From Font to Table: Welcoming the Stranger into Christ and Congregational Life
July 5-7, 2023
Veteran pastors and commissioned ministers of parish ministry are well aware there is no “magic bullet” that guarantees to increase a congregation’s membership, and this workshop makes no such claim for an adult faith formation process. Rather, the research—case studies at four congregations with robust catechumenal practices—points to congregational transformation that draws newcomers and long-time members into an apprenticeship of the way and life of Jesus Christ and that fosters a missional identity for the whole congregation.
Conceived more as a visioning lab than workshop, Dr. Kent Burreson and Dr. Rhoda Schuler will offer background material on adult faith formation, facilitate small group studies and discussions, lead participants through experiential learning on ritual, and moderate structured time designed for participants to formulate a plan for introducing an adult faith formation process in their congregations. Pastors from our research congregations will lead short sessions via Zoom to share their wisdom on various topics related to an adult catechumenate.
In the end, faith formation is not a program, not even a set of processes or practices, but a way of life. Through the congregational life of community and worship, teaching and preaching, witness and service God transforms the baptized and the community, deeply and broadly.
