Sticky Faith
Sticky Faith is a strategy aimed at helping parents and ministry leaders actively nurture the spiritual growth of young people, ensuring that their faith endures into adulthood. Recognizing that nearly 50% of students abandon their faith after graduating high school, Sticky Faith highlights the critical role parents play as primary influences on their children's spiritual lives. Developed by the Fuller Youth Institute, Sticky Faith is grounded in extensive research involving over 500 young people, 100 churches, and 50 families, providing practical resources for fostering long-term faith.
Key components of Sticky Faith:
Intergenerational Relationships: Encourages a supportive community where each young person is surrounded by a team of five adults, fostering meaningful connections across generations.
Whole Gospel Understanding: Moves beyond viewing faith as a behavioral accessory, promoting a holistic integration of faith into every aspect of life.
Family Partnerships: Empowers parents, identified as the foremost spiritual influencers, by equipping leaders with strategies to collaborate with families in faith development.
Safe Space for Doubt: Emphasizes that engaging with doubts through open conversation, rather than silence, strengthens faith. It provides tools for facilitating discussions that allow young people to explore and question their beliefs safely.
Sticky Faith - The Book
Nearly every Christian parent in America would give anything to find a viable resource for developing within their kids a deep, dynamic faith that "sticks" long term. Sticky Faith delivers. Research shows that almost half of graduating high school seniors struggle deeply with their faith. Recognizing the ramifications of that statistic, the Fuller Youth Institute (FYI) conducted the “College Transition Project” in an effort to identify the relationships and best practices that can set young people on a trajectory of lifelong faith and service. Based on FYI findings, this easy-to-read guide presents both a compelling rationale and a powerful strategy to show parents how to actively encourage their children’s spiritual growth so that it will stick to them into adulthood and empower them to develop a living, lasting faith. Written by authors known for the integrity of their research and the intensity of their passion for young people, Sticky Faith is geared to spark a movement that empowers adults to develop robust and long-term faith in kids of all ages.
Sticky Faith, Youth Workers Edition
Most churches in America would give anything to develop a deep, growing faith in kids that "sticks" and continues to mature long-term. Yet both national leaders with broad spheres of influence as well as local, grassroots practitioners are waking up to the reality that almost half of their graduating seniors will drift from God and the church after high school. As leaders and as parents, we're not satisfied with that. We suspect you're not either.
In Sticky Faith, the team at FYI presents youth workers with both a philosophical framework and practical programming ideas that develop long-term faith in teenagers. Each chapter presents a summary of FYI's quantitative and qualitative research, along with the implications of this research, including program ideas suggested and tested by youth ministries nationwide. This resource equips youth ministry leaders with what they need to help foster a faith that sticks long after young people leave the youth room.
Sticky Faith Innovation
Sticky Faith Innovation is not just a book, but a practical guide designed to transform youth ministry by addressing the real needs of young people in the church. The book emphasizes the importance of innovation through creativity, compassion, and courage, providing proven exercises and strategies for engaging with youth to generate and implement meaningful changes in ministry. Readers are encouraged to actively involve young people in the process, interviewing them to understand their needs and coming up with innovative ideas that help them grow in their faith and reliance on God as they transition into adulthood. Sticky Faith Innovation is for anyone involved in youth ministry, offering timely insights and practical tools to foster a more effective and nurturing environment for spiritual development.