Posted: Wed, 2011-03-23 13:57
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.
Is faith formation intentionally woven throughout the life of the church? Look around. Faith conversations can happen in any setting. All committee meetings can start with a devotion to center participants in their mission. Fellowship events can have table tents with thought-provoking questions. (Have you checked out the ELCA World Hunger resources?) Pastors and lay associates can take a few minutes to discuss the new church season, explain a tradition, or (gasp!) open up the pew bibles and lead a bible study within the worship service! Social ministry opportunities should prepare members for service to God’s people or world with bible study and end with reflection on the experience. How rich our faith becomes when we can see the connection to God’s Word in everything we do!
Do people see it as something engaged in outside of church? Another related question might be: do our members live out their faith in their everyday lives? Unfortunately, we have done too good of a job teaching people over the years that the church is responsible for educating the young. We see parents unsure how to talk about their own faith at home and feeling woefully inadequate in opening up the bible and having devotions. How many people are engaged in personal study or seeking opportunities to dig deeper into scripture? And yet, these same people are sure to keep their job skills fresh through seminars and reading. We need to ask ourselves how we can change this dynamic.
Does the pastor and church leadership understand the importance of Christian Education to the life of the church and support its growth? I once heard Jack Fortin, the previous Executive Director of The Center for Lifelong Learning at Luther Seminary, say that Christian educators were change agents because they could successfully come at change from the side rather than top down. I happen to agree with him, but it makes our job a great deal easier if the pastor and other leaders are on board and showing their support with action. What if they’re not? Pray for guidance. Begin a dialogue. Start bombarding them with research. Do what you do best: teach.
