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Parenting Faith Research Study

Apr 11, 2023
7 min read

The full report, a 245-page pdf, includes the 3-page executive summary


available on its own in English and français

“How do we help evangelical parents form the faith of (or disciple) their children in the home?”


This is a question with urgency. Parenting is one of the most difficult, rewarding and confounding endeavours most of us will ever undertake. In addition to feeding, clothing and sheltering our children, as parents we have important responsibilities in educating our children, caring for their social development and bringing them up in the faith.


Our own experience, along with studies such as Hemorrhaging Faith, Renegotiating Faith and the EFC’s 2019 Church and Faith Trends poll, tells us that many Canadian young adults leave the faith by the time they leave the parental home. So, what’s going on at home?


This report explores how parents understand faith formation and what they are doing to pass on their faith to their children at home. It draws on findings from interviews with parents and family ministry experts and a survey with over 1,000 evangelical parents in Canada.


 DOWNLOAD OPTIONS:


Executive summary English - français


Due to resource constraints, the full report is only available in English.


Don't miss the Index box elsewhere on this webpage, which has links to more about the partnership and research methods (including full bilingual survey texts), a selected bibliography and a key findings summary (34 slides).




More details and links to the studies mentioned above:

Key Findings PDF( 34 slides)


Highlights of the survey can be grouped under five key ways in which we can help children know Jesus and know themselves as His.



 

The key findings summary is a PDF of 34 slides making five main points:

  1. Rest in being a child of God. Help children understand identity as a gift, not a quest.

  2. Keep faith fit. Teach and model faith exercises that keep a child’s relationship with Jesus strong.

  3. Mind the gaps. Use transition times between activities intentionally to talk about Jesus with your child.

  4. Plant them in the church. Help your child grow relationships in the church.

  5. Read the digital menu. Know what digital content your child is consuming so you can help them digest it.


Five key findings from the Parenting Faith study

How are Canadian parents and our Christian communities helping our children to know Jesus? Seventeen organizations partnered in research that consulted 1,200 Canadian evangelical parents about faith formation in their homes. Researchers Lindsay Callaway and Rick Hiemstra present five of the key findings in this 15-minute video and explains how to get the full, free report.




The Canadian Evangelical Family Faith Formation Study (CEFFFS) is a research partnership that investigated how Canadian evangelical parents and guardians understand their roles as disciple makers of their children and what they do to form the faith of their children at home.


The CEFFFS study is a research partnership between the following EFC affiliate organizations:

Partnership Chair

Research Team


  • Rick Hiemstra, Director of Research, The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada

  • Lindsay Callaway, Researcher, The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada

  • Stéphane Couture, French Interviewer, Directeur régional du Québec, l’Alliance évangélique du Canada

  • Melody Bellefeuille-Frost, Transcription Assistant

  • Bethany Brown, French Transcription Assistant

  • Lorianne Dueck, French Transcription Assistant

  • Joel Murphy, Research Volunteer

  • Rachel Siverns, Graphic Designer


Research Process


  1. Ministry Consultation (Completed October 2019)

  2. Partnership Formation (Completed June 2020)

  3. Literature Review (Completed November 2020)

  4. Ministry Expert Interviews (Completed April 2021)

  5. Parent Interviews (Completed March 2022)

  6. National Surveys with Parents and Pastors (Completed December 2022, download full survey questionnaires)

  7. Consultation on Research Findings (Completed March 2023)

  8. Dissemination of Findings (Launch planned April 11, 2023)


For more information about the CEFFFS research study or to book a speaker please contact:


Rick Hiemstra, Director,

EFC Centre for Research on Church and Faith

613-233-9868 x332

Lindsay Callaway, Researcher

EFC Centre for Research on Church and Faith

613.233.9868 x324​


L'Étude sur la formation à la foi au sein des familles évangéliques canadiennes (EFFFEC) s'agit d'un partenariat de recherche qui a étudié la manière dont les parents et les tuteurs évangéliques canadiens comprennent leurs rôles de formateurs de disciples auprès de leurs enfants et ce qu'ils font pour former la foi de leurs enfants à la maison.


L'EFFFEC est un partenariat de recherche entre les organisations affiliées suivantes de

l'AEC :


Président du partenariat


  • John Friesen, Muskoka Bible Centre


Équipe de recherche


  • Rick Hiemstra, directeur de la recherche, l'Alliance évangélique du Canada

  • Lindsay Callaway, chargée de recherche, l'Alliance évangélique du Canada

  • Stéphane Couture, intervieweur en français, directeur régional du Québec, l’Alliance évangélique du Canada

  • Melody Bellefeuille-Frost, assistante à la transcription

  • Bethany Brown, assistante à la transcription

  • Lorianne Dueck, assistante à la transcription

  • Joel Murphy, bénévole de recherche

  • Rachel Siverns, graphiste


Processus de recherche


  1. Consultation du ministère (Achevée en octobre 2019)

  2. Formation du partenariat (Achevée en juin 2020)

  3. Analyse documentaire (Achevée en novembre 2020)

  4. Entrevues avec des experts du ministère (Achevées en avril 2021)

  5. Entrevues avec des parents (Achevées en mars 2022)

  6. Enquête nationale auprès des parents et des pasteurs (Achevées en décembre 2022, télécharger les questionnaires d'enquête complets)

  7. Consultation sur les résultats de la recherche (Achevées en mars 2023)

  8. Diffusion des constats (Lancement prévu le 11 avril 2023)


Pour plus d'informations sur l'EFFFEC ou pour réserver un conférencier, veuillez contacter :

Rick Hiemstra, directeur

Centre AEC de recherche sur l'Église et la foi

613-233-9868, poste 332

Lindsay Callaway, enquêteuse

Centre AEC de recherche sur l'Église et la foi

613.233.9868 x324​


Corrections:

In Parenting Faith, the last line of the table 2.7 was calculated in error. It should read:

  • Non-Caucasian, 98, 206,9,313,31,66,3,100


Selected Bibliography


Allen, Holly Catterton, and Christine Lawton Ross. Intergenerational Christian Formation. 1st edition. Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 2012.


 Arnett, Jeffrey Jensen. “Emerging Adulthood: A Theory of Development from the Late Teens Through the Twenties.” American Psychologist 55, no. 5 (2000): 469–80.


———. Emerging Adulthood: The Winding Road from the Late Teens Through the Twenties. Second edition. New York: Oxford University Press, 2015.


 Bengtson, Vern L., Norella M. Putney, and Susan Harris. Families and Faith: How Religion Is Passed Down across Generations. New York: Oxford University Press, 2013.


 Clarke, Brian, and Stuart Macdonald. Leaving Christianity: Changing Allegiances in Canada Since 1945. Advancing Studies in Religion 2. Montreal ; Kingston ; London ; Chicago: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2017.


 Day, Abby. “Why Baby Boomers Turned From Religion.” Presented at the Center for Studies in Religion and Society Thursday Public Lecture Series, Webinar, January 20, 2022.


 Doepke, Matthias, and Fabrizio Zilibotti. Love, Money & Parenting: How Economics Explains the Way We Raise Our Kids. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2019.


 Erikson, Erik H. Identity: Youth and Crisis. W. W. Norton & Company, 1968.


 Fowler, James W. Stages of Faith: The Psychology of Human Development. Revised ed. edition. San Francisco: HarperOne, 1981.


 Garland, Diana R. Family Ministry: A Comprehensive Guide. 2nd edition. IVP Academic, 2012.


 Hiemstra, Rick. “Canadian Evangelicals and Short-Term Missions: CEMES Series, Part 1.” The Canadian Missions Research Forum and The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, 2017.


 ———. “Competition for Character Education: What Emerging Adulthood Means for Christian Higher Education in Canada.” Faith Today Publications, December 21, 2018. www.RenegotitingFaith.ca.


 ———. “Not Christian Anymore.” Faith Today Magazine, February 2020.


 Hiemstra, Rick, Lorianne Dueck, and Matthew Blackaby. “Renegotiating Faith: The Delay in Young Adult Identity Formation and What It Means for the Church in Canada.” Faith Today Publications, July 2018. www.RenegotiatingFaith.ca.


 Holmes, Sarah, Lawson Murray, Sue Price, Mimi Larson, Valerie de Abreu, and Phil Whitehead. “Do We Need a New Plan for Children’s Ministry?: A Report Based on Research in Brazil, Canada, UK and US in Later-Pandemic Stages.” Liverpool Hope University, October 29, 2021.


 Jr, John G. Stackhouse. Evangelicalism: A Very Short Introduction. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2022.


Keeley, Robert J. Helping Our Children Grow in Faith: How the Church Can Nurture the Spiritual Development of Kids. Grand Rapids, Mich: Baker Books, 2008.


 Kehrwald, Leif, John Roberto, Gene Roehlkepartain, and Jolene Roehlkepartain. Families at the Center of Faith Formation. Lifelong Faith Associates, 2016.


 McLuhan, Marshal. Understanding Media: The Extension of Man. 2nd Edition. New York, London, Sydney and Toronto: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1964.


 Moore, Russell D. The Storm-Tossed Family: How the Cross Reshapes the Home. Nashville, Tennessee: B&H Books, 2018.


 Penner, James, Rachael Harder, Erika Anderson, Bruno Désorcy, and Rick Hiemstra. “Hemorrhaging Faith: Why & When Canadian Young Adults Are Leaving, Staying & Returning to the Church.” Toronto, ON: The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada Youth & Young Adult Ministry Roundtable, September 7, 2012.


 Postman, Neil. Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business. Revised. Penguin Books, 2005.


 Powell and Clark. Sticky Faith: Everyday Ideas to Build Lasting Faith in Your Kids. Zondervan, 2011.


 Reimer, Sam. Caught in the Current: British and Canadian Evangelicals in an Age of Self-Spirituality. Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2023.


Seversen, Beth. Not Done Yet: Reaching and Keeping Unchurched Emerging Adults. Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 2020.


Smith, Christian, and Amy Adamczyk. Handing Down the Faith: How Parents Pass Their Religion on to the Next Generation. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, 2021.


 Taylor, Charles. The Malaise of Modernity. Concord, Ont: Anansi, 2003.


 Thiessen, Joel. The Meaning of Sunday: The Practice of Belief in a Secular Age. Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2015.


 Twenge, Jean M. Generation Me - Revised and Updated: Why Today’s Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled--and More Miserable Than Ever Before. Revised, Updated ed. edition. New York: Atria Books, 2014.


 Wilkins-Laflamme, Sarah. Religion, Spirituality and Secularity among Millennials: The Generation Shaping American and Canadian Trends. 1st edition. Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY: Routledge, 2022.


Zirschky, Andrew. Beyond the Screen: Youth Ministry for the Connected but Alone Generation. Nashville, TN: Youth Ministry Partners and Abingdon Press, 2015.


 Have a family faith formation resource suggestion? Send us an email and we’ll review it to include here.

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