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Do we have an established planning process in place with learning objectives, goals, and purpose?
The backbone of an effective faith formation ministry is the planning process involved in its organization. This process provides the framework for this ministry. Staff members and lay volunteer leaders need to work together to decide the learning objectives, goals, and purpose of the faith formation ministry. The process is ongoing, requiring periodic adjustments or changes in the framework.

How do we encourage and support people seeking a deeper relationship with Christ?
Everything we do in Christian education has the goal of helping people develop a deeper relationship with Christ. We do this by centering our teachings on faith building through Bible stories, working on key practices such as prayer and worship, experiencing faith milestones and other milestones in our lives through the lens of Christ, teaching the Four Keys for nurturing faith (caring conversation, devotions, service, traditions and rituals), and the very essential work of developing relationships among God’s people.

The definition of diversity is a difference, an unlikeness.  In the context of the church, this difference usually refers to cultural diversity, but can also be about age and gender differences. In Acts 1:8, the Scripture reads:  “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” I believe that we are called to be witnesses in our communities. We are the   vehicles sharing God’s love in the world. What this looks like and how we answer this call as Christian educators opens many doors for us to provide opportunities for all ages to gain an awareness of existing differences in our communities and the world. Though Scripture and prayer we can learn together how we may reach out to our neighbors, take steps to get to know them, and invite them to know us.

We live in an age-segregated society. There is a time and a place for age appropriate activities, but there should also be a time and a place where we gather all the ages together for a learning opportunity. Statistics show that the church is the last place all 5 generations gather in today’s world.  In most congregations there is not a question as to whether or not all the ages should worship together. It is a given. But when it comes to “Sunday school” or “Christian education”, we struggle to gather all the ages together for learning opportunities. Many relate “Sunday school” to children and when teens and adults are asked to attend, they often opt out.

Most congregations have committees or teams that are responsible for individual ministry areas or events.  Thus, we would find an Evangelism team in charge of evangelism, a Stewardship team in charge of stewardship, and a Christian education team directing educational ministry.  They may go by other names, but the organization is probably similar. Unfortunately, this leads to ministries being in silos, each group operating on their own, rarely relating to others.  Those in charge of Christian Education are just as guilty of having blinders on as other leaders. 
 
However, faith formation can and should happen outside of our own planned Christian Education programs if we are to nurture the lives of our members.  Let’s face it – not everyone comes to a Sunday School class or small group or retreat.  (Or maybe your church is different from mine?)  On top of this, we have a number of members who may be new to the Lutheran tradition or new to being part of the church.  How do we foster their growth?  Our challenge is to help ourselves and others think outside the box as to how that can happen.