Who are you leading?

of children who are baptized

• 50% drop off between ages 0-5
• 20% drop after First Communion
• 75% drop after Confirmation

Who is responsible for reaching out to pre school age children/families?

How do people learn about faith formation?

Marketing is not a four letter word

Promotion campaign

• Specific or entire program
• Dream big - Unlimited resources
• What tools? What message? Audience?
• Elevator speech

Why they leave/stay...

• Read article
• Main points/summary
• Implications for ministry

Gen Z

1. Kids who stay involved grew up in a home where religious speak was everywhere; prayer was a regular part of family life

2. Parents are the ONLY gatekeepers. Churches do not have the influence they think they do.

“Thus parents represent not simply an influence on the development of children’s religious worldviews, but the arch-influence over it. Their efforts at religious formation are capable of overcoming the many cultural currents which flow in the direction of the secular. However, children and parents alike are frequently unaware of the robust, long-term ways in which the latter affect the former.” A Report on American Catholic Religious Parenting, p. 8

Parent gatherings

In small groups

• What was Church like for you when you were growing up?
• What do you like most about being Catholic? What do you struggle with?
• Describe a time in your life when you felt close to God

shaping parish culture