Skip to content
  • Christian Education
  • Confirmation
  • Curriculum
  • Vacation Bible School
  • Teaching
  • Children's Ministry
  • Discipleship
  • About
  • Donate
  • Newsletter
Share on facebook
Facebook
Share on twitter
Twitter
Share on pinterest
Pinterest
Search
Close

Episcopal Teacher

A Ministry of Virginia Theological Seminary

Donate

Newsletter

Donate

Newsletter

  • Christian Education
  • Confirmation
  • Curriculum
  • Vacation Bible School
  • Teaching
  • Children's Ministry
  • Discipleship
  • About
  • Donate
  • Newsletter
Share on facebook
Facebook
Share on twitter
Twitter
Share on pinterest
Pinterest
Search
Close

Episcopal Teacher

A Ministry of Virginia Theological Seminary

Donate

Newsletter

Works Cited

[1]Westerhoff III, J. H. Will Our Children Have Faith? (New York: The Seabury Press, 1976), 89-90.

[2]Ibid, 99.

Email

Facebook
Twitter

Episcopal Teacher

Donate Now
Christian Education, Special Issue Winter 2019, Teaching
  • Amy Dyer
  • 2019

Profile: John H. Westerhoff

In the mid 1970s John Westerhoff, theologian and educator, began a campaign in the church to move from a schooling model of Christian education to the catechumenal model of Christian formation. In his seminal book Will Our Children Have Faith? published in 1976,he concludes that our children will have faith. But he goes further to ask, what will they have faith in? It’s been 40 years since he raised the question and we still struggle with the answer.

Westerhoff made many contributions to Christian formation, but his styles of faith, described in 15 pages of the first edition of Will Our Children Have Faith?, are probably how most people remember him. He used an analogy of a tree to describe the development of a deepening faith. He says: 

“. . . a tree with one ring is as much a tree as a tree with four rings. A tree in its first year is a complete and whole tree, and a tree with three rings is not a better tree, but only an expanded tree. In a similar way, one style of faith is not a better or greater faith than another.”[1]

Westerhoff believed that the faith of people expanded from one style of faith to another “only if the proper environment, experiences, and interactions are present; and if they are not, then our expansion of faith is arrested” (90).  He described four styles of faith that people encounter during their lives include experienced faith, affiliative faith, searching faith, and owned faith. He argued that people do not abandon a style of faith but add onto it with new experiences and new needs. 

Westerhoff strongly believed that those in the church’s educational ministry could help others fulfill their potential, “possessed by the Gospel and living according to its radical demands in the world.” He admonished formation leaders to remember that the four styles of faith “are not to be used so much to design educational programs for others as to help each of us to understand our personal faith pilgrimage, establish our own needs, and seek interactive experiences with others so we might sustain and expand our own faith.”[2]

John Westerhoff and others have sown the seeds that allow our imaginations and the Holy Spirit to engage with us and to deepen and strengthen our relationship with the divine. The CMT has passed along Westerhoff’s wisdom in courses with seminarians, throughout the Episcopal Children’s Curriculum and Episcopal Curriculum for Youth, and past and current initiatives that call people to sustain and expand their faith.

This article first appeared in Episcopal Teacher: Winter 2019 Special Issue, page 9


Share on facebook
Share on reddit
Share on twitter
Share on email
Share on print

This Post Has 8 Comments

  1. Jgsvwaync 25 Dec 2020 Reply

    generic viagra sildenafil citrate viagra online with american express genetric viagra online

  2. Aqwscoult 9 Jan 2021 Reply

    cheap viagra online canadian pharmacy online pharmacies erection pills

  3. NllpSlicy 10 Jan 2021 Reply

    drugstore near me online drugstore pharmacy canadian pharmacy

  4. FgvdSlicy 11 Jan 2021 Reply

    best drugstore primer mexican pharmacy online pharmacy without scripts

  5. Jtmfcoult 11 Jan 2021 Reply

    canadian pharmacy viagra erectile dysfunction causes pharma

  6. Lokucoult 12 Jan 2021 Reply

    cheap erectile dysfunction pills online canada drugs erectile dysfunction medications

  7. KhthCORO 13 Jan 2021 Reply

    pharmacy orlando best drugstore eyeliner canada pharmacy online

  8. 우리카지노 21 Jan 2021 Reply

    There’s definately a lot to learn about this topic. I really like all
    of the points you have made.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Episcopal Teacher is a publication and ministry of Virginia Theological Seminary

Topics

  • Christian Education
  • Confirmation
  • Curriculum
  • Vacation Bible School
  • Teaching
  • Children's Ministry
  • Discipleship

Engage

  • About
  • Newsletter

Newsletter

Want to receive Episcopal Teacher directly in your inbox?  

We don’t do spam.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.OkPrivacy policy