The goal of Godly Play is to teach children the art of using the language of the Christian tradition to encounter God and find direction for their lives. Jerome Berryman, who drew upon Montessori philosophies to create Godly Play, outlines six objectives to meet this goal:
- to model how to wonder in religious education, so children can “enter” religious language rather than merely repeating it or talking about it.
- to show children how to create meaning with the language of the Christian tradition and how this can involve them in the experience of the Creator.
- to show children how to choose their own work, so they can confront their own existential limits and depth issues rather than work on the kinds of problems dictated by others, including adults.
- to organize the educational time to follow the pattern of worship that the Christian tradition has found to be the best way to be with God in community.
- to show children how to work together as a community by supporting and respecting each other and one another’s quest.
- to organize the educational space so that the whole system of Christian language is present in the room, so children can literally walk into that language domain when they enter the room and can begin to make connections among its various parts as they work with the lesson of the day and their responses in art or other lessons. (from Teaching Godly Play: The Sunday Morning Handbook by Jerome W. Berryman)