Welcome to Faith-filled Families
Spread Faith and Love
Increase Support for Families through Christian Faith Traditions
Help More Children Grow in their Faith
The mission of the Faith-filled Families initiative is to empower parents to teach their children about faith.
Our initiative operates out of the Department of Lifelong Learning at Virginia Theological Seminary and is funded by a grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. through its Christian Parenting and Caregiving initiative.
The money is funding a five-year action-research project focused on equipping preschools and congregations to support parents in the religious formation of their children, with Faith-filled Families providing research-based resources and best practices that will help parents share their faith and values with their children--while also nurturing their own faith.
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We work with church-based preschools and congregations of different denominations, all within a 100-mile radius of Virginia Theological Seminary.
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We provide parents with physical, digital, and practice resources, designed by the Faith-filled Families team, professionals in the field, and seminarians enrolled in Virginia Theological Seminary's children's spirituality classes
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We also give parents access to educational opportunities and support groups in order to nurture an environment in which they can share their experiences, seek guidance, and offer mutual support in their Christian parenting journey.
Throughout the project, non-invasive methods will be used to identify the specific needs, challenges and preferences of parents and early childhood care providers to ensure resources and support are tailored to meet these needs. The impact of the initiative on parents' spiritual growth, as well as their children's faith development, will also be tracked to understand Christian parenting more fully. The project's findings will be published to encourage other sites to strengthen the ecology of children's spiritual formation between parents, congregations, and schools.