In many circles, even in this book, we hear individuals talking about the silver bullet. Give me the silver bullet, so we can suceede. So, many of us are seeking the silver bullet in “sticky faith”. What can we do that will make faith stick ?
In the book, they state clearly that they have not found the silver bullet. However, they have found there are a few things that seem to help faith stick and there is one thing that seems to consistently come to the top. Here is the statement:
Involvement in all-church worship during high school is more consistently linked with mature faith in both high school and college than any other form of church participation.
I find it interesting that many churches keep pushing students being in separate areas for worship. As I have researched and asked questions, I think that the reason that most do it is the following:
1. Consumer Convience (everyone gets in and out in an hour)
2. Believe students will not come to “big church”, so we create attract models to bring more in.
I think that those who have separate ministries often do have higher numbers. But, are they connecting and will their faith stick. The counter argument is that they are casting the larger net and planting seeds. I think that it is a sticky (no pun intended) situation. A page later (on the kindle), it states the following:
The more teenagers serve and build relationships with younger children, the more likely it is that their faith with stick.
From these two statements, it would seem that if we want individuals (students) to have a faith that sticks that we will attempt to have them in church-wide worship and serving/mentoring in the children ministry.
What are you doing ?
For us (CTS), when I came here, we had confirmation (7-12 with peer guides) during worship. We moved confirmation off of that time frame to give the students an opportunity to worship with their family and the church-family at large. They did not have the opportunity beforehand. We have also changed how we have structured the children ministry. We have created community groups (crews) and we have junior high and high school students who are their mentors/guides. Thus, we have taken a step so they can worship and serve. We will see how it works.
I recently saw that Adam is going through Sticky Faith and it just so happens that they are on the same chapter. Adam and Kristen share their thoughts on this chapter and do a great job. Check out their insights:
Sticky Faith: Adam and Kristen’s Thoughts
Ministry In The Trenches 