What is/Why Faith Formation?
(adapted from Gregory Rawn’s Article “the 7 Facets of Faith Formation”)
The term “Faith Formation” is sometimes used as a synonym for Christian education classes (which many still call CCD). Education is a critical part of forming the faith of all disciples. To have our faith and life formed by God’s love in Christ, we need to know something about the story of God, what it means that God loves us, and how God wants us to act in our daily loves. However, faith formation goes beyond the classroom. Faith is formed at home through any action, experience, or relationship, you have as a family with God. Education is only one part of that.
The 7 Facets of Faith Formation
- Participants – If you don’t have people, you can’t have faith formation! For faith to grow, people, families, must participate and engage in some way. It can involve moving, talking, getting your hands dirty, or even listening or receiving the care of others.
- Leadership – To have a faith formation experience, you need to have a leader(s) that gets things moving and possibly guide things along. A faith Formation leader can be a parent (or caring adult), a godparent, a teacher, a priest, someone who starts a conversation or offers a hug. Leaders are also participants!
- Training – Most types of faith formation experiences require some training, including with parents, so they know the best practices for what they are doing.
- Relationships – Faith Formation is not about transmitting information into people’s brains. It happens through relationships.
Relationships between parent (or caring adult) and a child, teacher and student, leader and participant, and between friends. Ultimately these relationships are reflections and embodiments of our relationship with God. Nurturing and forming that relationship is the point of faith formation. - Time – Forming faith takes time. It takes time to prepare a lesson, worship service or sermon. It takes time to form and nurture relationships and good faith habits. It takes time to work on service projects. Faith Formation doesn’t happen by accident or in a moment. It takes time.
- Effort – Just as faith formation takes a time commitment, it requires committed effort. It takes effort as a leader to prepare. It takes effort for a family to engage in devotional practices. Without leaders, parents, and participants making an effort, faith formation will not be effective.
- Content – We need to know our Creator, our Redeemer, and our Sanctifier (Father, Son and Holy Spirit). This is where resources come in. The basic re source is the Bible. Resources are things that make understanding Scripture, tradition, and theology easier. Resources can be study guides, curricula, devotional habits, hymnal/songbooks, prayer methods or many other things. But faith formation requires content.
Our children’s faith begins you!