168 Hours in a Week vs. 1 Hour for Christian Education

There’s 168 hours in a week. In the church we see the larger percentage of people for 1 hour during worship and a smaller percentage for 1 hour during Christian Education.

What message can we possibly give during this prime time to nurture and sustain faith lives the other 166 hours of the week?

Our track record appears to be showing that whatever we do during prime time does not continue when people leave the building. In fact what we share and teach during 1 or 2 hours in church is most likely undone within an hour in the secular world.

What can we do? How do we nurture our people and help them understand that faith role modeling is in their hands and not just experienced in our buildings for a few hours a week. It’s ours to do 24/7.

How do we help our children, youth, and adults?

Over the past 5 years I have had the privilege to travel across the country and introduce curriculum and family systems thinking to congregations. This summer I was privileged to travel as part of a team to churches in Australia. Whether in congregations in Australia or in the US, we all have the same challenges. It’s getting parents “on-board” and involved in Christian education. And it’s helping them understand their role in the faith of their children.

While on staff in our congregation for 10 years, I learned that role modeling faith practices once a week in the congregation that could be done in the home works.

I also became friends with two important words, intentional and expectations.

Until you are intentional about the way you do something, it most likely doesn’t happen. When you set expectations, you make priorities for the way we do something. It becomes important to you and the congregation.

A simple faith practice we call the FAITH 5 modeled in church every Sunday in small groups and at home every night in households will change lives.

FAITH 5 (Faith Acts InThe Home)

1. Share  2.      Read God’s Word  3.Talk 4.Pray 5.Bless.

If I had kicking off the year to do over again, here’s what I’d do:

1. Meet with the Christian Ed leadership team and come to an understanding about what we want to accomplish, support one another, and model the FAITH 5 at each meeting.
2. Communicate through e-mails, newsletters, and bulletins about plans for the fall well before the beginning of Sunday school.
3. Make sure that pastor, leadership, and teachers are “on-board” with our plans and can verbalize them back to us.
4. Ask the pastor or one of the Christian Ed team to make announcements during worship times. Talk about the value of the FAITH 5 during a message and think about providing a time for faith      stories of the church to be shared during worship in the future.
5. Make phone calls as an initial contact. Personal invitation is the number one way to invite another person to come.     
6. Most important: Have a parent’s meeting as a kick off for the year where you explain the expectations. Role model the FAITH 5 at that meeting. Walk them through the value and wisdom of each step.
7. Make sure there is a schedule to hand out at the beginning of the year so everyone can have the dates on their calendar. In today’s busy world this is important.
8. Schedule a few family events throughout the year where the fruits of sharing the FAITH 5 in small groups each week and in the home can be shared. Faith stories from church staff are one thing,    faith stories from one family to another grows lives. That’s evangelism.

I bought a few boomerangs when I was in Australia. They are beautiful. I’m not very good at using them yet, but I began to reflect on what I want them to do.

I want them to come back.

Then I thought about the FAITH 5.

I like to think of them as having the potential of the boomerang effect.
Throw them out there and you’ll be amazed at how quickly stories come back.

Along with the stories come the people. Again and again.