Sara Heacox Sosa

Academics Faculty

Sara Heacox Sosa

Email: sara-sosa@bethel.edu

Job titles

  • Assistant Professor and Program Director of Children, Youth, and Family Ministry
    Children's & Family Ministry (M.A.) Bethel Seminary
    Children's, Youth, and Family Ministry Certificate Bethel Seminary

Highlight

I am excited to be in a role where I can equip leaders for ministry to children, youth, and families! I have served in a variety of ministry roles, including pastor, consultant, and speaker. I am an ideator, strategist, and researcher who loves following trends and discovering new pathways for ministry. Outside of Bethel, I am also the Executive Director of an online community called LunchBox, built to network, resource, and train children and family ministry leaders. I have two adult children and a yellow Lab, all of whom are successfully living their best lives! I appreciate a good latte, walking through the woods in any season, and living with a sense of wonder in everything I do.

Started at Bethel

2024

Education

  • University of Wisconsin - B.A. in English, History, and Medieval Studies, 1992
  • North Park Theological Seminary - M.A. in Christian Education, 1995
  • Bethel Seminary - D.Min. in Church Leadership, 2019

Biography

Sara Heacox Sosa serves at Bethel Seminary as the Assistant Professor and Program Director for the MA in Children's, Youth, and Family Ministry. She also serves as the Associate Director of the Cory Center in the area of Global Initiatives. In this role, she serves on the Global Children's Forum Academic Alliance where she advocates for the inclusion of children as a serious topic of consideration in biblical higher education. Sara earned her BA in English, History, and Medieval Studies from UW-Madison (1992), her MA in Christian Education with an emphasis in Youth and Families from North Park Seminary (1995), and her DMin in Church Leadership from Bethel Seminary (2019). For over 30 years, Sara has served in a variety of ministry roles including pastor, consultant, speaker, and adjunct professor. She is an ideator, strategist, and researcher who loves to follow trends, discover new pathways for ministry, and equip leaders. 

Courses taught

Bethel Seminary

  • Global and Missional Children's Ministry
  • Pastoral Care for Children and Families
  • Spiritual and Personal Formation
  • Introduction to Children, Youth, and Families
  • The Teaching and Learning Process
  • Ministry to Families Across the Life Cycle
  • Leadership in Children, Youth, and Family Ministry

Evangelical Theological College

  • Childhood in Cultural Context and Biblical Parenting
  • Pastoral Care for Children and Families

North Park Seminary

  • Leading and Teaching in the Church
  • Intergenerational Communities: Children and Families in the Church
  • Christian Education and Formation in the Church
  • NextGen Ministry in Context

Awards

Lilly Grant for Support for Nurturing Children Through Worship and Prayer Initiative II program (ECC, 2024)
LunchBox Development Grant (NWC, 2023-24)
Recipient of the William A. Fretwell Memorial Thesis Award (Bethel, 2019)
Recipient of the Dissertation with Distinction Award (Bethel, 2019)

Publications

Sosa, Sara Heacox. 2023. Disciple, Interrupted: Stories from Between the Lines. Kindle Direct Publishing.

Sosa, Sara Heacox, et. al. "Start Small, Think Big: The Place of 'the Next Generation' in Biblical Higher Education." Journal of Global Christianity 10, no. 1 (2026). https://trainingleadersinternational.org/jgc/181/start-small-think-big-the-place-of-the-next-generation-in-biblical-higher-education.

Presentations

Spiritual Care Certificate Cohort, International Network of Children’s Ministry (October 2025 to June 2026) Facilitated the cohort and taught course material that aligns with Bethel Seminary’s Pastoral Care for Children, Youth, and Families course.

Children’s Ministry Leaders’ Fall Retreat, Covenant Pines Bible Camp, MN (November 2025). Planned and led this retreat for nine leaders from the Northwest Conference of the Evangelical Covenant Church.

Sunday School Class, Mill City Church, Mpls, MN (November 2025) “Bible Project Exodus Way Deep Dive Class”

Decade of Discipleship (Brazil) "Is it possible to disciple children and adolescents in the context of the Church without their parents?" (November 2025)

Online Learning Cohorts, Evangelical Covenant Church (2022-2026)

  • “Mind the Gap: Intentional Discipleship from Birth through Twelfth Grade” (July 2022)
  • “Ages and Stages of Development” (February 2023, February 2024)
  • “Personality Assessments: How God Put You Together” (October 2023, October 2024)
  • “Soul Care: Honoring God’s Design in You” (October 2024)
  • “How Wonder Catalyzes Faith” (March 2025)
  • “How Wonder Deepens Faith” (March 2025)
  • “How Wonder Connects Faith” (March 2025)
  • “How Wonder Inhabits Faith” (March 2025)
  • “Pastoral Care for NextGen Ministry (February 2026)

Keynote Speaker for Regional Awana Missionary Conference, DesMoines, IA (October 2025) “Nurturing Lifelong Faith in the Rising Generations”

3CA Conference, Alexandria, MN (2025-2026)

  • “Behavioral Shifts in Children Post-Covid” (February 2025)
  • “Camp-Home-Church: Partnering in Child Discipleship” (February 2025, 2026)
  • “Beyond the Burnout Badge: Strategic Tools for Resilient Leadership (February 2026)

ReCharge Conference, St. Paul, MN (2014-2026)

  • “Celebrating Life: Milestones for Every Child & Family” (January 2014)
  • “How to Celebrate Life Transitions” (January 2015)
  • “The Big 3: Building a Relationship that Lasts (January 2020)
  • “Full Ministry on an Empty Tank” (January 2021)
  • “The Science of Faith” (January 2025)
  • “Pastoral Care for NextGen Ministry” (January 2026)

Flourish Grandparenting Conference, Plymouth Covenant Church, Plymouth, MN (2024)

  • “Nurturing Life-Long Faith in the Rising Generations” (May 2024)

Bethel Seminary, St. Paul, MN (2017-2024)

  • Family Ministry Course Guest Presenter, 2017-2022
    • “Equipping and Empowering Families” (2017, 2018)
    • “The Big 4: Goals for Any Ministry Context” (2019-2022)
  • “Seminary for Everyone” Short Course
    • “Awe, Wonder, and Curiosity” (October 2024)
    • “Cultivate Wonder” (October 2024)
    • “Silents to Alphas: Engaging All Generations” (October 2025)

Covenant Pines Bible Camp, McGregor, MN (2014-2024)

  • Pathfinders 3-4th Grade Camp, 2014: “Surf’s Up”
  • Trailblazer 4th-6th Grade Camp, 2016: “Lighthouse”
  • Trailblazer 4th-6th Grade Camp, 2018: “Overflow”
  • Trailblazer 4th-6th Grade Camp, 2023: “Crea”
  • Family Camp, 2024: “Wonder”
  • Trailblazer 4th-6th Grade Camp, 2026: “Power Up”

Evangelical Covenant Church NextGen Conference, Various Locations (2016-2020)

  • “Integrating Family Ministry in Your Church Context” (2016)
  • “Equipping and Empowering Families” (2017)
  • “Helping Families Love Their DNA” (2018)
  • “Three Must Haves for Growing Together in Jesus” (2019)
  • “The Big 3: Building Faith that Lasts” (2020)

Projetto Archippo Ministry Conference, Parma, Italy (May 2017)

  • "A Vision for Partnering with Parents"
  • "Practical Ways to Participate in God's Story"
  • "Celebrating Milestones"
  • "Practical Insights for Ministry to Children and Families"

Certificates and licenses

Certificate in Medieval Studies, Univeristy of Wisconsin - Madison (1992)
Ordained to Word and Service, Evangelical Covenant Church (2003)

Professional organizations, committees, and boards

LunchBox, Inc.: online community for children and family ministry leaders (https://lunchbox.group)
Covenant Pines Ministries Board (2019-2024)
Global Children's Forum Academic Alliance (2025 - present)

Research interests

Dissertation Topic: "Awana Together: Empowering Parents as Spiritual Mentors for their Children"

Teaching specialty

Children & Family Ministry, Church Leadership, Spiritual Formation

Quote

"The invariable mark of wisdom is to see the miraculous in the common."—Ralph Waldo Emerson

Website

https://saraheacox.com