Planning for Faith Development

During my (Mary Jo’s) recent holiday in the USA, I had the privilege of worshiping in the congregation where I worshiped as a child and teenager. Back then, it was a middle-size congregation, using a middle-size facility, with a very predictable program. It was in this church that I was mentored as a junior Sunday school teacher. Things have changed in the intervening years. The congregation has grown in numbers and moved to a new, much larger facility. Connected with that growth — possibly one of the reasons for it — is the congregation’s deliberate commitment to ministry with children. This includes staffing and a long term plan for faith development. I happened to visit on the Sunday when this was demonstrated with both the installation of the Children’s Ministry staff for the new school year (it starts in September over there) and an infant baptism.

The following information is from their web site:

Faith Journey  

At Grace, we believe that faith in Jesus Christ is a gift from God — given freely, neither earned nor deserved. For some individuals, faith is first realized in baptism. Others realize it first in a conscious process of conversion. Whenever faith begins, its development continues for a lifetime. Taking the Faith Journey means living out a commitment to make Jesus Christ the Lord of Life. 

Children’s Faith Journey (birth - grade 4)  Youth Faith Journey (grades 5-12) 

Faith formation activities at Grace begin with instruction and encouragement for parents of newly baptized children. The faith journey begins in infancy with the Rite of Welcoming a Child, enrolment in Grace’s Cradle Roll, the Rite of Holy Baptism. 

Faith Journey Sunday school classes begin with preschoolers and continue through 12th grade. They follow a 9-year curriculum plan that includes the study of the Bible, Ten Commandments, Apostles’ Creed, Lord’s Prayer, Sacraments, church history and morality as well as leadership and witnessing skills, stewardship and personal spiritual disciplines. 

The Sunday school hour is 9:30-10:30. Children and Youth are expected to worship with their families at 8:00 or 11:00, where most services are fairly traditional, but include children’s addresses. A nursery is available during Sunday morning services and the Sunday school hour for children from infancy to age three. 

In addition to the regular classes, the Faith Journey includes special Sunday afternoon family events and ‘rites’ of passage at various points of the journey, plus camps and service opportunities. The lifelong faith journey continues through many educational and service opportunities for people at different stages of adulthood. 

I didn’t have time to get answers to all my questions, eg: How do they get family commitment? How do they involve children who come to the church at an older stage?

But two things impressed me most as I spoke to people at Grace church about their program.

First is the word ‘expected’. There is a congregation-wide expectation that all children will participate in the entire Faith Journey program, regularly. And that adults would continue the journey. What do our churches ‘expect’ of their families, children and youth?

Second was the plan — the idea that leaders, parents, and children know from the start what they will be doing. They also have a framework that allows them to see how what they are doing at any one point relates to the overall journey. How far ahead are our congregations planning their work with children, youth and families?

Used with permission from Uniting church Mission Resourcing SA, Children and Family