Beginning the Conversation on Faith Formation

Teenagers are leaving the church in droves. This is the punchline of far too many studies focused on today’s young people and the lives and decisions of young Christians. Each study gives its own two cents on how we best combat this critical issue. Some hammer home mentoring, while others preach church involvement and others endorse the impact of meaningful connections with peers and adults. While these are all crucial things that we should seek to implement, one thread that is not often explored is the role home plays on the next generation. 

Whether we realize it or not, we have more time and opportunity with our kids at home than church will ever have. Our time at home with our children will always have a greater impact than any amount of programming churches can push. So instead of trying to figure out how many more things we can squeeze into already busy schedules, it’s important that we focus our efforts on how we can begin the conversation on forming the faith of our kids at home. Whether we are parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, or family friends, what are we putting into place to be sure that we are taking advantage of the time that we have and being intentional to develop the faith of our kids? Because, while we have a lot more time and opportunity than any other institution, it too is limited. We only have 18 years where we are the primary influence in a child’s life. The critical question is how we fully take advantage of these years and not squander them. ​

This can feel like an overwhelming task, but my hope is that we can take a lot of baby steps forward so that our kids can know with confidence who Jesus is and what He has done for them.

One of those baby steps is to simply talk. I have been challenged personally when I am picking my 4-year-old up from Bible Discovery. More often my first question is, “Did you have fun?” or “What did you do?” instead of “What did you learn today?” And while I may not get more than “I don’t know…” for an answer, that is a starting point to further conversation. We have so many opportunities to simply talk about our faith with our kids. Mornings, bedtime, mealtimes, and car rides are a few of the places that we can be intentional with our conversations. Asking what they need prayer for, what they are thankful for, or how they’ve seen God at work are all great ways to simply start talking about our faith. We should be creating the space for them to question, doubt, learn, and understand.

This is just the tip of the iceberg, join us at Connect24 this year for a breakout where we’ll dig deeper into the value of Faith Formation, what it looks like at different ages, and practical ideas for churches to encourage and families to implement. May we never forget the mandate given in Deuteronomy 6 - ​

“These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jaydon, Associate Pastor of Youth and Families at Dalmeny Bible Church, and his Jen have been in Dalmeny since 2017. They have three great kids: Henry, Theodore, and Harper. Jaydon loves board games, baseball and camping.