Parents and Faith Formation

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"Parents are the most important factor in the healthy development and faith formation of their children and adolescents!”  
                               - “Parents and Faith Formation.”  Lifelong Faith, Fall 2011, Vol. 5.3, p. 2.

So, what is your congregation doing to help parents learn how to nurture faith in their children?

LFCongregations who seek to start and/or strengthen their faith formation focus and ministry, will want to consider addressing the relationship between parenting and faith formation.  An excellent resource to use for such an endeavor is the Fall 2011 issue of Lifelong Faith, a quarterly journal addressing faith formation across the life span.  The theme of the Fall 2011, Volume 5.3, issue is “Parents and Faith Formation.”   This issue, along with other back issues of Lifelong Faith, are available for a reasonable cost ($5-$9) and make a good resource for distribution and discussion among parents. 

A sampling of the content of the “Parenting and Faith Formation” issue of Lifelong Faith is provided here to prompt readers to think about how their church can help parents nurture the faith of their children.

Jim Burns has written an article entitled "How to Pass Your Faith to Your Kids" [p. 41].  He offers ten practical suggestions for parents to use as they nurture their child’s spiritual development.   These suggestions include:

  1.  Be yourself.
  2.  Don’t limit your conversations on spiritual matters to Sunday morning.
  3.  Let your kids catch you in the act of doing something spiritual.
  4.  Look for natural opportunities to raise spiritual issues.
  5.  Take the posture of a ‘fellow-learner’ as opposed to that of a ‘teacher and student’.
  6.  Utilize media to launch discussions about God and the Christian life.
  7.  Have a plan for family devotional and prayer times.
  8.  Have fun with your kids.
  9.  Get involved in ministry together as a family.
  10.  Disciple and equip your kids.

"Parents and ‘Sticky Faith’ – Building a Lasting Faith in Young People" is another article with practical wisdom.   Authors Powell, Griffin, Crawford and Clap identify factors that enhance faith formation in youth. Their advice?  “The best discussions about faith happen not just when parents ask questions but when parents share their own experiences.” [p. 34].

In addition to insightful, practical articles, this journal provides resource sections.  The resource lists in this issue include “Resources for Parents and Faith Formation,” “Resources for Parenting” and “Websites for Parents”.

Visit http://www.lifelongfaith.com/lifelong-faith-journal.html to view the full content of Lifelong Faith, Volume 5.3 – “Parents & Faith Formation” – and/or to order copies to distribute to the parents in your congregation.