Dear Building Faith Community,

I wish you God’s peace in this season after Epiphany. The last few months have been tumultuous in many ways and in many places in the U.S. and beyond. It has not been an easy time to be in ministry or to be the church. Wherever you are, whatever your ministry looks like right now, I hope you and your communities are safe and well.

The work of Christian formation is no small thing right now. In this Epiphany season where we as Christians bear witness to a God who has chosen solidarity with all people, we are also witnessing more and more people hurting, frightened, and finding themselves in precarious positions in the wake of recent political events. Amid so many needs and uncertainties, it can be hard to know what to pray, where to turn in scripture, and how to go forth from the eucharistic table—let alone how to teach others to do the same.

What I find beautiful and empowering about formation is that it’s not about having all the answers, eradicating all questions, or leaving behind all the problems and struggles affecting our lives. The elements of our faith that have formed us do not whisk us out of ourselves, our humanity, our relationships, or our neighborhoods. They invite us to be more fully ourselves, more fully human, and more fully present with our neighbors. Our feasts and seasons, prayers and songs, scriptures and sacraments all offer invitations to be flesh-and-blood people and seek an enfleshed God who is in all things, who is in this moment with us too.

So I want to begin this letter by expressing my thanks to you for being part of this community of people who care about Christian formation, who are asking questions and getting creative, who are showing up for your communities as best as you can, and sharing both your successes and learnings with fellow formation leaders to enrich everyone’s ministries. The work you are doing matters, and we at Building Faith count it a privilege to accompany and support you however we can.

Thanks to Our 2024 Authors

I also want to express my gratitude for all of the authors who contributed to Building Faith in 2024. Their voices, wisdom, and creativity have provided a deep well of resources and insights to help inspire formation ministries across ages and contexts. I am so grateful for the opportunity to work with each of these authors, and I thank all of them for contributing their work to Building Faith’s ministry.

If you haven’t had a chance to check out all of our 2024 authors and their articles, here is a full list in chronological order:

More Words of Thanks

I also want to lift up the people who worked behind the scenes to support Building Faith in 2024. Many thanks go to:

• Sarah Bentley Allred, who brought a wealth of wisdom to our team as an editor and enabled fruitful collaborations between Building Faith and Forma in her former role as Coordinator of Forma Evangelism
• Wallace Benton, who provided invaluable support to the Building Faith team in his role as Associate Director of Lifelong Learning in planning, brainstorming, editing, and more
• Josh Brown, who contributed in numerous ways behind the scenes in his role as Operations Manager for Lifelong Learning to take care of logistical details and help Building Faith reach more people and be as effective as possible
• Casey Jones, who served as an editor during the first half of 2024 and whose time, energy, and skill helped make Building Faith articles shine
• Lorenzo Lebrija, who collaborated with our team in his role as Executive Director of TryTank Research Institute to facilitate focus groups in the fall to explore how Building Faith en español can better serve the formation ministries of Spanish-speaking and bilingual congregations
• Krizia Vargas-García, who brought expertise and skill as an editor for an article in Spanish, which enabled the author’s work to be published on Building Faith in English and Spanish and reach audiences in both languages

I am profoundly grateful for the chance to get to know each of these colleagues and for all they have done to make it possible for Building Faith to minister to Christian communities across contexts and denominations throughout the U.S. and beyond.

Looking Ahead

While none of us knows what this year holds, my deep hope is that Building Faith may offer the kind of support and resources that matter most for your formation ministries throughout 2025.

We will continue to comb curriculum options, highlight new resources, assemble toolkits for church seasons, and feature activities and teaching tips that leaders like you are developing for your formation contexts. We will keep seeking stories, resources, and practical wisdom that equip and inspire Christian communities to strive for justice, care for creation, and minister with the most vulnerable persons in our local and global communities. We will also keep looking for ways to make Building Faith more enriching, inclusive, and accessible for your ministries and communities.

To these ends, we want to hear from you!

• What are your ministry needs and challenges?
• What topics do you want Building Faith articles to address?
• What can Building Faith do better to support your ministry and context in 2025?

I hope you will get in touch and share your stories, successes, and needs. You reach our team by email or by leaving a comment below. Building Faith is what it is because of this community of readers, subscribers, and authors. Your presence and voice matter to us so please reach out!

I wish you and your communities a life-giving Epiphany season!

Jodi

Featured image is by an unknown creator on Pixabay