growing disciples in a digital age · forming processes 8/28/14 ... growing disciples in a digital...
TRANSCRIPT
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GROWING DISCIPLES IN A DIGITAL AGE
John Roberto [email protected] www.LifelongFaith.com
Part 1. Lifelong Faith Formation
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Lifelong & Lifewide Faith Formation for
Everyone!
Faith Formation Goals
Churches want faith formation that helps people. . . Ø grow in their relationship with God throughout their
lives Ø live as disciples of Jesus Christ at home, in the
workplace, in the community and the world Ø develop an understanding of the Bible and their faith
tradition Ø deepen their spiritual life and practices Ø engage in service and mission Ø relate the Christian faith to life today Ø participate in the life and ministries of the faith
community
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Holistic Faith & Formation
ª 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 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 A way of the hands (transform) demands a discipleship of love, justice, peace-making, simplicity, integrity, healing, and repentance.
(Thomas Groome)
GROWTH IN FAITH
Caring Relationships
Rituals & Milestones
Church Year
Seasons
Learning the
Tradition
Praying
Spiritual Formation
Reading the Bible
Serving Working for Justice Caring for Creation
Worshipping
Faith Forming Processes
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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
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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.
n 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
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Family Religious Socialization
Faith Parental Faith
Parental Modeling & Teaching
Prayer
Scripture Reading
n 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
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Factors Promoting Faith Growth
Ø 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.
Ø Most make their first commitments to God as children or during the preteen or very early teen years.
Ø Many religious trajectories followed in the course of life’s development seemed to be formed early in life.
Factors Promoting Faith Growth
Ø Parental Influence: The single most important social influence on the religious and spiritual lives of children and adolescents (and emerging adults) is their parents.
Ø Embedded Family Religious Practices: Effective religious socialization comes about through specific religious activities that are firmly intertwined with the daily habits of family life.
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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
Nurturing RELATIONSHIPS• Positive communication• Affection
Establishing ROUTINES• Family meals• Shared activities
Maintaining EXPECTATIONS• Openness about tough
topics
Adapting to CHALLENGES• Management of daily
commitments
Connecting to COMMUNITY• Neighborhood
cohesion
ec o• Emotional openness• Support for sparks
S a ed ac v es• Meaningful traditions• Dependability
p• Fair rules• Defined boundaries• Clear expectations• Contributions to family
• Adaptability• Problem solving• Democratic decision
making
• Relationships with others
• Enriching activities• Supportive resources
Family Assets -‐ Search Institute
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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
ª Through the day: meal times, car times, morning and bedtime, exits and entries, family sharing times
ª Through the year: church year seasons, rituals and celebrations
ª Through the lifecycle: milestones and rites of passage
ª Through key family moments – good times and hard times, times of joy and sorrow
ª Through life issues and life skills: parenting, decision-making, financial planning, communication, and more
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Settings for Faith Formation
Intergenerational & Generational
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Process At Church At Home In Community Online
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
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Intergenera(onal Faith Community
Children & Parents
Adolescents & Parents
Young Adults
Mid-‐Life Adults
Mature Adults
Older Adults
New Operating System: Faith Formation Network
Intergenerational Faith Formation
Caring
Celebra(ng
Learning
Praying
Serving
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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
Age Group Family All Ages
On Your Own & Small
Groups
At Home
Large Group: Course,
Workshop, Retreat
Church Life & Events
Community Programs, Events, & Ac(vi(es
Online Ac(vi(es & Resources
New Operating System: Faith Formation Network
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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.
Baptism
Mentors
Faith Practices @ Home
Prayer, Rituals, Bible, Family Conversation,
Service
Parent Faith Formation &
Parenting Skills
Workshops Courses Online Resources Support Groups
Milestones
Baptism Anniversary, First Prayers, Start of
School
Family Learning Programs
Church Gatherings Small Groups
Workshops
Parent/Family Online Resource
Center
Families in the First Decade of Life
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Intergenerational Experiences with the Whole Faith
Community
Sunday Worship @ Home
Seasons of the Year
Family Life
Practicing Our Faith Milestones
For Parents
Children’s Programs & Events
Families with Children Faith Formation Network
Family Faith Formation Network
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Intergenera(onal Experiences & Connec(ons
Youth Group
Confirmation Program
Adolescent Life Issues
Parent-Teen Activities & Resources
Bible Study & Religious Learning
Prayer & Spiritual
Formation
Service Projects
Mission Trips
Milestones
Youth Leadership
Parent Education &
Support Groups
Youth Faith Formation Network
Prayer & Spiritual Life
Daily Devotion Resources
Spiritual Mentoring Resources
Prayer Group Resources
Spiritual Practices Course
Resources
Retreat Resources
Day at the Monastery Resources
Online Prayer Intentions
Youth Network
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Intergenerational Experiences & Connections
Weekly Gathering & Worship
Life Issues, Transitions, &
Milestones
Scripture Enrichment
Faith Enrichment
Spiritual Enrichment
Justice, Service, Mission
Third Place Care
Discovering Faith (Alpha
Course)
YA Community
Events
Social Media Connections
Young Adult Faith Formation Network
Intergenerational Experiences & Connections
Sunday Worship
through the Week
Scripture Enrichment
Spiritual Enrichment
Faith Enrichment
Discovering Faith
Life Issues
Service & Mission
Grand-parents
Adult Faith Formation Network
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Spiritual Enrichment
Online Courses Resource
Apps & E-newsletters Resource
Online Prayer & Spirituality Resources
Small Group Bible Study Resources
Retreats Resource
Day at the Monastery Resource
Spiritual Book of the Month Club Resource
Monthly Spiritual
Practices Series Resource
Adult Faith Formation Network
Adult Faith Formation Network
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Network Theme
AcHvity 1 Resource
Resource
AcHvity 2 Resource
Resource
AcHvity 3 Resource
Resource
Developing Network Programming
Current AcHviHes & Programs New AcHviHes & Programs
Three Seasons of Programming
Fall Season: September 1 –
January 1
Winter/Spring Season: January
1 – May 1
Summer Season: May 1 –
September 1
Fall
Winter-‐Spring
Summer
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Digital Platform
Other Platforms www.wordpress.org www.wix.com www.squarespace.com
Connected Faith Formation Virtual & Physical Settings
Online Faith Formation
Mostly Online with
Regular Interaction in
Gathered Sessions
Online Faith Formation &
Gathered Sessions (Flipped
Classroom)
Gathered Program with
Online Components beyond the
Program
Gathered Program with
Supportive Online Content
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Extending Church Events with Online Content
Event or Program
TALK Conversation
Activities
LEARN Read Listen Watch
ACT Practices Service Projects
PRAY Devotions
Bible Reading Daily Prayer
SHARE Blog
Facebook Video
Projects
You can extend. . . . ª Sunday worship ª Church year feasts
and seasons ª Sacrament and ritual
celebrations ª Children, teen, or
family programming ª VBS and summer camp ª Mission trips and
service projects ª Retreat experiences . . . . and more
Extending Worship with Online Content
Church Life èè Daily & Home Life çç 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
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Extending a Church Season with Online Content
Church Life èè Daily & Home Life çç 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
@ Home Exploring the Content -‐ print, audio, video,
acHviHes
@ The Program Applying the Content: Create – PracHce -‐ Perform -‐ ParHcipate
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Flipped Classroom
Flipped Classroom
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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: ª Sunday worship ª Church year feasts and seasons ª Service/mission projects ª Retreat experience ª Faith practices @ home, e.g. reading the Bible,
praying, rituals, and more
Faith Growth Plan
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Current Roles
¨ Developing religious content
¨ Designing programming
¨ Managing programming
¨ Teaching/Facilitating programming
Emerging Roles
Ø Designing learning environments—architecture
Ø Curating religious content and experiences
Emerging Roles
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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