Sticky Faith: Join the Movement!
Kara Powell is tall and likes to hug. I’m short and from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Hugging my mom in public makes me uncomfortable. A few years ago I was invited to Fuller Theological Seminary to discuss Fuller Youth Institute’s (FYI) college transition project, now known by the creative and catchy phrase “Sticky Faith.” I’m often intimidated by settings like this: a renowned academic institution, a southern California setting, a gathering of Christian “leaders” from across the country. I have no wardrobe for such an event. As I picked up my nametag and stack of handouts, Dr. Powell, FYI’s Executive Director, spotted me from across the room. I knew a hug was coming. Waving to greet her, I dropped about 100 sheets of paper on the floor. The hug would have to wait. I must have covered every square inch of that Fuller classroom floor, on my hands and knees, crawling through a maze of legs of strangers. What a way to start day number one of the sticky faith summit!
It was an honor to be invited to this historic event. I had been following the Sticky Faith research from the beginning and as soon as I received the invitation in the mail, I booked my flight and headed to the Gap Outlet. I wasn’t going to miss this opportunity. I’d crawl to Pasadena if I had to.
I am pleased to announce that after five years of research and discussion, FYI has released the findings of their research in some very helpful resources. Here’s what FYI had been working so tirelessly to discover: what are the practices that parents and youth workers need to engage in to better produce faith in young people the sticks for the long haul. In other words, how do we lead teens to faith that lasts? This question is at the heart of the College Transition Initiative as well and FYI has been one of my most important conversation partners. Their research has greatly influenced and informed my seminars and writing. Thank you Kara, Chap, Brad, Cheryl, and Irene (and anyone I’m missing) for your hard work!
The new resources they have created are timely and timeless, deep yet accessible, and profound but simple to understand. My hope is that every pastor and parent who cares about passing along the faith to the next generation reads the Sticky Faith books, watches the DVDs and explores the website. May the resources bear much fruit!
Read a press release: What Makes Faith Stick During College?
Learn more about the new books for parents and youth workers.
Listen to podcasts about the research.
Check out the Stick Faith blog.
[...] a previous post, I mentioned new research and resources from Fuller Youth Institute that seeks to develop better [...]