Revolutionizing Ministry Programs for Religious Socialization

rethinking old practices: Sunday school, confirmation, and other ministry programs Terri Martinson Elton terrielton.com/presentations

Religious Socialization The form, content, and intensity of religious socialization are crucial in shaping the religious outcomes of those being socialized. And since most of the broader American society is not in the business of direct religious socialization, this task inevitably falls almost entirely to two main social entities .

First are individuals family households, where parents predictably do the primary socializing. Second are individual religious congregations, where other adults can exert socializing influences on youth If formation does not happen there, it will with rare exception not happen anywhere. Souls in Transition, 286

Sunday School ELCA congregations have seen a 60 percent drop in Sunday school between 1990 and 2010 (ELCA Research and Evaluation) Some reasons: Sunday morning is no longer set aside for church. The culture no longer respects Sunday mornings, said Diane Hymans (professor of Christian Education, Trinity Seminary) Fewer children to participate. The number of married couples with children in ELCA congregations has dropped from 43 percent in 1988 to 26 percent in 2013. In addition, child baptisms in the ELCA and predecessor congregations dropped 52 percent between 1970 and 2012 (ELCA Research and Evaluation). Changes in the family life are impacting Sunday school. For example, children of divorced or separated parents may spend weekends with a parent who doesn t attend church or who is a member of another congregation, Hyman said. ( Reinventing Sunday School, by Cindy Novak, The Lutheran, September 2014)

Confirmation The ELCA has seen a 21 percent drop in students confirmed between 2005and 2012, from 53,961 to 42,465. (ELCA Research and Evaluation) In a survey of confirmation of 5 Protestant denominations, leaders report 30 percent of young people were not known by leaders prior to confirmation.(The Confirmation Project.org, Webinar Overview, July 2015) And a significant number of church leaders are frustrated with confirmation and unsure of it s place in faith formation today.

National Study of Youth & Religion 1/3 - regular; 1/3 somewhat; 1/3 not at all. 3 out of 4 religious teens consider their own beliefs somewhat or very similar to those of their parents youth are not flocking to "alternative" religions. The vast majority of the teenagers identified themselves as Christian -- either Protestant or Catholic -- or as Jewish or Mormon. 8 percent said faith was not important at all. 9 percent said faith was an active part of life. The vast majority of teens are "incredibly inarticulate about their faith, their religious beliefs and practices.

Almost Christian Kenda Creasy Dean It s time to claim a peculiar God-story using a missonal imagination to cultivate a consequential faith. What does that mean?

peculiar God-story It s time for the church to reclaim its central identity. We are a missional community. And we have a peculiar story to share with the world. What s missing from that is any sense of identity that has to do with the Christian story. Somehow we ve shrink- wrapped what Christian identity is; we tend to think about it in terms of having this cluster of beliefs. ...

missonal imagination But a missional imagination implies that being Christian is a way of being in the world, a way of relating to other people. This is a relational way of defining ourselves and yes, there are beliefs that are a part of that, but they take a back seat to the relational call of the Gospel. And identifying with Christ is identifying with a community that relates to people in a distinctive way.

To move beyond a faith that is based on beliefs to a way of being in the world you have to tell your story. And the story that defines Christian community is not incidental.

consequential faith But in many places that story has been drained of all the passion, and by passion I mean loving something enough to suffer for it. That s the way God loves us, and that s how God calls us to love others and to love God in return. That, in a nutshell, is what the Christian story is about . Sharing your faith is not about sharing what you know! It s sharing what and who you love that is compelling. http://www.patheos.com/community/takeandread/2010/06/22/almost-christian-an-interview-with-kenda-creasy-dean/

Three ways Forward #1 - We have to become bilingual. Just sharing the God-story in the language we learned it isn t going to cut it. This means we need to help people Speak Christian.

Three ways Forward #2 - We need to recapture catechesis. The process of passing the Christian tradition from one generation to another is to introduce people to a way of life, not to pass on doctrine. People, not programs, are the best translators of faith.

Three ways Forward #3 - We need to translate the Christian way of life in such a way that it offers hope. The world offers despair, but in Christ we find a new way. This is the opportunity to return to the gospel itself to be at the center of our discernment.

What stood out for you today? What would you hope for ministry with children, youth, and their families? What would that mean for Shepherd of the Valley? What would that mean for you personally?