Implementing a Family Catechesis Model

The family, or domestic church, is ordinarily the first experience children have of the Christian community and is a fertile environment for growth in faith. For this reason, the family is a perfect place for catechesis or faith formation. Family catechesis programs provide parents with resources to help them succeed in their role as the primary educators of their children. More importantly, however, for parents to be present as their children grow in the Catholic faith is a wonderful gift for children and parents alike.

According to the National Directory for Catechesis, “Family-centered catechetical programs are opportunities for parents to catechize their children directly, for spouses to catechize each other and for children to catechize one another and their parents.” Indeed, family catechesis empowers and enables parents to guide their children’s formation in the faith as they develop and deepen a relationship with Jesus Christ. 

What Is Family Catechesis?

Teaching children about faith in Jesus is one of the most important things that parents can do for their children, and family catechesis enables and empowers parents to do just that. This approach is characterized by families attending a monthly gathering at the parish, coupled with parents leading weekly lessons at home with their children. The parish gatherings include intergenerational prayer and activities along with catechist-led grade-level sessions for children and an adult faith formation session for parents. The partnering with the parish enables parents to pass on the Catholic faith to their children and help them grow in faith and holiness.

Outline of a Family Catechesis Program

Here is what a family-centered approach to catechesis might look like, drawing from the Loyola Press Finding God and Christ Our Life family catechesis programs:

• Parents and their children come together for a monthly session at the parish seven to ten times per year.
• Some parishes begin with light refreshments, while others serve a meal.
• The experience begins intergenerationally with parents and children together in one location for an introduction, a prayer experience, and perhaps an icebreaker.
• Catechists then lead young people to their age-appropriate classrooms for grade-level instruction on the opening chapter of a unit.
• While young people are at their lesson, parents participate in exploring the same theme through adult presentations and discussions. Parents are equipped with knowledge and resources to deepen their own friendship with God and to work on the remaining unit chapters with their children at home throughout the month.
• At the end of each monthly session, the children return to the main gathering space, or parents are dismissed to the classrooms to pick up their children.
• In the weeks that follow, parents work with their children at home on the remaining chapters of the unit. Some publishers, such as Loyola Press, provide at-home guides to assist parents in teaching their children the faith.
• Children complete an online assessment at the end of each at-home session and send the results to the parish catechetical leader. This serves as a method of accountability. The assessment results are not used to determine a grade, but rather to determine how well young people comprehend the concepts being taught.

Transitioning to a Family Catechesis Model

Making the change from a traditional religious education program with a drop-off mentality to a family catechesis model requires a great deal of planning and educating of parents to adjust to the new model. Consider taking at least one full year of preparation before making the transition, and incorporate a month or two of piloting the new format to give families a better understanding of how things will work. Use that time to emphasize the role that parents play in their children’s faith formation and to assure parents that they are capable of assuming this role with the help and support of the parish. 

Also use that time to recruit catechists who will teach sessions once per month instead of weekly. Many are happy with the smaller time commitment, although some prefer the continuity of a weekly session. Prepare catechists to be of assistance to parents who have questions about the lessons they are teaching at home. 

Even with all the preparation, some parents, trained to believe that the full responsibility of teaching belongs to the parish, may switch parishes. However, if you commit to empowering them to form their children in faith, most parents will respond positively and will come to a new appreciation of their own faith formation. 

We need to equip parents to embrace their role as the primary educators of their children in the faith. No other vehicle can communicate the nearness of God as effectively as the family.