Have a conversation about Christian faith formation anywhere in the US today and you are likely to hear a story about complexity. That’s what our team did over the past few months. We commissioned both quantitative and qualitative research with those who know best – those who are living the experience.

We wanted to understand what children's ministry leaders and workers see and experience as they engage families and minister to children. We also knew we needed insight from parents as they guide their children in faith formation. And we believed it would be very valuable to hear from some of the children they want to lead and influence. The project included hundreds of parents and leaders who responded to online surveys. To move beyond the numbers, we went into the field to talk face-to-face with dozens of leaders, parents, and even children.

The research confirmed that there is a lot of complexity and change. Many stakeholders in children’s faith formation who are very aware of the situation are not sure what to do or how to respond. We identified some really important trends and understandings about the current context. Some of it is confirmation of our suppositions and hypotheses going in. However, some of it was surprising and important to understand. Things have changed very dramatically and it does not appear possible that they will ever go back to “the way it used to be.”

What we learned we want to share with you. Our objective is to help leaders and parents first to understand the current situation, then to identify what is most important, and finally where they need to focus. All of this is with the objective of developing a faith formation plan for raising kids who love God and serve their neighbor (good people).