Wrong Assumptions about Parents
Ministry leaders generally agree that parents matter most for the formation of faith in their children, but nevertheless have multiple long-standing objections to this notion.
Category: research
Obstacles of Forming Faith: What We’re Learning
It’s maybe the oldest “shop talk” topic in ministry—Why can’t or won’t parents take responsibility for forming faith in their children? And, always threaded into
The Truth About Our Obstacles
In the last couple of weeks, I’ve heard an important truism more than once, so maybe that’s a nudge to sit up and pay attention…
Connecting with Parents
As we begin the process of accompanying churches as they focus on and nurture the faith lives of parents through our 4th Soil Parenting Project funded
Surviving Isn’t Thriving
There’s no question that our post-pandemic church life is different… We have shifted yet again, and not toward consistent church attendance or support of faith-formation
Thriving Grows Out Of Our Uniqueness
We have just come to a new realization in our Thriving Congregations Project. Because of it, we moved our 27 Thriving Congregations churches from cohort
5 New-World Keys from Moses
To put an exclamation point on this series of posts related to our new 4th Soil Parenting Initiative, here’s a reflection that I wrote a
Why Are You Engaging Parents?
A blog dropped into my inbox this week with a lead-off question: “Why is it so hard to engage parents?” The blogger followed that with
The Faith Life of Parents
How are you currently engaging the faith life of parents at your church? That’s the next big question, isn’t it? As Vibrant Faith Executive
What We’re Learning: 4th-Soil Parenting
At Vibrant Faith we’re grateful to begin 2023 with a big announcement… Thanks to a generous grant from the Lilly Endowment, we’ll be leading a