Families Are the Future of the Church2014 Los Angeles Religious Education Congress

John Roberto (LifelongFaith Associates)www.LifelongFaith.com

OverviewIf we want vibrant faith in our children, teens, and young adults, then family faith formation needs to be our #1 priority – and we need to devote our time and resources to building strong family assets and strong family faith.How can parishes help individuals and the whole

family weave faith into everyday life? How can we equip today’s family for discipleship and

lifelong faith growth, and support parents and grandparents as faith formers.

Download the Presentation @

www.LifelongFaith.com

Faith Forming Processes1. Caring relationships2. Celebrating rituals and milestones3. Celebrating the liturgical seasons4. Learning the Christian tradition and applying it to life

today5. Praying, devotions, and spiritual formation6. Reading the Bible7. Serving people in need, working for justice, caring

for creation8. Worshipping with the faith community

Faith Forming

ProcessesCaring

Relationships

Rituals & Milestones

Church Year

Seasons

Learning the

Tradition

PrayingSpiritual

FormationReading the Bible

Serving Working

for Justice Caring for Creation

Worshipping

Making a Difference in the Life of Families

1. Nurturing the faith life of parents and grandparents2. Teaching and resourcing parents and grandparents

to provide religious socialization and model the Christian faith and practice

3. Engaging the whole family in worship and community life

4. Equipping families to engage in faith practices5. Building family assets 6. Encouraging parents to develop a warm, supporting,

affirming, and authoritative parenting style

Family Assets Search Institute

A Faith Forming System

Online Life

Daily Life

Church Life

1. Worship2. Prayer3. Sacraments and Rituals 4. Church Year Feasts & Seasons5. Learning Programs

(intergenerational, family, age-group)6. Service & Mission7. Community Life Events

Church Life

Daily Life Through the day: meal times, car times, morning

and bedtime, exits and entries, family sharing times Through the year: church year seasons, rituals and

celebrations Through the lifecycle: milestones and rites of

passage Through key family moments – good times and hard

times, times of joy and sorrow Through life issues and life skills: parenting,

decision-making, financial planning, communication, and more

Connect Church & Daily Life with Online Content

Church Life

Daily Life

Strategies1. Extend church events

into daily life2. Create new formats

and delivery methods for existing programs

3. Create new programming

Online LifeInsights, Experiences,

and Activities

A Faith Forming System

Church Life

Daily Life

Online LifeInsights, Experiences, and Activities

Fashioned around Families

Build an Online Family Formation

Center

Strategy #1Extend an Event

Event or Program

TALKConversation

Activities

LEARNReadListenWatch

ACTPracticesServiceProjects

PRAYDevotions

Bible Reading

Daily Prayer

SHARE Blog

FacebookVideo

Projects

You can extend. . . . Sunday worship Church year feasts and

seasons Sacrament and ritual

celebrations Children, teen, or family

programming VBS and summer camp Mission trips and service

projects Retreat experiences. . . . and more

Share ItBlog/Facebook Question

After Worship Sharing@Home Conversation

Activity

Study It“Taking Faith Home” Sermon Video + Study

GuideDaily Readings

Scripture Commentaries Online Bible Study

Live ItLiving the Message DailyLiving Christian Practices

Service/Mission IdeaAction Project

Pray ItWeekly Table Prayer

Praying with the SaintsAM & PM Prayer

Lectio Divina

Sunday Worship

Example: Sunday Worship

Example: Lenten Season

Online Lenten Experiences: Praying, Fasting, Serving

1. Video Introduction: “Ash Wednesday & Lent in 2 Minutes”2. Video: Getting Ready for Ash Wednesday3. Exploration: “Meaning of Lent”4. Day-by-Day through Lent5. Lenten Calendar6. Lenten Devotional7. Lenten Activities8. Simple Meals in Lent: Recipes for Lent9. Special: Lenten Retreat for Grandparents

Welcome to Lent 2014 in 2 Minutes!

Get Ready for Ash Wed

How much do you know about Lent?

40 Lenten Ideas

Day-by-Day through Lent

A Lenten Calendar

A Lenten Calendar

Lenten Devotional

Lenten Devotional

Living Lent

Eating Simply During Lent

Grandparent Online Retreat

More Resources

How Did I Curate Lent?Criteria:Trusted SourcesAppropriate to the life stageSolid biblical and theological contentSolid liturgical season contentEnriching, do-able, short, repeatable activities that

weave into daily lifeEnjoyable!

How Did I Curate Lent?1. Vibrant Faith @Home: http://vibrantfaithathome.org2. Busted Halo: http://bustedhalo.com3. Church Knows Church:www.chuckknowschurch.com

/archive/16-ash-wednesday4. Loyola Press: www.loyolapress.com/40-ideas-for-40-days.htm5. Luther Seminary: www.luthersem.edu/lent6. Upper Susquehanna ELCA Synod: www.uss-elca.org/2014

-lenten-resources-available-for-free-download7. Catholic Relief Services: www.crsricebowl.org/family-activities8. The Text this Week: www.textweek.com/lent.htm9. Catholic Mom: http://catholicmom.com/kids/lenten

-activities-for-children

Example: Sacrament or Milestone

Parent Faith Formation

Before Baptism

Preparation for and

Celebration of Baptism

Family Faith Formation

After Celebration of Baptism

BAPTISM

FAITH PRACTICES @ HOME

Prayer, Rituals, Bible, Family Conversation,

Service

PARENT FAITH ENRICHMENT

Workshops, Courses,

Online & Digital Resources

PARENTING SKILLSWorkshops, Courses

Online ResourcesSupport Groups

MILESTONES

Baptism Anniversary, First Prayers, Start of

School

FAMILY EXPERIENCES

Church GatheringsSmall GroupsWorkshops

After Baptis

m

Strategy #2Redesign Programs

Create new formats and delivery systems for church-based programsAdult enrichment programParent speaker seriesParent workshopChurch event – worship,

church year celebrations, ritual

VBS – daily updates & children’s presentations

And more. . . .

Stream it Live

Develop Online

Content

Watch on Your Own

Use it in a Small Group

Put in the Online Library

Google+ Hangout• Online Course,

Small Group, Workshop, or 1-1 Mentoring

• Broadcast a Presentation

• Record the Presentation (YouTube)

Strategy #3 Design New Programs

Online Parent Resource Center1. Parent Webinar Series2. Learn: Children and Adolescent Development3. Video: Parenting for the Long Haul4. Learn: Nine Parenting Strategies5. Parent Activity: Develop Positive Values in Children6. Family Activity: Family Communication7. Parent Resources

http://familyfaithformationnetwork.weebly.com/parenting.html

How Did I Curate the Parent Online Center?

1. Vibrant Faith @Home: http://vibrantfaithathome.org2. ParentFurther: http://www.parentfurther.com3. Boys Town: http://www.boystown.org/hotline4. Ted Talks: https://www.ted.com

Family Growth PlanCreate expectations for family participation in learning and church life by providing a yearly growth plan with a variety of options for experiencing the Christian faith through community life. For example: Sunday worship Church year feasts and seasons Service/mission projects Retreat experience Family faith practices @ home, e.g. reading the

Bible, praying, rituals, and more

www.21stcenturyfaithformation.com