Catalytic Questions for Faith-Formation Leaders
By Jim LaDoux
Director of Coaching & Coaching School
As church leaders, we have a deep desire to help people become lifelong Christ-followers, but we often have a fuzzy idea of what that looks like and how to help people become more like Jesus every day. Use the questions below to help clarify and catalyze your passion for supporting people’s faith journey.
QUESTION 1 | What are our DREAMS for helping people form faith every day?
SAMPLE DREAM STATEMENT: Our deepest desire is to equip people to be living expressions of Jesus Christ in the world where they gather, grow, give, and go to serve and bless others. Therefore, we will provide pathways that support:
- Transformational and intergenerational worship experiences. Long-lasting, life-giving, and faith-shaping intergenerational relationships.
- Practicing faith at church, in our homes, online, and on the go.
- The celebration of meaningful rituals and traditions.
- Opportunities to serve and bless our neighbors and communities.
QUESTION 2 | What PERSPECTIVES do we hold about forming faith in daily life?
List your core beliefs and convictions about how faith is formed and how we can live out vibrant faith in daily life. Listed below are sample belief statements from congregations that Vibrant Faith has coached:
- We believe that God is present and active in the world; our task is to help people become aware of what God is “up to” in our lives.
- Faith formation is about learning to follow in the way of Jesus, with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength. Faith formation as a lifelong process that’s lived out every day, everywhere.
- Faith is formed in the context of community that includes settings at and beyond the congregation.
- The world we interact with every day is our mission field and where we practice and experience our faith. Households are learning laboratories for forming faith every day.
- Our homes serve as mission outposts to our neighborhoods where we serve and bless.
- We recognize the uniqueness of each person and strive to meet people where they’re at in life and faith. We believe that everyone has a gift to share, a story to tell, and callings to fulfill.
- We believe that stewardship involves everything we say and do after we say “yes” to God.
- Extending Christian hospitality is an integral element of following in the way of Christ.
QUESTION 3 | Which PRACTICES will be highlighted and demonstrated?
Describe what a faith forming greenhouse looks like for your setting. See sample statements below. Our setting:
- Makes faith central in all that we say and do. God must be the subject of our conversations.
- Demonstrates radical and genuine hospitality where people experience God’s love through each another.
- Is a place where stories of faith are shared everywhere – during worship, in small groups, online gatherings, etc. Introduces people to life-giving, faith-forming spiritual practices that enliven one’s soul.
- Celebrates people’s gifts, honors people’s sense of call, and helps them develop and use their gifts.
- Is Spirit-driven, joyful, and filled with laughter. We are grateful people who exhibit an abundance mindset. Embraces experimentation, encourages risk-taking, challenges assumptions, and views failures as learning opportunities.
QUESTION 4 | How will we MEASURE the impact of our faith forming efforts?
Answer the questions below to gain greater insight on what following in the way of Jesus might look like:
- What would maturing Christ-followers value?
- How do these values change their outlook on life?
- What would maturing Christ-followers do or practice (e.g., habits, routines, etc.)?
- What would maturing Christ-followers know?
- What do you hope Christ-followers will experience or be exposed to?
What additional questions would you add to help describe ways for helping people grow vibrant faith?
Jim LaDoux is the longtime Director of Coaching & Coaching School for Vibrant Faith. Jim lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota with his wife—he has two adult sons. He’s been a coach since 1992, and has a Master of Management Arts and is a certified PCC (Professional Certified Coach).
Introducing The NEW Visual Faith!
We’ve created 52 surprising ways for you to spark faith-forming adventures—our Year 1 collection is flexible enough to be used as a full-scale curriculum or as the focus for small-group conversations or as the “meaty center” in a large-group teaching setting. You’ll find each experience easy to lead and rich in conversational fruit—that’s because this approach is grounded in decades of research and the life-changing teaching of Jesus.