Parenting Faith: Supporting Faith Formation at Home

Recent studies by Andrew Root, Christian Smith and The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada have examined what supports North American parents expect from their faith communities when it comes to supporting and resourcing faith formation in the home. These studies have given evidence of a deep disconnect between what church educators think parents need and what parents say they need. Parents/caregivers have repeatedly indicated that they do not need more resources and are satisfied with the manner in which they are supporting the faith formation of their children while practitioners continue to report discipleship gaps in biblical literacy and the ability of students to articulate what their Christian faith means to them. All is not lost. Far from being a doom and gloom scenario, this workshop will explore where parents/caregivers indicate they seek parenting support (and it is not the church), how a North American culture of self-discovery or actualization has impacted caregivers the ability to to share their faith with their children and how the digital world is continues to impact their faith formation efforts. Together we will literally create new strategies for helping families and churches work together in this new climate.  Participants will leave with at least 5 actionable ways to re-engage parents in their faith communities.