VIBRANT FAITH MINISTRIES

Three Decades of Research Can’t All Be

Wrong!

The "Great Emergence" is a generalized social,

political, economic, intellectual, and cultural

shift.

Every 500 years or so, the church—and the world—experience

huge social, political, economic, and cultural

shifts.

"Every 500 years the church feels compelled

to hold a giant rummage sale."

500 Year Cycles

Time of Christ Monastic Culture & Dark Ages Great Schism: East-WestReformation Great Emergence

IT’S ALWAYS ABOUT AUTHORITY!

New, nimble ministries emerge Older systems renew themselves Older systems push back Violent!

WHAT HAPPENS?

We do ministry in the world of…kindle, nook,

twitter parties, APPS, declining

denominationalism, house churches, flipboards,

emergent churches, wiki’s, the long tail, micro-chunking, facebook, veetle, hulu, stumble,

ning, amazon, web 2.0, iphones, ipads, and

you can get viral without catching a cold.

REGARDING CHRISTIAN DECLINE IN AMERICA…

AMERICAN GRACE: PUTNAM AND CAMPBELL

The rise of the “nones”! “I’ll have none of it!”

Perceive Christians as fighting, judgmental, hypocritical, political, ungracious, harsh, ignorant.

Think Guttenberg on STEROIDS!

…only IN REVERSE!

The Book of Faith (10 pound edition)

Vs.

The APP

So what can be said?

Does anything work anymore?

MAYBE WE JUST NEED…

What can be said is what has always been said…from Deuteronomy…to Jesus…

Acts 2…to Luther…to current research…

TEND TO THE YOUNG “ACROSS” GENERATIONS and CHURCH IS A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE HOUSEHOLD AND THE CONGREGATION

“If we wish to help Christendom, we most certainly must start with the children!”

Martin Luther

How best can we do that?

And now the research story!

Effective Christian Education: A National Study of Protestant

Congregations: 1988-89Search Institute

Focus: Who do 7-12 graders identify as the key faith formative influences in their lives?

The Results: Mother 74% female 81% male Father 50% female 61% male Pastor 44% female 57% male Grandparent 29% female 30% male Youth group 30% female 30% male Friends 29% female 22% male Camp 28% female 20% male

Up the Creek With a Paddle: Effective Youth Ministry

Practices 1995Center for Youth Ministries

Focus question: According to 20 youth ministry leaders, what are the critical

factors in faith formation?

The Results:

Parents Other Caring Adults Peers Service Retreats Story Music

Hardwired to Connect: The New Scientific Case for Authoritative

Communities, 2003Dartmouth Medical School

Institute for American ValuesYMCA

Focus: What is the state of American youth and what do they need in order to be

healthy?

Adolescent Health Study cont.

“What’s causing this crisis inAmerican childhood is a lack of

connectedness…close connectedness to other people, and deep connections to moral

and spiritual meaning.”

Barna ResearchNovember 2003

Citing research showing that a large proportion of church-going people

dropout of church between the ages of 18 and 24, Barna states the importance

of families, not churches, taking the lead in the spiritual development of

children.

Results continued…

“””To became mature Christians we usually found a symbiotic partnership between their

parents and their church.”

What Are Adults/Parents Bringing to the Table?

Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American

Teenagers: Christian Smith and Melinda Lundquist Denton ’05

Focus: What is the character and content of the spiritual lives of American teenagers?

What shapes that character and content?

The Results: “Parents are normally very important in

shaping the religious and spiritual lives of their teenage children, even though they may not realize it.” p.56

“The best general rule of thumb that parents might use to reckon their children’s most likely religious outcomes is this: ‘We’ll get what we are.’” p. 57

The Results cont.

American teenagers have a faith and a belief system. It is called “moralistic therapeutic deism”.

God is my personal butler.

God as divine therapist.

Moralistic Therapeutic Deism

God exists and created the orders of the world and watches over human life on earth.

God wants people to be good.

The goal of life is to be happy.

God solves our problems.

Good people go to heaven.

Longitudinal Follow-up:

Five of the six scenarios identifying faithful and active young adults started with “parents” practices and “parents” attending

religious services

Exemplary Youth Ministry Study:Luther Seminary, Lilly Funded,Seven Denominations – 2005

(book just came out!!!)

Focus: What are the characteristics of congregations with exemplary youth

ministries?

The Results:

Study identified 44 Faith Assets or Practices

Of most significance:

1. Theology matters: God is the subject of sentences

2. Pastoral leaders are fully engaged in ministry with adolescents

3. Hospitality is critical

Exemplary Study cont.

Family Involvement:

1. Parents possess and practice a strong faith

2. Promotes family faith practices

3. Reflects family harmony

4. Equip, instruct and guide parents for a faith nurturing home

5. Fosters parent-youth relationships

Bishops’ Initiative for Raising Up the Next Generation of

Leaders

Focus: Does a five year effort (and $1.2 million) to embed the Vibrant Faith Frame

in six synods of Wisconsin and Upper Michigan transform lives and help people

discover their vocation?

The Results

The Vibrant Faith Frame has significant impact upon those immersed in the

ecosystem of faith nurture.

The leadership is critical to implementing the frame.

The Vibrant Faith Frame

The Focus: What would a vision, model and vocabulary look like that integrates

Scripture, church history, confessional teachings, modern research, and

bio-neurological insights, built around the theme of vibrant faith formation?

The Vibrant Faith FrameThe Spirit blows in six places or locations

where the potential exists for faith formative relationships to happen.

The Vibrant Faith Frame

Five Principles to serve as a compass heading for ministry:

1. Faith is formed by the power of the Holy Spirit through personal, trusted relationships-often in our own homes.

1. The church is a living partnership between home and congregation.

Vibrant Faith Frame

3. Where Christ is present in faith, home is church, too.

4. Faith is caught more than taught.

5. If we want Christian children and youth, we need Christian adults.

All who are called masters, stand in the place of parents.

Luther, Large Catechism, Explanation of the 4th Commandment

Vibrant Faith Frame

There are FOUR KEY faith practices that make up the lifestyle of lifelong faith

formation:

1. Caring Conversation2. Devotions3. Service4. Rituals and Traditions

Vibrant Faith Frame

What are the characteristics of discipleship?

AuthenticityAvailabilityAffirmation

AAA Christians

The Vibrant Faith Frame

A framework and vocabulary for summarizing two decades of research

relating to

faith formation:

6 Circles

5 Principles

4 Key Practices

3 Characteristics of discipleship

If we want to help Christendom, we most certainly have to start with the children.

Martin Luther

“Let the children come to me and do not hinder them.”

Luke 18

…and there is more research

Vibrant Faith Ministries’

Faith Formation Learning Exchange

“one stop shop” for effective faith practices through the lifecycle

www.faithformationlearningexchange.net

VibrantFaith@Home:

resourcing households directly

Think iTunes for faith formation (iFaith)

VIBRANT FAITH MINISTRIES

is sponsored in part by…

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

and

Seafoam Sales

Vibrant Faith Ministries 1601 West Old Shakopee Road, Minneapolis, MN 55431 952-405-7300 www.vibrantfaith.org

The following slides are “Extras”

“Great Emergence” Social Characteristics

First Generation of Truly Global Citizens First E.C.E (Energy-Climate) Generation Most Culturally Diverse Generation First Social Networking Generation First Entrepreneurial Generation Most Socially Engaged Generation First Generation of 21st Century Learners First Generation of the "Great Emergence" First Generation of "Spiritual Tinkerers"

Martinson’s Eight Faith Factors: Late 1990’s

Focus: What are the key factors that positively influence college age

students in their faith?

Faith integrated into family identity and practice

Three or more adults of vital faith Service in Jesus name Apprenticed to leadership in church Engaging, meaningful congregational

experience that involved youth Excellent sr.high/young adult ministry Strong Christian friends Support in personal crisis

Faith Factors: Southwest Baptist Theological Seminary, 1990’s

Focus: What are the characteristics of exemplary youth ministry

congregations?

The Results: Mission/service opportunities Youth in leadership roles Meaningful involvement of youth Strong youth workers Warm, caring ministry/fellowship that

reflects warm/caring youth minister Formal and informal interactions

The Results continued…

High level of expectations Sufficient budget Pastoral support Family support Sense that God is doing something Strong inviter orientation Intentionally evangelistic

The Results:

The study identified seven themes that make up the spiritual character and journey of younger men. (See book by same title, www.vibrantfaith.org). Three practices or behaviors best summarize an effective approach:

Be Real Show Respect Work Together