Foundation 2

Scriptural basis:
Deuteronomy 6, Deuteronomy 32:44-47, Joshua 24:15, 2 Chronicles 20:13, Psalm 78, Ephesians 6:1-4

The family is the most powerful influence in the faith formation of children and teenagers. Parents are the first educators of their children and provide the foundation for spiritual life. As congregations and leaders our mandate is to help strengthen and expand that faith formation.

Family life has changed significantly in recent decades and it is important that we move forward and rethink how we can assist and encourage families to continue growing in their faith together.

When the church and the home partner together two things happen, the church acknowledges the home as the primary place of spiritual nurture and families value the importance of the faith community in helping to nurture that faith. They work together to see children grow spiritually, develop mentoring relationships and learn to take an active part in the life of the faith community. The church’s role is to provide support and nurture to families as they undertake these tasks. It also provides a community to which the whole family can belong, share in, and live out the Christian faith. This partnership sees spiritual nurture as something that is home-centred and church-assisted, rather than church-centred and home- assisted. This is a shift in mindset from how we have often operated in the past.

Not all children in a faith community will come from homes where faith is nurtured. Children who are coming from non-churched families can be incorporated and included into other families within the church community, who will then look upon these children as part of their ‘spiritual’ family. This will require training and valuing.

The aim of a church and home partnership is to align the church and the home so that we are accomplishing God’s design for generational discipleship. This means that faith
is integrated into family identity and practice. “Faith  practised at home says this is not just something we do on Sundays, but equally, faith practised in the context of the church says this way of faithful living is not restricted
to only our family.”¹ Together the faith community and family can intentionally enable children to experience what it means to be a disciple of Christ. As Ivy Beckwith says, “A church program can’t spiritually form a child, but a family living in an intergenerational community of faith can.”

“Most certainly father and mother are apostles, bishops & priests to their children, for it is they who make them acquainted with the Gospel.”

Martin Luther

“Parents are the primary faith teachers, mentors & role models for their children with the church as a reinforcement— not replacement—of the parent’s duties.”

MINISTRY AND MISSION

• A faith at home focus; e.g. Faith@Home or similar events.
• Rites of passage or age milestone celebrations.
• A Sunday curriculum component that involves the home.
• A set of lenses through which ministry choices are made: what do you believe about families and how does that impact what you do?
  Potential lenses could be:
  We believe that families need…
  – To personally connect with God.
  – To have opportunities to flex their spiritual muscles.
  – To belong to an intergenerational faith community.
  – To have a growing and developing theological understanding.
  – To have others who nurture their faith, and journey with them.
• Intergenerational/family home groups/life groups.
• Service opportunities and mission trips where families can serve together and develop their ‘faith muscles’.
• Spiritual parenting courses.
• Parenting courses; e.g. Toolbox, Alpha’s The Parenting Children Course, Parenting for Faith.
• Marriage courses; e.g. Family Life, Alpha Marriage.
• Pastoral care of families; e.g. divorce recovery, blended families.

THINGS TO CONSIDER:

• Ethnic diversity—the differing needs and issues of migrant families.
• Spiritual parents for children from non-churched homes.
• Different shapes and forms of family; e.g. grandparents raising children, blended families, families with parents who are not married, gay couples with children.
• Family breakdown and dysfunction.
• Irregular attendance or connection with a faith community.

SUGGESTED READING

Books for Leaders

• Church + Home, Take it Home – Mark Holmen
• Think Orange – Reggie Joiner
• It Takes a Church to Raise a Parent – Rachel Turner
• Parenting as a Church Leader – Rachel Turner
• Family Ministry Field Guide – Timothy Paul Jones
• The Legacy Path – Brian Haynes
• Shaped by God – Robert Keeley
• Dreaming of More for the Next Generation – Michelle Anthony
• Connecting Church and Home – Tim Kimmel
• Family Ministry: A Comprehensive Guide – Diana Garland
• Welcoming Children – Joyce Ann Mercer
• Families at the Center of Faith Formation – John Roberto et al

Books for Parents

• Parenting Beyond Your Capacity – Reggie Joiner and Carey Nieuwhof
• Parenting Children for a Life of Faith Omnibus – Rachel Turner
• Spiritual Parenting – Michelle Anthony
• Becoming a Spiritually Healthy Family – Michelle Anthony
• Sticky Faith – Kara Powell
• Mark Holmen’s Faith at Home series
• Holding Your Family Together – Rich Melheim
• Graced Based Parenting – Tim Kimmel

OTHER RESOURCES

• BCFM has some resources for families to use in the home.
• We have created a set of three age stage posters designed to help parents with faith formation at home.
• We have a variety of parenting courses and resources available for download or loan that can be used in either small groups settings or classes:
  – Faith@Home – BCFM
  – Parenting for Faith – Rachel Turner
  – Raising Faith – Care for the Family
  – Spiritual Parenting
  – Michelle Anthony
  – Active Discipling the Family toolkit

WEBSITES:

¹ Goodliff., “To Such as These”, 4:65.