Family Faith Formation

The single, most powerful causal influence on the religious lives of American teenagers and young adults is the religious lives of their parents. Not their peers, not the media, not their youth group leaders or clergy, not their religious school teachers. Myriad studies show that, beyond a doubt, the parents of American youth play the leading role in shaping the character of their religious and spiritual lives, even well after they leave home and often for the rest of their lives  (1)

Believing parents, with their daily example of life, have the most effective capacity to transmit the beauty of the Christian faith to their children. “Enabling families to take up their role as active agents of the family apostolate calls for ‘an effort at evangelization and catechesis inside the family’” (2).

With this new approach to religious education, we hope to awaken the domestic church where families grow in faith together as they share life together. We are not asking you, the parents, to teach per se. Rather we ask you to enliven your faith, then witness your faith to your children and grow in faith as a family. The family must become the center of faith formation with the parish providing support and encouragement.

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(1) Amy Adamczyk and Christian Smith. Handing Down the Faith: How Parents Pass Their Religion on to the Next Generation (New York: Oxford University Press, 2021), 1

(2) Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization. Directory for Catechesis (Washington, DC: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2020), 124

The Family Faith Formation program is made up of four components:

1. At-Church Sessions
2. At-Home Activities
3. Attend Mass regularly
4. Serve the church and the community

At-church sessions - the entire family will attend 90-minute sessions on the church campus roughly every third week. We will be utilizing the Pathways curriculum from Faith and Family Life Ministries. 

At-home activities - the adult at-church sessions will focus on equipping parents to live out their faith with activities to do at home together as a family. These activities will re-enforce and build upon the content children have been exposed to in their at-church sessions.

Attend Mass regularly - the source and summit of our faith is the Eucharist. Families are encouraged to develop a habit of attending the weekend liturgy every week (together as a family if possible!)

Ministry opportunities - Each family will be encouraged to help build the Kingdom of God through acts of service. We encourage each member of your family to select at least one service opportunity during the academic year. You can view the list of Ministry Opportunities and sign up at this link: Ministry Opportunities

In addition, strongly encourage your teens (Grades 5 - 12) to participate in the St. Andrew Youth Ministry retreats and events. More information regarding the Youth Ministry program is found at this link: Youth Ministry

All families with children in 1st grade - 10th grade are welcome and encouraged to participate. 

Children (11th grade and older), grandparents, godparents and other adults that you consider part of your family are also welcome and encouraged to attend with you. 

Our cirriculum is the "Pathways" program from Faith & Family Life Ministries. We will begin with the Seek module in the fall, followed by the Root module in winter/spring. 

At-Church sessions meet roughly every third Sunday evening from 6:00 - 8:30 pm. Sessions are held from late Sep - early May. The Family Faith Formation schedule can be downloaded by clicking on the following link:

2025-2026 Faith Formation Schedule

You may utilize either option (online or paper) to complete the registration process. After registration, you will be prompted to set up an introductory meeting with a member of the St. Andrew faith formation staff. Please complete this step as well as this is a critical part of setting the stage for this new model of faith formation. 

The fee for Family Faith Formation is $100 per family. Beginning July 1, the fee increases to $125 per family. The family fee includes all materials for up to two adults and all children in the family. Additional adults (e.g. grandparents, godparents, children who have been confirmed, etc.) are also invited and encouraged to attend with your family. A fee for each additional adult is $15 to 

cover cost of their materials.

Option 1: Electronic Registration

To register for Family Faith Formation, complete the online form linked below:

2025-2026 Family Faith Formation Online Form

Payments and fees will be calculated by the online form and payment will be required at form submission.

Option 2: Paper Registration

Download the form using the link below. Once completed, the paper form can be uploaded when making an online payment, emailed to faithformation@saint-andrew.net or mailed to the parish office at the address listed below. Payments can be made either online (using the link below) or by check made payable to "Church of Saint Andrew".

• 2025-2026 Family Faith Formation Form (fillable PDF)
• ONLINE PAYMENT

Mailing address:

Faith Formation

Saint Andrew Catholic Church

566 4th St NW

Elk River, MN 55330

What I am signing up for?

In the family faith formation program, we invite all members of your family to attend all the at-church sessions (godparents, grandparents, confirmed children are all invited and encouraged to join you). There will be 11 total at-church sessions beginning in late Sep, finishing in early May. During the at-church sessions, you may receive activities to do at home as a family - do those activities! Attend Mass regularly, ideally attend every weekend Mass and on holy days of obligation together as a family. Each family member should participate in a ministry activity that helps build the kingdom of God. And encourage your teens to participate in St. Andrew Youth Ministry retreats and events. 

Are parents required to attend these at-church sessions?

Yes, it is important that parents feel equipped and empowered to lead a faith-based lesson with their children. These adult session will not only offer you the opportunity to learn more about your faith and how to live it, it will offer you the opportunity to have faith-based discussions with other parents. We ask that both parents attend, but if that is not possible, at must be present.

How will the at-church sessions be structured?

Families who participate in Family Faith Formation will be invited to 90 minutes sessions on the church campus approximately every 3rd week. The entire family (all adults and children) will attend on the same night. As families arrive, adults, teens and elementary children will begin in separate sessions. Adults will meet in the Cafeteria (Side A), teens will meet in the Cafeteria (Side B) and elementary ages children (K - 4) will meet in the gym. Child care will be provided for small children (1 - 5 years old) in Meeting Room 3. Each of three sessions will cover the same topic at a depth that is appropriate for their age group. The sessions for adults and teens will be led by a moderator who will introduce the material and then invite participants to discuss at their tables. Elementary sessions will follow a Vacation Bible School vibe with music, crafts with lesson content woven into the activities. At the end of the session, the all participants will gather in the gym and families will spend a little time praying together, either on your own or led by a moderator. Sessions for adults (and also teens) will focus on practical ways to live out your faith at home as the domestic church between at-church sessions. 

I have young children. Should I bring them to the Family Faith Formation at-church sessions?

We hope to provide child care for small children - Ages 1 - 4 (not yet in Kindergarten). We hope this will allow parents to focus and fully participate in their adult sessions. It is anticipated that child care will be held in Meeting Room 3 while adults meet in the Cafeteria. If children need a parent during the at-church session, the child care team will contact parents via text message. 

Will these sessions also prepare my children for First Reconciliation, First Communion and Confirmation?

At this time, the traditional program is recommended for families who have children going into 2nd grade in the 2025-2026 academic year. Eventually, the Family Faith Formation will include content for sacramental preparation years, but as we phase in the Family Formation program at our parish, sacramental preparation will be included in future years. Families with children going into 10th grade are encouraged to Family Faith Formation program. 10th graders will receive additional preparation instruction and materials in the spring of 2026 help the prepare for confirmation in the fall of 2026. Teens who are going into 11th grade in the 2025-2026 academic year should register for confirmation via the traditional program. 

I'm not sure this will work for us. Is the traditional program still an option?

Yes, the traditional program will remain an option for the 2025-2026 year. The traditional program will meet roughly every third Wednesday through the academic year (there will be no Sunday evening option for the traditional program in 2025-2026). In the traditional program, students will attend at-church sessions split by grade level. Click the following link for more information on the traditional Faith Formation program. However, long term, the intention is to phase out the traditional Faith Formation program as we fully implement the Family Faith Formation program. As more families convert to Family Faith Formation, we will offer multiple Family Faith Formation schedule options so families can pick a schedule that best suits them. 

When is the deadline to register?

The deadline for registration is August 25th. Registrations received after this date may not be accepted. Late registratants may be directed to our traditional Youth Formation program.