Growing Disciples in a Digital Age · Forming Processes 8/28/14 ... Growing Disciples in a Digital...

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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


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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


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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.


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


Faith Enrichment

Discovering Faith

Life Issues

Service & Mission

Grand-parents

Adult Faith Formation Network

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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



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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

Growing Disciples in a Digital Age · Forming Processes 8/28/14 ... Growing Disciples in a Digital...

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