Godly Play materials work together to provide a faith formation experience for children that is Bible-based, tactile, engaging, and inviting. Godly Play brings the Bible to life through storytelling and invites listeners to "wonder" their way into its meaning for their lives. Godly Play functions as a spiritual practice that is adaptable to all ages and many settings.

CPI has long been involved in the publication of Godly Play print resources. The new agreement, effective June 1, expands and deepens that involvement, making CPI the sole purveyor of all elements of the Godly Play program.

"For the past two decades, Godly Play has been increasingly recognized as a dynamic spiritual practice that is changing the way children understand God and transforming lives," said Davis Perkins, CPI's publisher. "I'm delighted that Church Publishing is able to help this vital movement in Christian formation grow globally and expand programmatically in exciting new directions."

Inspired by the pioneering work of Maria Montessori and the movement she created that honors the child's natural sense of the sacred, the Godly Play Foundation, a non-profit educational organization, was created by the Rev. Dr. Jerome W. Berryman, an Episcopal priest.

Godly Play has as its mission the nourishment of the spiritual and moral development of children through training and educating teachers and conducting research. The Godly Play Foundation works with adults as well as children in churches, schools, hospitals, families, and varied faith communities, and calls the result of its approach to spiritual formation, "playful orthodoxy."

Berryman hailed the agreement with CPI as an exciting way to "expand the ability of Godly Play to meet the spiritual needs of children around the world in ways that could not have been imagined 10 years ago. God laughs and plays."
 

"This is a truly satisfying moment," said Tim Alderson, president of the Godly Play Foundation. "This strategic alliance…renders achievable the lofty goal of inviting every child in the world into a Godly Play circle… These children grow up to be adults who know how to live in peace… I actually believe this alliance has the potential to change the world."

The Very Rev. Rebecca L. McClain, the foundation's executive director, said the alliance with CPI "has been achieved because of our passion for the stories we share and the children we seek to serve around the world. We are committed to work together in a spirit of wonder."

Last October, Perkins announced the creation of a new Morehouse Education Resources division under the CPI umbrella.

"Our expanded relationship with Godly Play promises to be a dynamic alliance," said Perkins upon the signing of the new agreement, "and one that is mission-critical to expanding the reach of this creative spiritual practice globally."