Sticky Faith presented by Fuller Youth Institute

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Sticky Faith Cohort

FYI

Directed by the Fuller Youth Institute
"Our participation in the cohort has been nothing short of transformational."
—Dr. Mindy Coates Smith, Co-Director of Youth Discipleship, Bel Air Presbyterian Church

 

What is the Sticky Faith Cohort?

Watch a 3-minute video to learn what other leaders have to say:

 

What happens to the kids from our church after they graduate?

For many youth group graduates, the transition to college is rocky at best.  Recent research indicates that 40-50% of youth group graduates—like those at your church—don’t stick with their faith and fail to connect with a faith community after high school. 1

The 2011 Sticky Faith Learning Cohort                                                 The 2011 Sticky Faith Learning Cohort

How can our youth ministry and church improve the chances of students sticking with their faith?

In order to respond to this vast faith drop-off, the Fuller Youth Institute (FYI) has studied 500 youth group graduates from around the country during their first three years in college.  FYI’s research holds revolutionary implications for church youth ministry including:

Repeatedly, FYI has been told by parents, local youth pastors, denominational representatives, and national youth ministry leaders that this research has the potential to re-shape local ministries as well as the field of youth ministry nationally. 

In response, FYI has created the Sticky Faith Cohort, a dynamic learning group process of innovative churches committed to take the research and apply it to their settings to offer more transformative youth and family ministry.  Fifty-seven churches have already benefited from the cohort experience. 

How will our church benefit from the Sticky Faith Cohort?

NOTE:  some of these details might change; please consider this a working outline for now.
 

1. You’ll get firsthand access to groundbreaking research conducted by the Fuller Youth Institute and other research partners.

2. You’ll gain countless new ministry paradigms as well as ways to modify existing ministry programs to increase transformation and help:

  1. You’ll get access to leading Fuller faculty, including Drs. Kara Powell, Chap Clark, and Scott Cormode, as well as FYI staff. 

  1. Under the coaching of FYI, your church will develop a breakthrough plan (approximately 5-8 pages) that will enable you to increase your ministry effectiveness.

  1. Your church will be connected to other leading churches and youth ministries who will not only be sharpened by FYI, but also each other. You will also hear from leaders who have participated in previous cohorts as they return to share insights from their Sticky Faith journeys.

 

What’s the tentative schedule for 2013?

Church Cohort members are expected to devote three to ten hours per month to reading/listening to audio (the most time intensive periods will likely precede the two summits).  In addition, participation in the Cohort involves the following youth pastor participation:

What are the qualifications of invited churches?

Churches eligible to apply to be part of the Sticky Faith Cohort are those who are:

  1. Healthy and driven by a clear sense of mission.

  2. Communities that have demonstrated their openness to change and risk.

  3. Willing to ask tough questions about the effectiveness of their own ministry to students.

  4. Led by a youth pastor or other team leader able to commit to the time commitment previously explained.

  5. In addition to the youth leader’s attendance, able to send 1-4 senior leaders (senior pastor, executive pastor, children’s pastor, key elder/deacon) to both 3-day summits to be held at Fuller in Pasadena.

  6. Willing to participate in post-cohort written assessment as requested (likely through short questionnaires that would happen no more than once per year).

  7. Able to contribute financially toward the costs of the Cohort.  The cost of the Cohort for 2013 will be $4000/church.  In addition, churches are responsible for reading materials, their own travel to Pasadena for both summits, and their housing while in Pasadena (the $4000 fee covers the vast majority of meals during the summits). 

How can we apply?

Please submit an application below in order to find out more about the next Sticky Faith Cohort (planned to start in January 2013) as well as any special Sticky Faith training opportunities that may emerge. If you have further questions, please contact Brad Griffin, Associate Director of the Fuller Youth Institute at bgriffin@fuller.edu.  We look forward to sharing this Kingdom journey with you.

 

It would be an understatement to say that your research has altered our entire church's thinking and strategizing. It's changed everything.
—Rev. Matthew Deprez, Now Generation Pastor, Frontline Community Church, Grand Rapids
 
 
 

Sticky Faith Cohort Inquiry Form

We are so thrilled you are interested in learning more about our Sticky Faith Cohorts. Your first step in applying for and/or finding out more about the Sticky Faith Cohort process is to complete this inquiry form. The 2012 cohort is currently full. Please submit an application below in order to find out more about the next Sticky Faith Cohort (likely to start in January 2013) as well as any special Sticky Faith training opportunities that may emerge this year. Please address any questions to Brad Griffin at bgriffin@fuller.edu.



Footnotes:
  1. Barna Update, “Most Twentysomethings Put Christianity on the Shelf Following Spiritually Active Teen Years.” The Barna Group, 2006, September 16, 2006; George H. Gallup, Jr., The Gallup Poll,  2006; and Christian Smith with Patricial Snell, Souls in Transition (New York:  Oxford University Press, 2009), 105, 108, 109, and 116. ↩