Communities of faith are typically built upon common values, shared beliefs, and desires to support each other in everyday life. But what about middle school? Are students at this age capable of owning their faith? This article explores how faith develops, when students start to take ownership of their values and beliefs, and how Learnwell encourages students to explore not just what they believe — but why they believe it.
Communities of Faith: Their Origin Story
In the U.S., faith communities emerged around a search for religious freedom. From Puritans who came from England to begin colonies such as Plymouth and Massachussetts Bay to East Coast communities that started as Franciscan missions (San Francisco and Santa Clara, California), the U.S. has a strong history of communities of faith.
Scholar John Farina shared on an episode of “All Things Considered” that religious beliefs were never meant to be separate from community and shared ways of life. He said, “We think of religion as a private affair, but that’s really an odd way of thinking of religion when you look at the larger sense of it. Religion is a chain of memory. It links us to the memory of a people, the memory of our past, the memory of our traditions, of our ancestors, and so that has to find expression in the social.”
Middle School Faith & A Community of Peers
One thing we know about middle school is that students begin to separate from their attachment to parents. They form bonds with friends that strengthen over time. If your student has ever said, “You have no idea what I’m going through,” or “My friends understand me,” you know what we mean.
Developmentally-speaking, middle school is a season where students begin to see themselves as separate from their parents and more connected to their peers.
So, it’s entirely reasonable that as middle school students separate from their parents, they begin exploring their faith. They ask questions:
- Do I believe what my parents believe?
- Am I in agreement with my church and faith background?
- How are my beliefs different (or the same) as that of my friends or faith community?
- If I choose to believe what I’ve been raised to understand, why?
- How do my values and beliefs apply to the way I live my life and make decisions?
As students typically do, many middle schoolers start looking to their friends for ideas about beliefs and values. And as parents, we often want our children to choose faith not just because of a friend’s encouragement but also because they’re informed.
Learnwell’s middle school curriculum doesn’t go against the Christian foundation of what you’re teaching your child at home. And we encourage students in a comfortable environment to ask questions, think critically about what they believe, and decide what is right for them when they’re ready.
Our teachers and staff are all Christians, and many of our students are. We believe the love of God draws all people to Himself at the right time in the right way for each person.
One of the unique aspects of Learnwell’s middle school community is that students accept each other where they are. Students are never pressured to choose a faith that they haven’t yet made their own. Equally, they’re learning in an environment that’s supportive of Christianity.
How to Encourage Faith in Your Middle School Student
If you have a student in sixth through eighth grade, you’re probably already aware that as a parent, your influence is more by example and model than by what you say or teach. In light of that, we have a few ideas for how to help your student explore his or her faith and what that means in everyday life.
- Continue taking your child to church or wherever you worship. Some families do this at home, together, or at other places of worship. We encourage you to keep up with your regular faith practices whether your child ascribes them as his own or not.
- Model your faith and its application in everyday life. One of the biggest determinants of our children believing anything is what they see authentically. Teens are experts at spotting incongruency and disingenuous ideals. Yes, as parents, we make mistakes. (All humans do.) But to the best of your ability, try to let your child see how your faith impacts what you choose to do in your spare time, how you handle making decisions, and how your friends support or strengthen your faith.
- Be vulnerable about your own faith journey. Back to being genuine, our kids can see through when we don’t believe something or we’re experiencing doubt. It’s okay to share when you are struggling or when you realize that your frame of who God is needs tweaking.
- Talk about what you are learning in your relationship with God and how it may differ from what you thought as a child. In the Bible, Jesus used analogies and stories to share truth that was relatable to His audience. When you share stories from your life, even if they’re the less-than-perfect ones, it helps your child understand that he or she does not need to have all the answers. Knowing it’s okay to explore and ask questions is helpful, especially for students whose faith has been challenged by life circumstances.
- Listen more than you share. Believe it or not, your child is listening to you, even if their actions (and sometimes words) communicate differently. The more you respect them and listen to their stories about friends and social groups, their fears/anxieties, and what matters most to them, the more they experience a sense of purpose in family life. Knowing what your purpose is — to love and support them — helps students develop scaffolding for ascertaining their own purpose.
Faith at Learnwell
Why do we think faith and values are important at Learnwell? First, we believe your student’s faith begins at home. Partnering with parents means we don’t teach them anything that goes against your Judeo-Christian values. Second, we are a Christian school. Our lens of providing an excellent education will always be through a Christian worldview. Third, every teacher and staff person at Learnwell is a Christian. We don’t all believe the same things about every aspect of Christianity, and we like it that way. It encourages what we call the main ideals being the main things.
There will always be areas where faith communities disagree, but we like to emphasize what we have in common. These beliefs are seen in our Life Skills & Discipleship courses at the middle school level where we integrate Scripture-rooted faith teachings with decision-making, which can guide their values for the rest of their lives — not just in middle school. They include service beyond self, respecting others, and listening well.
If you’d like to learn more about how our Life Skills & Discipleship teachers integrate faith with everyday life, we invite you to attend a Discover Learnwell information night. There you’ll meet a teacher from our team, our founder and principal, a Learnwell parent or two, and you’ll hear more about how Learnwell started and what the day-to-day structure is like.