Foundation 4

Partnering with God in his mission and ministry in the world is the task of faith communities. By faithfully valuing each other, being committed to one another’s faith formation and by serving and being in unity, all those connected to and impacted by the church will know Christ’s love.

The best approach to develop this is to support families through the different ages and stages with a strategy that works seamlessly throughout childhood and teen years (and hopefully through to adulthood, once you have this established). It means that we seek to understand what faith formation looks like from birth through to death.

The development of this type of strategy will ideally involve children’s, youth and other ministries working in harmony and as a team, with each still holding their own area of expertise and responsibility. They will have frequent conversations and will seek involvement, where possible, with each other’s ministry area. This approach should expand to a level where each ministry values each other and is working at breaking down the disconnect that can develop. When ministry teams value and work for the good of each other, they are more likely to achieve the end goal to which they are all working—growing life-long followers of Christ.

“If the church is haemorrhaging young people, we have to ask ourselves if it’s because we address the issue of discipleship too late. Is the spiritual nurture we provide for our young people neither consistent enough nor rigorous enough to provide them with the means to have a strong & stable faith in a time when there are many challenges to the authenticity and relevance of our beliefs?”

Jason Gardner

Scriptural basis:
Matthew 28:16-20, 1 Corinthians 12:12-27, Ephesians 4:1-16, 1 Peter 2:1-5, Hebrews 5:12-14, Philippians 1:9-11, Colossians 1:10

Interested in exploring this topic further? Download our Foundations of Ministry and Mission with Children booklet.

Then Jesus came to them and said, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

Matthew 28:18-20 (NIV)

SUGGESTED READING

  • Think Orange – Reggie Joiner
  • Lead Small and Lead Small Culture (two books) – Reggie Joiner et al
  • Sticky Faith – Kara Powell & Chap Clark
  • Growing Young – Powell, Mulder & Griffin

WEBSITES

RESOURCES TO DOWNLOAD

  • Faith Formation charts and posters, designed to illustrate what is needed at each age and stage for the child, family and the church as a whole.

 

To talk to someone about how you can establish an integrated strategy for faith formation, email: [email protected]