Division of Biblical Studies-
Faculty

Dr. Holly Catterton Allen
Associate Professor of Christian Ministries
Director of the Children & Family Ministry Program

Course Syllabi:
Foundations and Practice of Children’s Ministry

Holly Allen came to JBU in 2003, returning to her home state of Arkansas after thirty years living in Tennessee, Iowa, Texas, Austria, and California. She has studied at Harding University (Searcy, AR, B.A., 1973), University of Iowa (M.A., 1983), Abilene Christian University, and Talbot School of Theology (La Mirada, CA, Ph.D., 2002). She directs the Children and Family Ministry program at JBU, teaching courses such as Foundations and Practice of Children's Ministry, Nurturing Spiritual Development in Children, and the Senior Seminar for Children and Family Ministry majors, as well as supervising their internships. She also teaches two graduate courses: Spiritual Formation and the Family and Nurturing Spiritual Development in Children.

Before coming to JBU, Dr. Allen taught at Abilene Christian University (Abilene, TX) and Biola University (La Mirada, CA). She has also taught and worked with public schools in Mississippi, Tennessee, Iowa, and Texas, and has worked in children's ministries with churches in Tennessee and Texas. And for ten years she was actively involved with pro-life issues in Texas at the state and local level.

Dr. Allen's areas of scholarly interest are children's spirituality and intergenerational issues. She speaks regularly at conferences and churches concerning these issues, and has written about them for Lutheran Education Journal, Christian Educational Journal, and other Christian publications; she has also written chapters in two books. In 2002, Dr. Allen taught a course in Hong Kong on Children's Spirituality for the Research Institute of Christian Education, and in 2003 taught the course for Talbot School of Theology. She is currently a co-director for a triennial national conference, the Children's Spirituality Conference: Christian Perspectives last held June 4-7, 2006 near Chicago.

Dr. Allen and her husband (Dr. Leonard Allen) have taught together in many settings around the world including Hungary, Bulgaria, and Japan. They have three adult children and two grandchildren. They enjoy hiking in the wilderness areas of NW Arkansas and playing racquetball together.