaiseUpFaith. She lives in Brantford, Ontario, with her husband, Sam, and their teenager, Erin.
Joseph Seo, PhD
Joseph Seo is a pastor in the Family and Children's Ministry. He has been serving a Korean American church in the Chicagoland area for the past 16 years. He received his B.A. in Linguistics (Turkish) from Osaka University of Foreign Studies, M.Div. from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, a M.A. in Christian Formation and Ministry from Wheaton Graduate School, and a Ph.D. from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. The field of his specialization is children's faith formation in immigrant families and the influence of the parents on their children.
Joseph was born in Seoul, South Korea, and raised as a missionary kid in Osaka, Japan. He is married to Joo, a wise God-fearing woman, and has a son, Hymn, who loves fishing and soccer.
Henry Zonio, PhD
Dr. Henry Zonio is passionate about the church more intentionally being the light Christ calls it to be rather than contributing to the darkness. Henry is a sociologist and expert on how children’s religious education contributes to race and gender inequities in society. His research focuses on children/adolescence, social inequalities, religion, and education. Henry brings 25+ years of practical children’s ministry in the United States and Canada to his research. He also has written articles for a variety of children’s ministry trade magazines and authored book chapters on child research methodology and children’s spirituality. In addition to writing and speaking on issues of diversity in the church, Henry has been the Director of the Center for Academic Excellence at Asbury University since 2021 and has taught sociology courses at the university since 2014.