Forming a Community of Faith: Bringing Life to Faith and Faith to Life

A reflection inspired by reading Jane Regan’s Forming a Community of Faith

1. Adult Faith Formation at the Heart of the Church’s Mission

After reading Jane Regan’s Forming a Community of Faith, I was struck by her central conviction that adult faith formation is not a program but the very heart of the Church’s mission. Jesus devoted most of his ministry to forming adults — walking with them, listening to their questions, challenging their assumptions, and shaping them into a community capable of carrying his mission into the world. Regan’s insights are especially timely today, when many adults describe themselves as “spiritual but not religious,” or quietly carry deep questions about meaning, belonging, and hope. She invites us to return to the way Jesus taught: through relationship, story, conversation, and shared life.

2. The Church Exists to Evangelize

Regan’s work reinforces the truth that the Church exists to evangelize — to make the Good News visible and tangible in the concrete circumstances of daily life. Evangelization is the responsibility of the whole Church and all its members, expressed not only through words but through lives shaped by compassion, justice, mercy, and hope. Evangelization begins with encounter. Adults are drawn to faith when they experience welcome, authenticity, and a sense of being seen. It is not pressure but hospitality — the Church saying, “You matter. You belong. Your story is sacred.”

3. Evangelization as Transformation

Evangelization is also transformative. It brings the Good News into every layer of human life and renews humanity from within. The Gospel reshapes hearts, relationships, communities, systems, and cultures, making the world more just, compassionate, and whole. At the center of Jesus’ ministry is the proclamation that the Reign of God is near. Through parables, conversations, acts of healing, and shared life, Jesus reveals God’s dream for the world and forms adults by opening imagination, deepening understanding, and building community.

4. Proclaiming the Gospel in Word and Action

We are called to proclaim the Gospel in both word and action so that its truth and values permeate every aspect of human existence. We proclaim it through compassion, justice, forgiveness, courage, hospitality, and the integrity of our daily lives. Evangelization includes witness and proclamation, word and sacrament, interior conversion and social transformation. We are gathered to be sent — formed in community so that we may become evangelizing agents in the world.

5. The Eucharist and the Six Core Themes of the Mass

The Eucharist is the foundation of Christian life, the source and summit of the Church’s mission. In the Mass, six core themes shape us for discipleship: welcoming, forgiving, listening, celebrating, remembering, and going forth. These themes form a rhythm of life in which we are welcomed, forgiven, taught, nourished, remembered, and sent — again and again — so that we may grow as mature disciples who embody the Gospel in daily life.

6. The Goals and Dynamics of Adult Faith Formation

The purpose of adult faith formation is not merely to produce knowledgeable Christians but to support adults in developing a mature, reflective, prayerful, and compassionate faith. Its three essential goals are ongoing conversion to Jesus Christ, active membership in the Christian community, and commitment to the mission of the Church in the world. These elements — relationship with Jesus, belonging to community, and engagement in mission — are interconnected and cyclical. Adults can enter at any point, and growth in one area strengthens the others.

7. Core Practices That Shape Adult Disciples

Three spiritual practices help adults integrate faith into life: Bible study, which forms the mind; Lectio Divina, which forms the heart; and centering prayer, which forms the inner life. Through baptism, we share in Christ’s priestly office by mediating God’s presence through the example of our lives, by praying for and with others, and by offering ourselves in service to the Reign of God. We share in Christ’s prophetic office by speaking God’s word — sometimes through words of hope or truth, and often through actions that reveal God’s love. We share in Christ’s kingly office by acting for justice in our personal relationships, civic involvement, and global responsibility.

8. The Dignity of the Human Person

At the heart of all social justice and human rights is the dignity of the human person, created in the image and likeness of God. This dignity is inherent and inviolable. Because every person bears God’s image, it is our responsibility to defend and uphold that dignity wherever it is threatened. To protect human dignity is to participate in God’s work of healing and renewal.

9. Conversation as the Engine of Adult Learning

Regan emphasizes that adults grow in faith best when they have opportunities to engage in meaningful conversation with other adults about things that matter. Conversation is a process of coming to understanding. It helps adults articulate what they believe, connect faith with life, and discover new insights through shared dialogue. Real conversation requires more than arguing a point; it involves actively listening, giving the other the benefit of the doubt, and presuming goodwill. When conversation is sustained, engaged, and critical, it nurtures adult learning and strengthens adult faith.

10. Helping Adults Articulate and Live Their Faith

The most important aspect of what we do with adults is to help them articulate what they believe and make the vital link between their beliefs and how they live their lives. This is the heart of adult faith formation and the essence of evangelization. If forming adult disciples was central to Jesus’ ministry, it must be central to ours. We are called to build communities where adults can encounter God, grow in wisdom, and live out the Gospel with courage and joy.

11. Our Core Purpose

In all of this, our purpose remains clear: to bring life to faith and faith to life.