Join host Rick Lawrence (Executive Director of Vibrant Faith) and very-special guest Dr. Christian Smith for an hour-long conversation on the insights and strategies gleaned from Dr. Smith’s groundbreaking research into the “holy grail” of ministry—how to help parents more intentionally “infect” their kids with a deeper faith. Register soon, SPACE IS LIMITED!

When: Thursday, March 18th at 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time
Where: Zoom Link Provided on Eventbrite
Cost: FREE

Ministry leaders have known for years that the most important influence shaping the religious and spiritual lives of children and teenagers is their parents—experience, biblical wisdom, and mountains of research have underlined this truth. This parental impact continues well after their kids leave home, and often for the rest of their lives. But though we know the facts, we’ve struggled to find strategies that actually help parents live out this crucial role. Dr. Smith—professor of sociology at the University of Notre Dame and the lead researcher behind the seminal National Study of Youth and Religion—explores the actual beliefs, feelings, and activities of parents who are skilled in the “intergenerational transmission of religious faith and practice.”

In the last year, Dr. Smith has released two new major books that are fueled by his latest research into parental impact on faith growth in children—Religious Parenting: Transmitting Faith and Values in Contemporary America and Handing Down the Faith: How Parents Pass Their Religion on to the Next Generation  (releasing April 2021). These new releases expand from the insights and culture-shifting discoveries of Dr. Smith’s gold-standard sociological work Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers. 
Handing Down the Faith reports the findings of a new national study of religious parents in the United States, exploring how parenting styles interact with parent religiousness to shape effective religious transmission. His findings are counterintuitive, and have the power to shape what you’re doing to plant intergenerational and home-based efforts in your congregation.

Dr. Christian Smith’s research has and continues to fuel the Strong Catholic Families/Fortaleciendo Familias en la Fe initiative.

REGISTER HERE