Yeah, unfortunately most of what Faith Alive has available is a little dated at this point. I used the HC and Me materials earlier this year with 9th graders and if you can get over some of the dated references, it's still a great tool for discussion... but I can see the need to check out other things. There's always another Faith Alive publication, Questions Worth Asking that might fit, but again that's also going to be in need of an update and aimed more at 9th/10th graders.
There's a few CRC youth ministry groups on Facebook that are good places for these questions too... if you email me at [email protected] I can try to get you hooked into those conversations as well.
My go-to suggestion would be Shaped by God, edited by Bob Keeley (http://www.faithaliveresources.org/Products/151126/shaped-by-god.aspx). It's an excellent resource with chapters on all sorts of topics by different authors.
I ran into George Brown (G.W. and Eddie Haworth Professor Emeritus of Christian Education at Western Theological Seminary) a few weeks ago and he recommended these two newer titles on faith formation:
Families and Faith: How Religion is Passed Down Across Generations by Vern Bengtson
Faith Forward by Melvin Bray
Let us know what you decide on, we'd love to hear your thoughts!
Thanks for the question Josh. I reached out to Howard Vanderwell at Calvin Seminary to ask for his advice. Here's what he offered for consideration:
1. In which of these congregations does he intend to remain affiliated, either, or both? How he answers that might provide insight into which is his "primary membership".
2. Normally baptism and profession of faith are combined as a unit in the same congregation, so it's rather unusual to have one here and another there.
3. Possibility #1 is that he "transfers" his baptism record to the new congregation (yours) at the time of making POF there. Then they are together there which is the usual way.
4. The other possibility is to receive a statement by him, if necessary verified by the other congregation, that his is in fact baptized, and then the profession of faith can proceed without an adult baptism. A statement that there is a baptism in his past is usually sufficient. Your congregation/Elders can then acknowledge his baptism at _____, and proceed with his POF. But some churches are very careless in keeping record of such things. If he has not been baptized, then his POF should be turned into an adult baptism.
I hope this helps. It does seems like a decision that should be made by your council since they know the situation best. You could always reach out to your classis for guidance on the issue as well.
If you are looking for doctrine/pre-profession of faith type stuff, also check out Deep Down Faith or Quest of Faith (found at www.faithaliveresources.org/youth). Both are great resources for digging into Reformed faith for mentor/mentee groups.
Yep, I do work for Faith Alive. Home Grown deals with all the topics you mentioned and more. It's actually set up in a question and answer format---perfect for busy parents and those who aren't interested in reading a chapter book. It allows them to skim through topics and check out different questions as they need to.
Some of the questions (there are 111 of them) that are answered are "How soon should I start talking to my child about God?", "How do I pray with my child?", "What's the big deal about baptism?", "How do I explain death to my child?", and "When can we do devotions if we don't eat together?" The answers are practical, helpful and shared with humor.
If you'd like to see a sample of the author's writing style, see the "Home Grown Faith" article in the August issue of The Banner. There is also a sample on the product page.
As far as a pamphlet-type resource, there isn't anything that I know of that we offer. An excellent idea though!
I'm the editor at Faith Alive working with Terpstra Creative to get the films out. I just wanted to clarify for your readers that Faith Alive is still working through the details on this project. We haven't finalized anything just yet, so contacting FA won't be of much help. We have to get final approvals and budgeting done before this is offical and the details can make it to our customer service team.
For the time being, if any readers have questions about the project, they can feel free to contact me directly since I'm the one managing the proposal for Faith Alive. I can be reached at [email protected].
I have to say that after spending a good part of the week listening in on synod via the webcast, discussing it over twitter, and meeting up with some of the younger delegates at a few post-Synodical brews, that I can see the value of this yearly gathering.
While there are still things I think could be done more efficiently to save some time and money, I think that it is still time and money well spent. I do hope that down the road the number of delegates is increased and diversified so that more people can come to be a part of the gathering and enage in all of the fellowship, debate, and worship that comes along with it.
I know I was blessed by being a part of the conversation, even if it was only over twitter.
Posted in: What Are Alternative Catechism Materials for Grades 7 and 8?
HI Steve,
Yeah, unfortunately most of what Faith Alive has available is a little dated at this point. I used the HC and Me materials earlier this year with 9th graders and if you can get over some of the dated references, it's still a great tool for discussion... but I can see the need to check out other things. There's always another Faith Alive publication, Questions Worth Asking that might fit, but again that's also going to be in need of an update and aimed more at 9th/10th graders.
There's a few CRC youth ministry groups on Facebook that are good places for these questions too... if you email me at [email protected] I can try to get you hooked into those conversations as well.
Posted in: Do You Have Faith Formation Book or Devotional Suggestions?
My go-to suggestion would be Shaped by God, edited by Bob Keeley (http://www.faithaliveresources.org/Products/151126/shaped-by-god.aspx). It's an excellent resource with chapters on all sorts of topics by different authors.
I ran into George Brown (G.W. and Eddie Haworth Professor Emeritus of Christian Education at Western Theological Seminary) a few weeks ago and he recommended these two newer titles on faith formation:
Families and Faith: How Religion is Passed Down Across Generations by Vern Bengtson
Faith Forward by Melvin Bray
Let us know what you decide on, we'd love to hear your thoughts!
Posted in: Professing Membership & Public Profession of Faith at a Neighboring Congregation
Thanks for the question Josh. I reached out to Howard Vanderwell at Calvin Seminary to ask for his advice. Here's what he offered for consideration:
1. In which of these congregations does he intend to remain affiliated, either, or both? How he answers that might provide insight into which is his "primary membership".
2. Normally baptism and profession of faith are combined as a unit in the same congregation, so it's rather unusual to have one here and another there.
3. Possibility #1 is that he "transfers" his baptism record to the new congregation (yours) at the time of making POF there. Then they are together there which is the usual way.
4. The other possibility is to receive a statement by him, if necessary verified by the other congregation, that his is in fact baptized, and then the profession of faith can proceed without an adult baptism. A statement that there is a baptism in his past is usually sufficient. Your congregation/Elders can then acknowledge his baptism at _____, and proceed with his POF. But some churches are very careless in keeping record of such things. If he has not been baptized, then his POF should be turned into an adult baptism.
I hope this helps. It does seems like a decision that should be made by your council since they know the situation best. You could always reach out to your classis for guidance on the issue as well.
Posted in: Do you have any resourses on mentoring, specifically 1, 2, or 3 high schoolers mostly?
Bruce,
If you are looking for doctrine/pre-profession of faith type stuff, also check out Deep Down Faith or Quest of Faith (found at www.faithaliveresources.org/youth). Both are great resources for digging into Reformed faith for mentor/mentee groups.
Derek
Posted in: Pamphlet for New Parents on Educating Young Toddlers?
Hi Albert,
Check out the Homegrown book from Faith Alive. It touches on all sorts of topics on parenting. http://www.faithaliveresources.org/Products/151370/home-grown-handbook-for-christian-parenting.aspx
There are also videos and a study guides available for groups of parents that want to form a small group of new parents together.
Derek
Posted in: Pamphlet for New Parents on Educating Young Toddlers?
Albert,
Yep, I do work for Faith Alive. Home Grown deals with all the topics you mentioned and more. It's actually set up in a question and answer format---perfect for busy parents and those who aren't interested in reading a chapter book. It allows them to skim through topics and check out different questions as they need to.
Some of the questions (there are 111 of them) that are answered are "How soon should I start talking to my child about God?", "How do I pray with my child?", "What's the big deal about baptism?", "How do I explain death to my child?", and "When can we do devotions if we don't eat together?" The answers are practical, helpful and shared with humor.
If you'd like to see a sample of the author's writing style, see the "Home Grown Faith" article in the August issue of The Banner. There is also a sample on the product page.
As far as a pamphlet-type resource, there isn't anything that I know of that we offer. An excellent idea though!
Derek
Posted in: Faith Formation (Ministries) on The Network
That "new website" mentioned above is live! Check us out over at http://www.crcna.org/FaithFormation!
Posted in: A New Video Resource: Why Young Adults Are Leaving the CRC
Hi Keith,
I'm the editor at Faith Alive working with Terpstra Creative to get the films out. I just wanted to clarify for your readers that Faith Alive is still working through the details on this project. We haven't finalized anything just yet, so contacting FA won't be of much help. We have to get final approvals and budgeting done before this is offical and the details can make it to our customer service team.
For the time being, if any readers have questions about the project, they can feel free to contact me directly since I'm the one managing the proposal for Faith Alive. I can be reached at [email protected].
Thanks!
Posted in: A New Video Resource: Why Young Adults Are Leaving the CRC
Shift is now available, along with a free study guide, through Faith Alive. Here's a link to the ordering page: http://www.faithaliveresources.org/Products/139190/shift-dvd.aspx.
Posted in: Overtures 3 & 4: Laying Out the Debate
This is one of the best comments I've seen on the Network in a long time. Thanks for the level-headed and gracious approach here Randy.
Posted in: The Why in Synod
Amen!
Thanks for raising these important questions Meg. It really comes down to a question of stewardship, don't you think?
Posted in: The Why in Synod
I have to say that after spending a good part of the week listening in on synod via the webcast, discussing it over twitter, and meeting up with some of the younger delegates at a few post-Synodical brews, that I can see the value of this yearly gathering.
While there are still things I think could be done more efficiently to save some time and money, I think that it is still time and money well spent. I do hope that down the road the number of delegates is increased and diversified so that more people can come to be a part of the gathering and enage in all of the fellowship, debate, and worship that comes along with it.
I know I was blessed by being a part of the conversation, even if it was only over twitter.