Will our children have faith? An interesting question, and the title of an informative and insightful book by John Westerhoff, III. Although first published in 1976 and revised in 2000, the book is just as relevant as the first day it was printed. And you might wonder, is it important that our children have faith…is this aspect of our lives important to us, both individually and collectively? The Pew Forum on Religious and Public Life published a study in December 2009 entitled “How Religious is your State?” – the results varied, but the national averages showed that slightly more than half of those surveyed thought weekly worship attendance and daily prayer were important, while about 70% were certain of the existence of God. So, at least in some degree (and definitions vary widely, of course) faith in God still has significance in our society. This begs the question, if something is important, what are we doing about it? Westerhoff opens his book with the following words: “It is a truism that Christian faith and education are inevitable companions. Wherever living faith exists, there is a community endeavoring to know, understand, live, and witness to that faith.”[i] Again, what are we actually doing about the development of our faith; how are we “endeavoring to know, understand, live, and witness to that faith.” Certainly there are many wonderful programs alive and well throughout the country, but there are also many disturbing trends that appear to be going unnoticed. Continue reading →