Have we forgotten to tell the story? The Importance of Spiritual Formation

Have we forgotten to tell the story? The Importance of Spiritual Formation

By John Thomas III, PhD, Editor

A few months ago, I was celebrating a significant milestone with a family friend, and we started talking about the AME Church and religion. While her family has been members of the AME Church for multiple generations, she is still establishing her religious identity. “Right now,” she said, “I’m somewhere between agnostic and atheist.” Intrigued and somewhat taken aback, I asked about her faith journey and thought process. She stated that while her family attended church, it felt more like something to do on Sundays than a spiritual experience.in church, she did not feel a genuine spirituality from her family. Also, her friends in college and afterward were not regular churchgoers, so she just drifted away.  I asked her if anyone in her family had directly talked to her about her faith while growing up, and she responded, “No.”

After our conversation, I thought about my friend and how she could have grown away from the church, given that it had been all around her and her family for generations. Then, I reflected on my spiritual formation as a child. My mother made it a point to take me to Sunday School and taught my Beginners Class. When I was ready for the Primary Class, she continued to teach the Beginners but was confident in my ability to move forward. My mother also bought a series of Adventist Bible books she used during her youth (though she told me not to look at the white Jesus) and the AME Church Catechism. When I went to college, I was firm in my Christian faith and later chose to stay in the AME Church.

The decline in church attendance and expressions of Christian faith in the United States is no secret. An entire industry has grown around attracting and reclaiming Millennials and Generations Z and Alpha. While there are many external explanations, one issue I don’t hear often mentioned is spiritual formation. We understand the advice to “train up a child,” but how are we training them? Taking someone to church services, YPD meetings, or Christian Education Congresses is not enough. We must talk to our youth about their spirituality and Christianity and why it is crucial. I learned from my friend that while she had been talked at, she hadn’t been talked to. Witnessing begins in the home and the family. When we baptize babies, the church as a community promises to assist in that child’s training and spiritual formation. That means that, at some level, we all bear responsibility for ensuring that the children and youth who grow up in our congregations have a firm spiritual foundation. 

The AME Church at all levels must seriously examine the resources and attention we allocate to Spiritual Formation. Our Christian Education Department provides resources for Christian growth and development and oversight for formative activities such as Scouting. The AME Church Publishing House has done its part by giving the Connectional Church with an updated catechism for the first time in over two decades. The Christian Debutantes-Masters Commission was established to train youth and provide a rite of passage into “Christian Society.” These programs and resources are a start, but we must have earnest discussions about the state of youth ministry in our local churches. We have plenty of meetings and activities, but are we truly fostering faith and spiritual growth?

I encourage everyone reading this editorial to think about the children and youth in your lives and talk to them about their faith and understanding of Jesus Christ and the church.  Do not assume that because they hold an office in the YPD, show up on a Sunday morning or dance in the liturgical ministry that their faith is forming. If we don’t ask them and teach them about our faith, someone else will. Or they may never learn at all.