The Five Principles of Faith Formation are a valuable way to rethink what it means to be the church in both the congregation and the home.

A challenge for the church today is retaining its children, youth, and adults and, at the same time, effectively reaching out to the larger society with the good news of Jesus Christ. The numerical decline in many denominations in the United States and Canada is alarming.

The Five Principles of Faith Formation help us rethink what it means to be the church as a faith-forming community. At the heart of the Five Principles is a focus on personal, trusted relationships to nurture the Christian faith and support one another in faith, hope, and love. The challenge implicit in these principles is to see beyond the ministry of the congregation as a standalone effort and appreciate a vital partnership with the home and other settings where the Christian faith lives and thrives through personal, trusted relationships

Five Principles of Faith Formation

These five statements are interrelated themes that identify essential ingredients to how the church passes on the faith from generation to generation.

1. Faith is formed by the power of the Holy Spirit through personal, trusted relationships—often in our own homes.
2. The church is a living partnership between the ministry of the congregation and the ministry of the home.
3. Where Christ is present in faith, the home is church, too.
4. Faith is caught more than it is taught.
5. If we want Christian children and youth, we need Christian adults who practice the faith with them.

A Closer Look

Although each principle can stand alone, together they form a more cohesive whole.

Faith Is Formed through Relationships

The first Principle asserts that faith is a gift of the Holy Spirit and that the Holy Spirit works through trusted relationships. We see this most clearly in John 1:29-51. Jesus gathers his first disciples, a group of siblings, neighbors, and friends, all exhibiting personal and trusted relationships. Modern research—at least since the 1980s—has consistently shown the power of family relationships. Parents and other primary caregivers stand out far and away as the primary influences of what a child believes.

A Partnership between Church and Home

The second Principle involves the partnership between congregation and home. This theme expands to emphasize a team effort of faith-formation influencers. What happens in a congregation benefits from the daily reinforcement of the home (and other primary-life relationships and contexts). The home provides an environment that, when working in partnership with the congregation, bolsters the ministry of the congregation. Likewise, the home benefits from peer and cross+generational relationships built within the congregation through the formal practices of worship, education, service, fellowship, and more.

The Home Is Church, Too

The third Principle states succinctly and forcefully that the home is not simply a support for the work of the church (often meaning “congregation”) but is itself an expression of the church. In the home, faith is meant to be formed daily and sacramentally by living out one’s baptism and engaging in the content of the faith through conversations, loving relationships, and service to others, all as part of one’s Christian identity. This Principle suggests that one should be cautioned against identifying the congregation as “church” without also being mindful of the home as church, too. In other words, when speaking about the congregation or worship services, it is helpful to name them as “congregation” and “worship (services)” instead of “church.” To do otherwise minimizes the importance of the home as a faith-forming community and a vital expression of “church.”

Catching Faith

The fourth Principle acknowledges that the best learning—that which endures and shapes our lives—often takes place experientially. As the saying goes, “What we hear, we forget; what we see, we remember; what we do, we learn.” That is true for Christian faith formation as well. Living the faith is learning—and being formed in—the faith. That is one of the reasons that stories are so important to our memories and education. Attaching faith and values to the experiences and stories of our lives carries real weight in the life of the church, both in the home and in the congregation.

Needing Christian Adults

The fifth Principle is the only one that has changed in recent years. It was edited by adding the final words, “…who practice the faith with them.” The addition was to make explicit the importance of practicing—living—the faith cross+generationally. Because the Christian faith is experiential and relational (think of Jesus living and working with his disciples for three years), we need to be living and learning the faith in a number of different settings: home, congregation, neighborhood, and other communities. Those settings include adults nurturing children and youth, and, yes, children and youth nurturing adults. 

Implications of the Five Principles for Reflection and Action in Christian Education

The Five Principles of Faith Formation complement and strengthen Spirit & Truth Publishing’s resources. This can easily be seen through Taking Faith Home, their new faith formation resource based on the Revised Common Lectionary. Taking Faith Home (TFH) helps Sunday worship last all week long. It reinforces the scripture texts, prayers, messages, seasonal themes, and hymns used in congregational worship. It encourages faith formation in the home, whether that home is composed of a single person or a larger set of relationships. TFH promotes conversations, prayers, Bible readings, acts of service, and Christian rituals and traditions that speak to the Christian message and life experienced in weekly worship.

The Five Principles remind us of the importance of connecting faith formation offered through a particular curriculum to the daily lives of believers in the home and other daily-life settings (e.g., coffee shop, school, work, or vacation site). Maximize the benefits of a Christian faith formation resource by exploring ways to connect the resource to

• Daily life relationships
• A meaningful partnership between home and congregation
• Recognizing the home as a valued expression of the church
• Experiential learning and reinforcement of Christian faith formation
• Support of practicing the faith in cross+generational settings.

The one who DARES to do this just may discover the joy of learning and living the Christian faith day in and day out, in joyous times and challenging times.

In the partnership of the gospel,

Dr. David W. Anderson

About the Writer

Dr. David W. Anderson is known ecumenically and internationally for his work in cross+generational faith formation and outreach. The Five Principles have been at the heart of Anderson’s work as a pastor, speaker, coach, and author. Between 1997-2025, he has provided leadership at The Youth & Family Institute, Vibrant Faith Ministries, and Milestones Ministry, LLC.

The Five Principles of Faith Formation are based on Anderson’s doctoral studies and over 30 years of working with congregations and larger church judicatories across the United States and in Australia, Canada, Norway, and Sweden. These Principles have been taught to a wide variety of denominations, including Lutheran, Episcopalian, Presbyterian, Methodist, and Mennonite.

The Five Principles are based on Scripture, church history, and modern research on effective faith formation practices. For an in-depth look at the evidence and implications for the church, go to one or more of the following books:

• Frogs without Legs Can’t Hear: Nurturing the Faith in Home and Congregation, by David W. Anderson and Paul Hill.
• From the Great Omission to Vibrant Faith: The Role of the Home in Renewing the Church, by David W. Anderson.
• Vibrant Faith in the Congregation, by David W. Anderson.
• Shepherd of Souls: Faith Formation through Trusted Relationships, by David W. Anderson.

This blog post is part of a monthly series of practical advice for faith formation leaders by faith formation and education professionals. Summaries of these posts are sent in a monthly email to email subscribers. Subscribe today!