Family Faith Practice

​Family Faith Practice
A Network of Experiences, Activities & Resources for
​Families with Children & Teens

The Family Faith Practice website is a demonstration of what a network approach to family faith formation can look like. It is only intended as an example for how churches can develop their own network and digital platform for family faith formation.  

A network approach transforms faith formation from a provider-centered, program-driven model to a learner-centered model where the content and experiences are designed around the people and where they have control over their learning. In a network model, faith formation shifts from “one size fits all” curriculum and programming to religious content and experiences that connect with people’s spiritual and religious needs.

The nine features of a faith formation network include: 
  1. Designing around the vision and goals of lifelong maturing in Christian faith
  2. Being person- or learner-centered, placing the individual or family at the center of faith formation
  3. Embracing learning and faith growth as a process of active inquiry with the initiative residing within the individual
  4. Providing faith forming experiences to personalize learning and faith formation around the lives of people
  5. Providing a variety of content, programs, activities, and resources to address the diverse life tasks and situations, needs and interests, and spiritual and faith journeys of people of all ages
  6. Providing a variety of methods for learning, ways to learn, and styles of learning. 
  7. Incorporating a variety of formats for learning - on your own, with a mentor, at home, in small groups, in large groups, in the church, and in the community and world - delivered in physical gathered settings and online set- tings. 
  8. Being built on a digital platform to engage people anytime and anywhere
  9. Nurturing communities of learning and practice around shared interests, needs, life stages, and activities​

The programming in the Seasons of Adult Faith Network are designed to address three learning and religious profiles. 
  • Families who are just getting started (or need a refresher) - with activities that introduce people to the content of the goal. 
  • Families who are growing - with activities to help them become more confident in their knowledge and practice of their faith.  
  • Families who want to go deeper - with activities to deepen their knowledge ​and practice of their faith through a more in-depth exploration and experience. 

​The Family Faith Practice network includes the following topics with a variety of faith formation experiences and activities. 
Lifelong Faith: Formation for All Ages and Generations, and the new updated Lifelong Faith Website present seven elements that I believe are essential for developing lifelong faith formation. 
  1. Goals for maturing in faith
  2. Practices for forming a Christian way of life
  3. Intergenerational faith formation through Christian community
  4. Family faith formation with three generations
  5. Networks for forming faith with all ages
  6. Pathways for personalizing faith formation
  7. Playlists for engaging people of all ages in faith formation 
These are elements that every church can contextualize and customize to their size, location, and diversity of their people. Lifelong faith formation developed around these seven elements can transform the life of families, children, adolescents, adults, and the whole church community. 

John Roberto
​Founder and Team Leader, Lifelong Faith Associates
​jroberto@lifelongfaith.com