Steps In Establishing A Family Ministry Religion Essay Example

for religious education, the ministry should collaborate with parents to prepare them for teaching religion at home. The Building Faith at Home initiative urges us to follow Mark Holmen's example of shifting from neglecting family ministry as a minister to prioritizing it as a senior minister in his church. As part of this exciting initiative, this book offers a vision and practical model for incorporating family ministry into our church community. Holmen equips us with the necessary tools to evaluate our church's commitment to family ministry and provides an integrated approach that can transform how we approach this important ministry, regardless of our church's size. Families are vital environments where individuals strive to live out their religious beliefs. Nurturing righteous and compassionate relationships within families is an ongoing daily challenge.

When families provide guidance and support to their households, they essentially offer religious advice. The specific family experiences that have the strongest connection to increased faith in adulthood include frequent conversations about religion between adolescents and their parents, regular family devotion and prayer, as well as parents and children working together to assist others. These experiences carry more influence than simply observing parents engage in religious practices like attending church (Benson and Eklin, 38).

According to the Effective Christian Education Study, families that commonly express their faith participate in various activities such as discussing spiritual beliefs, engaging in family devotion, praying or reading the Bible at home frequently, and actively participating in projects aimed at helping others. The study also reveals that youth from families who regularly express their faith engage twice as often in activities like reading the Bible and praying alone, studying and learning about

Christianity, being spiritually moved by God's creation, and frequently experiencing God's presence in their lives.

Furthermore, young people living with a parent who consistently expresses religion through both words and actions are three times more likely to participate in household activities that benefit others.Young people from religious households are also twice as likely to dedicate their time to helping others, in contrast to those who come from non-religious backgrounds.

According to a study conducted by Benson, P.L. and Eklin, C.H. (1990) at Search Institute, it was discovered that young individuals in public schools who have parents that dedicate a substantial amount of time assisting others are roughly twice as likely to engage in helping behaviors themselves. Approximately 61% of these young people whose parents serve as role models for helping volunteer for at least one hour per week, whereas only about 36% of those whose parents do not exhibit helping behaviors participate in voluntary work.

Individuals who dedicate themselves to serving others, seeking justice, and advocating for causes often credit their upbringing as being typical among families with similar values. Families that also practice religion have a significant impact on their children's involvement in church activities and service. In fact, twice as many young individuals from religious families actively participate in church youth groups, attend programs or events that encompass both children and adults, take part in church camps or work camps, and consider spirituality as a highly influential aspect of their lives. Furthermore, these youths' attendance at worship services is approximately 20 percent higher compared to those from non-religious families. It is evident that the individuals most likely to develop religious beliefs are those raised in households

where religion plays an integral role in everyday family life.

The Effective Christian Education Study shows the important impact of faith patterns on the participation of young people in the church's life and mission. Robert Wuthnow's research emphasizes the valuable role of family faith, indicating that individuals who attended Sunday school as children are more inclined to regularly attend services as adults compared to those without such instruction.

The religious upbringing in the household has the most significant influence on adult religious attendance. The dedication of parents during a child's upbringing is the main indicator, followed by observing their parents reading the Bible at home, and then by parents personally reading the Bible to the child. Saying grace before meals and attending Sunday school have relatively weaker effects on adult attendance (Wuthnow 1996).