New from the Faith Practices Project

This month we released resources for the practice of service as part of the Faith Practices Project, marking the completion of our year-long dive into twelve life-giving spiritual disciplines. Find highlighted posts and resources below, or visit our webpage for more ideas for practicing service individually, with a group, or as a family. As we enter a new ministry year, you can continue to explore all 12 practices for ideas that might work in your ministry context, and look for additional resources from the Faith Practices Project coming in 2022.

Living Like Jesus: Service as a Faith Practice

by Chris Schoon, director of Faith Formation Ministries

For many years I viewed service more along the lines of volunteering than anything else. Service seemed to be something that was good to do when I had extra time and energy. It seemed more like a bonus step in my Christian faith. I could show up for a shift at a soup kitchen or help put together holiday food baskets for families that were struggling and couldn’t afford a nice Thanksgiving or Christmas meal. I recall participating in several service projects that involved spending a Saturday morning raking leaves from the yards of elderly members in our church or cleaning up trash from the neighborhood around the church building. Occasionally, serving others involved taking a week-long trip to some other community to work on houses and property.

While all these activities were good for me to do, in looking back, I realize something was often off in the way I understood what we were doing. . . .

Continue Reading “Living Like Jesus: Serving as a Faith Practice »

Strengthening Intergenerational Mentoring in Your Church

Young adults are leaving the church behind in record numbers. Without meaningful relationships in the churches they grow up in, many young adults don’t even see what they’re missing when they stop going.

Generation Spark offers your church a research-based way to not only keep young people spiritually engaged but equip them to lead your church into the future. The key: mentoring. Generation Spark partners with you to build authentic intergenerational relationships between 16- to 24-year-olds and spiritual mentors in your church.

Become a more intergenerational church »

Check Out the Newly Renovated and Expanded Building Blocks of Faith Toolkit!

What helps people of all ages grow in faith? One way to answer that question is to look through the lens of the Building Blocks of Faith—four basic spiritual needs that are met in Christ. Learn more in our newly revised Building Blocks of Faith toolkit at crcna.org/FaithFormation/toolkits

Explore the toolkit »

Explore Faith Formation in Community: Join an FFM Cohort

An FFM cohort is a group of congregations that work together with a shared purpose (like strengthening their congregation’s faith formation practices.) It’s a great way to learn together and share encouragement and support! We’re leading three cohorts in ministry year 2021-2022.

Find a cohort that’s a good fit for your church »

Around the Table with FFM

Join us for conversations that will nourish your soul and fuel you for ministry. Around the Table is a series of bite-sized workshops and discussion groups hosted by Faith Formation Ministries. For our first Around the Table workshop, regional catalyzers Lesli and Trudy will lead an interactive conversational workshop on “Navigating Church After Pandemic Trauma.”

Register for our first gathering »

Introducing Our Updated DWELL Digital Site!

The updated Dwell site is easier than ever to use. You’ll find updated sessions, additional activities, and a new look for Dwell Flex, our multi-age version of Dwell that is designed to work in person or virtually.

Explore the new Dwell Digital features »