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Yet churches today are finding it


more difficult to accomplish these goals in a world where the religious landscape has changed dramatically over the past two decades. Just consider how the following U.S. trends from the American Reli- gious Identification Survey and the Pew Research Center impact Chris- tian education or faith formation in your congregation and household: • Generational diversity. As a result of people living longer, we have five distinct generational profiles, each with its own spiritual needs and unique learning preferences: the iGeneration (born since 2000), mil- lennials (1980-1999), Generation X (1961-1979), baby boomers (1946- 1960) and builders (born before 1946). • Increasing numbers of people (including family or former church members) say they are spiritual but not religious (almost 20 percent of those in their 20s and 30s) or they are no longer affiliated with any religion (15 percent of all Americans). • We see a greater acceptance and embrace of ethnic, cultural, reli- gious and sexual diversity among the younger generations (40s and younger). • We see a greater acceptance of diverse family structures—married couples with children, single parents with children, unmarried couples with children, same-sex couples with children, same-sex couples without children and unmarried couples with- out children. • Fewer Americans participate in Sunday worship, as well as marriage, baptism and confirmation, across all generations, especially those aged 40 and younger. • Declining levels of family faith practice and socialization in the home. This reflects greater numbers of parents who are nonaffiliated or spiritual but not religious, as well


Ben Muse, a member of Christ the King Lutheran Church, Cary, N.C., took “Jesus on the Go” with him everywhere —even on a family cruise. Throughout the summer, families emailed cell phone photos of “Jesus on the Go” back to the congregation from wherever they had traveled. Mandy Houghton, director of faith formation,says Jesus on the Go was “much like the Flat Stanley [book] character” and helped “pass on the faith outside the walls of Christ the King.”


Other creative faith formation ideas at Christ the King


• Share a Cup, Share a Verse or Bible speed-dating: Ask children and youth to share Bible verses and faith stories with adults and vice versa. For younger children, four minutes is sufficient, said Heidi Kleine, who coordinates youth and adult faith formation at Christ the King Lutheran Church, Cary, N.C. Older participants were given six to seven minutes, she said. • Steward cards: Present families and individuals with hole-punched cards on a ring. List one way to be a steward on each card.


as a lack of continuous connection to a faith community among young adults, young married couples and parents with young children. Despite these trends most churches have continued to use models developed in the 19th and 20th centuries, making the goals of faith formation even more difficult to accomplish. As a result, much of current Sunday school programming is based on assumptions about our world that are no longer true: • Faith is still transmitted from gen- eration to generation at home and in the congregation. • Families are practicing their faith at home (reading the Bible, pray- ing together, celebrating Christian traditions). • Families are actively involved in congregational life, especially Sun- day worship. • People are more alike than diverse, so a “one size fits all” model is effective.


But does every third-grader really come from a similar family, with


similar formation and the same reli- gious and spiritual needs?


Beyond assumptions Today every congregation, large or small, experiences tremendous diver- sity in its participants. It’s also not a “given” that families practice and teach their faith at home. And many parents drop off their children for Sunday school but don’t attend wor- ship (except at Christmas, Easter and other big church events).


Now consider that 8- to 18-year- olds experience at least seven and a half hours of media each day, accord- ing to the Kaiser Family Foundation. That means most children experience more hours of media in a week than hours of Sunday school in a year. Another reality is that many peo-


ple’s lives have become so complex and time-stressed that belonging to a church may no longer be at the cen- ter of their priorities. The world has changed. And old models of Christian


For a study guide, see page 26. September 2012 21


COURTESY OF CHRIST THE KING


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