WHY does The Episcopal Church need
The Charter on Lifelong Christian Formation?

From Episcopal Christian Educators (NAECED, January 2008)

Effective Christian Education: A National Study of Protestant Congregations (Search Institute, 1993)

• Effective Christian education involves people of mature faith nurturing others who are growing in faith. Christian education is more than learning Bible stories, doctrine, and all else that contributes to one’s faith heritage.
• Values in educational strategies from the past must be reclaimed. Sharing a story, involving parents in the Christian nurture of their children; expressing ideas and feelings about one’s faith; asking questions; participating in mission projects to serve others – these strategies are as valid today as they ever were.
• Christian education must be viewed holistically, not as a separate entity. Every aspect of a church’s ministry contains educational implications. Basic principals of teaching and learning include: involving everyone in the process, being sensitive to needs of the participants, having a clear focus on what is to be communicated and accomplished, enabling participants to make connections between the subject matter and their own lives, providing opportunities to give expression to what they think and believe, and motivating them to put into practice what they believe.

• 32% of adults have a mature faith; 64% of youth have an undeveloped faith.
• Christian education is the most important vehicle within congregational life for helping people grow in faith.
• The average congregation has in place only 46% of the factors that make its educational ministries effective.
• Our current models of Christian education were essentially developed in the 1700s and 1800s, a time when the entire nation was essentially Protestant.
• 60% of children participate in Christian education; 52% Middle School; 35% High School; 28% adults. By leaving Christian education programs during adolescence, we risk not growing beyond a thirteen-year-old’s understanding of God, the world and faith – hardly an adequate basis for a life-shaping adult faith.
• 34% of teachers for youth and 44% of teachers for adults know educational theory and practice for their age group. Only 53% of churches provide instruction in effective teaching methods at least once a year.
• No longer can we assume that people – even adults who grew up in the church – are biblically or theologically literate.

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Lifelong Christian formation in The Episcopal Church is growth in the knowledge, service and love of God as followers of Christ and is informed by Scripture, Tradition and Reason.

I have called you friends… John 15:14-16

Through The Episcopal Church, God INVITES all people:

v Into a prayerful life of worship, continuous learning, intentional outreach, advocacy and service.

v To hear the Word of God, to honor church teachings, and continually to embrace the joy of Baptism and Eucharist, spreading the Good News of the risen Christ and ministering to all.

v To respond to the needs of our constantly changing communities, as Jesus calls us, in ways that reflect our diversity and cultures as we seek, wonder and discover together.

v To hear what the Spirit is saying to God’s people, placing ourselves in the stories of our faith, thereby empowering us to proclaim the Gospel message.

…You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit... John 15:14-16

Through The Episcopal Church, God INSPIRES all people:

v To experience Anglican liturgy, which draws us closer to God, helps us discern God’s will and encourages us to share our faith journeys.

v To study scripture mindful of the context of our societies and cultures, calling us to seek truth anew while remaining fully present in the community of faith.

v To develop new learning experiences, equipping disciples for life in a world of secular challenges and carefully listening for the words of modern sages who embody the teachings of Christ.

v To prepare for a sustainable future by calling the community to become guardians of God’s creation.

I am giving you these commands that you may love one another. John 15:17

Through The Episcopal Church, God TRANSFORMS all people:

v By doing the work Jesus Christ calls us to do, living into the reality that we are all created in the image of God, and carrying out God’s work of reconciliation, love, forgiveness, healing, justice and peace.

v By striving to be a loving and witnessing community, which faithfully confronts the tensions in the church and the world as we struggle to live God’s will.

v By seeking out diverse and expansive ways to empower prophetic action, evangelism, advocacy and collaboration in our contemporary global context.

v By holding all accountable to lift every voice in order to reconcile oppressed and oppressor to the love of God in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Lifelong Christian formation in The Episcopal Church
is a journey with Christ, in Christ, and to Christ.

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ECCE supports those who are called to the ministry of religious education and formation in the Episcopal Church by providing models of life-long learning which...

FORM: nurture
INFORM: instruction, teaching, tradition
TRANSFORM: justice

advocacy...the people of God in collaboration with the Office for Children's Ministires and Christian Education.

brings information and resources to those involved in education and formation by

* implementing General Convention resolutions
* developing program resources
* supporting Provincial education networks
* linking the Office for Children's Ministries and Christian Education, the provinces and dioceses of the Episcopal Church in the USA (ECUSA)
* highlighting ECUSA programs such as The Children's Charter, Called to Teach and Learn, and advocacy and education events.

ECCE understands the value of the knowledge (education) and love of Jesus Christ (formation) as means of living our our Baptismal Covenant. We support the Church as it works to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ.

ECUSA CHILDREN'S MINISTRIES

The ETSS Online School in Spirituality and Mission

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