History

In the spring of 2007 First Presbyterian Church formed the Christian Nurture Task Force. The charge was to look at two questions:

1. How is First Pres currently doing with our responsibility for Christian nurture for all members of all ages; and
2. What do we envision for the future of Christian Nurture at First Pres.?

Members of the task force

Carol Gottliebsen, Chair; Debbie MacVey, Staff Liaison; Marc Buchanan; Sarah Glinka Endiott; Reverend Aaron Janklow; Cindy King; Resident Minister Deborah Knott; Judy Landau; Jim Schaafsma; Sarah Stitt; Jeff Taggart; and Lee Twombly.

Purpose

Perhaps the simplest definition of our focus this fall is stated by Doug Brouwer: “If one of the central tasks of a Christian church is to shape and form its people in the Christian faith, then how are we doing? Are the programs and classes of this church doing what we want them to do – for children and youth, as well as adults?”

The group met for twelve weeks this fall, and attempted to review Christian nurture in our faith community in the broadest sense of “how are we doing?” It quickly became clear to the Task Force that First Presbyterian is doing very well in offering a breadth of programs that provide many different opportunities for worship and discipleship.

The key question was to wonder how the programs, ministry, and leaders currently in place could be more sharply focused on developing and nurturing discipleship.

Faithcare

The starting point for our review was to find a common language about Christian nurture, and the foundation for our understanding is taken from the readings listed in Appendix 1.

The Book of Order which is the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church USA was used for initial guidance in defining Christian Nurture. It states: “The Christian community provides nurture for its members through all of life and life’s transitions.” (W-6.1000).

“The session and the elders are responsible for providing for the development and supervision of the educational program of the church, for instructing church officers, and for developing discipleship among members. The pastor nurtures the community through the ministries of Word and Sacrament, by praying with and for the congregation, through formal and informal teaching, and by example. Some in the community of faith whose special gifts and training have prepared them for a ministry of education are called to the task of leadership in nurture. Teachers, advisers, and others appointed by the session guide, instruct and equip those for whose education and nurture they are responsible. Parents share the faith of the church with children.

“The primary standard and resource for the nurture of the church is the Word of God in Scripture. The central occasion for nurture in the church is the worship service. All members of the community, from oldest to youngest, are encouraged to be present and to participate…. The church provides other occasions for nurture in church school classes, in other groups and fellowships organized for education and nurture, in groups and associations gathered for service and mission, in committee, boards and governing bodies, and in retreats, camps and conferences.” (W-6.2005-6)

“The session should provide for education in Christian worship by means appropriate to the age, interests, and circumstances of the members of the congregation.” (W-1.4007)

Outside Readings

In addition to focusing on the definitions provided by the Book of Order we also read several noted Christian educators and authors who wrote on the subjects of Christian Nurture, spiritual formation, spiritual development, discipleship, Christian formation, and Christian education. In sum, we began to think of Christian nurture as “faithcare”, the way in which First Presbyterian “provides nurture for its members through all of life and life’s transitions”.

Process: Education and Program Review

Once we began to feel that we understood our focus we undertook a careful review of all of the many programs at First Presbyterian. We created a view of our church from several perspectives:

• the journey one might take in faith from “birth to death” at First Pres;
• an assessment of our congregation’s education and programs as they help to build faith community, encourage participation in religious instruction, develop spiritually and to reach the transformative stage of faith (see Seymour); and
• a review of our congregation’s worship and nurture as they relate to the rhythmic pattern of a calendar year as paradigmatic events (e.g. worship services, small group Bible studies), seasonal events (e.g. Lenten study groups, Maundy Thursday service), occasional events (e.g. baptisms, funerals, mission trips) and unexpected events (e.g. the closing of the Pfizer plant)

As Dallas Willard states, “A disciple is a learner, a student, an apprentice and a practitioner, even if only a beginner... Most of the activities commonly identified as ‘religious’ activities can be a part of the process of spiritual formation, and should be. Public and private worship, study of scripture, nature, and God’s acts in human history, prayer, giving to godly causes and service to others can all be highly effective elements in spiritual formation” Each of these perspectives (found in Appendix 2) helped us review “how are we doing”?

Strengths and Weaknesses

Our discussion turned to identifying areas which were either “missing” or seen as weak in First Pres after this review of “what do we do now”. All of the conversations were framed by a common belief that it is important that our faith community have the ability to embrace all who come to our door, wherever they may be in their individual faith journey.

Essentially, Christian nurture and education is a way to focus our efforts on helping the congregation become better disciples of Jesus Christ. If faith is held by all who enter, do we have the worship, programs, ministry, leaders to help people journey in faith to a more true and enduring faith as defined by doctrinal affirmation?

Process: Other Faith Communities

Christian discipleship clearly calls for us to share, study, serve and worship the tenets of faith as laid out in the Scriptures. We each explored websites and literature from other churches (See Appendix 3) to see how they address this challenge – and to see if any of our perceived “gaps” were strengths elsewhere.

Specifically we looked for how other churches addressed the following questions:

• How do they tell the faith stories of “who am I” as a Christian?
• What rituals do they have for using Scripture in worship and programs?
• How do families worship?
• How do they prepare congregants for faithcare at home?
• How do they connect Sunday school and the weekly sermon to other programs, committees?
• What kinds of Bible Studies are commonly found (large group, small group, settings)?
• Do they provide intergenerational mentoring and common mission opportunities?
• What do they do to keep youth connected beyond confirmation?

Process: Ideas for Change

Once we reviewed the information from other faith communities we tried to focus on three areas:

• How are we/what are we doing to help make the congregation become better disciples of Jesus Christ;
• How are we doing with the responsibility we have for Christian nurture, especially for our children, youth and members “new” to faith; and
• Is a midweek program/can a midweek program become a place of real spiritual formation for more of our faith family?

Ideas ranged from ways to become better disciples to more intergenerational connectivity in “telling our Christian story” to increasing leadership training to finding new ways to encourage mission participation. (See Appendix 4)

Recommendations

I. ISSUE: What is our vision of Christian education and nurture?

RECOMMENDATION: That the church intentionally focus on a planned approach to spiritual development and education in and about faith from childhood throughout life. That the church create an Education Oversight Council made up of representatives from the Worship, Children, Youth, Campus, Abide Small Group, and Adult Ed Committees which would monitor and assess progress on a periodic basis (e.g. quarterly). This Council would promote a coordinated plan for Christian nurture and education activities for the whole community “through all of life and life’s transitions” (Book of Order) which would include:

1. Create midweek programming that includes intergenerational mentoring, a meal, Bible study, mission and education;
2. Increase Adult Sunday School offerings at both the 9:30 and 11 am services;
3. Facilitate spiritual development planning with programs targeting members after confirmation into early adulthood and beyond;
4. Increase offerings for parents on topics that will help them to take their Christian life into the every day world; and
5. Develop “at home” study materials that would be linked to weekly sermon for small groups, committees and individuals to use.

MOTION: That Session establish an Education Council guided by a dedicated staff member with members from Worship, Children, Youth, Campus, Stewardship,Abide Small Group, Adult Ed Committees whose primary goal is to develop a coordinated plan to nurture journeys in faith for the entire church family - including children, youth and adults.

II. ISSUE: How do we equip the church family to meet the ongoing need for Christian nurture and education?

RECOMMENDATION: That the church improve training and preparation of lay leaders who are committed to helping members of all ages to better know the Bible, to better understand Christian practices and spiritual disciplines, to deepen and broaden their faith, to pursue discipleship and to respond to the needs of the world. That the church create a Congregational Leadership Development Council under the guidance of an ordained minister to monitor and assess progress on this task. This Council would focus on education and nurture as it could permeate our congregation:

1. Intentionally encourage everyone to be fuller participants in our church life (in education and worship);
2. Establish a core group of lay leaders who are trained with a focus on nurture: Adult education, mission group leadership, lay leadership training, promoting spiritual formation, and small group development;
3. Hire an Associate Minister with no less than 25% of time dedicated to developing and enhancing lay leadership;
4. Encourage small group outreach to those new to the faith and increase targeted ministries to “lifestyle” groups – men’s ministry, empty nesters, post-college/pre family, college students, young families, etc.; and
5. Modify the Sunday worship service to increase the congregation’s understanding of the inclusion and use of the “Word of God in Scripture”.

MOTION: That Session form a Congregational Leadership Development Council under the guidance of an ordained minister which would draw from the Worship, Evangelism, Abide, Mission and other Session Committees to identify and equip the lay leaders necessary to support growth in congregational discipleship.

III. ISSUE: How do we nurture and unify the inter-generational community as a whole?

RECOMMENDATION: That First Pres Church officers endorse an overall concept that would be periodically reviewed and based on our mission statement to help members integrate faith into daily life. The Leadership Development Council and Education Council would be charged by Session to consider everything we do as opportunity and occasion for education and nurture: worship, church school, fellowship, service and mission work.

1. Create a single study topic for all ages that uses a “common language”.
2. Incorporate the study topic into daily life under the umbrella of a concept such as “Christians 24/7”, “Get Connected” or “Sunday Plus 2” (attend worship plus two other actvities to study, teach, share, or serve every week)
3. Encourage all committees and groups in our church to commit to 10-15 minutes of prayer, Bible study or other nurture activity when they gather- a “strictly business meeting” would no longer happen in our church.

MOTION: That Session authorize: 1.) the periodic adoption of a single study topic for the whole church, and 2.) mandate that all committees and groups commit to incorporating Christian nurture activities into their work (e.g. incorporate prayer, nurture or Bible study as a component of their gathering).