GROWING DISCIPLES IN A DIGITAL AGE John Roberto

Part 1. Lifelong Faith Formation

Lifelong & Lifewide Faith Formation for Everyone!

Faith Formation Goals Churches want faith formation that helps people...  grow in their relationship with God throughout their lives  live as disciples of Jesus Christ at home, in the workplace, in the community and the world  develop an understanding of the Bible and their faith tradition  deepen their spiritual life and practices  engage in service and mission  relate the Christian faith to life today  participate in the life and ministries of the faith community

Holistic Faith & Formation  A way of the head (inform) demands a discipleship of faith seeking understanding and belief with personal conviction, sustained by study, reflecting, discerning and deciding, all toward spiritual wisdom for life.  A way of the heart (form) demands a discipleship of right relationships and right desires, community building, hospitality and inclusion, trust in God’s love, and prayer and worship.  A way of the hands (transform) demands a discipleship of love, justice, peace-making, simplicity, integrity, healing, and repentance. (Thomas Groome)

Faith Forming Processes

1.Caring relationships 2.Celebrating rituals and milestones 3.Celebrating the liturgical seasons 4.Learning the Christian tradition and applying it to life today 5.Praying, devotions, and spiritual formation 6.Reading the Bible 7.Serving people in need, working for justice, caring for creation 8.Worshipping with the faith community

Religious Transmission

Factors Promoting Faith Growth The combination of the following factors makes an enormous difference in religious outcomes during emerging adulthood: 1. the teenager’s parental religion 2. importance of faith 3. prayer 4. Scripture reading 5. lack of religious doubts 6. personal religious experiences 7. having supportive nonparent adults in the church These most influential factors make differences of sizeable magnitude in substantive outcomes.

In these seven factors alone, we have identified some powerful teenage factors associated with and, we think, causing differences in emerging adult religious commitment and practice. 85% chance of being Highly Religious as an emerging adult if you were in the top 25% on the scales of: 1. parental religion 2. prayer 3. importance of faith 4. Scripture reading Factors Promoting Faith Growth

Family Religious Socialization

75% chance of being a Highly Religious emerging adult if you were in the the top 25% on scales of: 5. having support nonparent adults in the church, 6. having personal religious experiences 7. lack of religious doubts Factors Promoting Faith Growth

 Approximately 70% of youth who at some time or other before mid-emerging adulthood commit to live their lives for God, the vast majority appear to do so early in life, apparently before the age of 14.  Most make their first commitments to God as children or during the preteen or very early teen years.  Many religious trajectories followed in the course of life’s development seemed to be formed early in life.

Factors Promoting Faith Growth  Parental Influence: The single most important social influence on the religious and spiritual lives of children and adolescents (and emerging adults) is their parents.  Embedded Family Religious Practices: Effective religious socialization comes about through specific religious activities that are firmly intertwined with the daily habits of family life.

Making a Difference in the Life of Families 1.Nurturing the faith life of parents and grandparents 2.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 practices 5.Building family assets 6.Encouraging parents to develop a warm, supporting, affirming, and authoritative parenting style

Family Assets - Search Institute

Family Assets Families with more assets are more likely to:  Have children who are actively engaged in school and who earn higher grades  Act in socially responsible ways like spending time together serving their communities.  Teach youth to make good decisions.  Foster positive identity and values.  Nurture spiritual development.  Build social-emotional skills.  Encourage healthy life habits.

Daily & Home 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

Settings for Faith Formation

Intergenerational & Generational

ProcessAt ChurchAt HomeIn CommunityOnline Caring Relationships Church Year Feasts & Seasons Learning the Tradition Prayer & Spiritual Formation Reading the Bible Rituals & Milestones Service & Working for Justice Worship Planning Lifelong Faith Formation

2. A Faith Formation Network

New Operating System: Faith Formation Network

Intergenerational Faith Formation

1. Caring: Community building activities, storytelling, mentoring, social events 2. Celebrating: Intergenerational Sunday Worship, whole community sacramental celebrations, milestones celebrations, church year feasts and seasons 3. Learning: Structured IG learning programs (weekly, monthly, small group); incorporating IG learning into age group programming 4. Praying: IG prayer experiences, prayer partner, IG prayer groups, spiritual guides 5. Serving: IG service projects and mission trips (local, global), church-wide service day, monthly IG service, IG service nights at church

New Operating System: Faith Formation Network

Network Programming  A wide variety of diverse faith formation experiences, programs, activities, and resources to match with people’s diverse needs and tailored to their busy lives.  Multiple ways to learn and grow  Online/virtual & Gathered/physical  Mobile - available anytime & anywhere.

Families in the First Decade of Life

Families with Children Faith Formation Network

Family Faith Formation Network

Youth Faith Formation Network

Youth Network

Young Adult Faith Formation Network

Adult Faith Formation Network

Adult Faith Formation Network

Adult Faith Formation Network

Developing Network Programming Current Activities & Programs New Activities & Programs

Three Seasons of Programming Fall Season: September 1 – January 1 Winter/Spring Season: January 1 – May 1 Summer Season: May 1 – September 1

Digital Platform Other Platforms

Connected Faith Formation Virtual & Physical Settings

Extending Church Events with Online Content 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

Extending Worship with Online Content Church Life  Daily & Home Life  Online Life Experience of Worship in the Congregation Sunday worship and lectionary Church year feasts and seasons Church rituals: baptism, communion, funerals, etc. Experience of Sunday worship, rituals, and church year seasons in daily life Reflecting on the sermon and readings at home Practices: Lectio, etc. Application to daily living Online worship, church year, and lectionary resources on the church’s faith formation website Lectionary commentaries online Video reflections and commentary Online activities and projects

Extending a Church Season with Online Content Church Life  Daily & Home Life  Online Life Ash Wednesday Lenten Sunday liturgies Stations of the Cross Lenten prayer Lenten retreat Lenten service Lenten soup suppers Fasting Praying Service/Almsgiving Lectionary reflection Family activities Lenten learning resources Lenten calendar Daily Lenten prayer Weekly table prayer Video resources Online retreat experience Lent

Online & Gathered Programming Flipped Classroom

Personalized pathways for discipleship & faith growth....  Guide people in discerning their religious and spiritual needs  Equip people with the resources and tools to learn and grow at their own pace  Provide mentoring and support for the journey Personalized Faith Formation

Create expectations for participation in faith formation and church life by providing a seasonal/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  Faith home, e.g. reading the Bible, praying, rituals, and more Faith Growth Plan

Current Roles  Developing religious content  Designing programming  Managing programming  Teaching/Facilitating programming Emerging Roles  Designing learning environments— architecture  Curating religious content and experiences Emerging Roles

Curated Faith Formation Curating Content & Experiences 1. Church Programs & Activities 2. Denominational Resources 3. Community Programs & Activities 4. People Resources 5. Print, Audio, Video Resources 6. Art, Drama, Music 7. Websites, Courses, Blogs 8. Apps & Digital Resources