Welcome to the page to learn all about Faith Webs! We like to call it a "community raiser" because it is designed to both build community and raise funds to support our youth going to summer faith formation activities. Studies show that children who grow up to have an active adult faith life, are most likely to have 6 or more adults of active faith supporting them as they grow up. And, when we baptize our children we make promises to support them in their life of faith. At First Lutheran Church we are working hard to keep Faith Alive by keeping those promises and letting our kids know how much we love them.
Every child that wants to participate in an overnight faith based summer camp, a middle school or high school mission trip, or attend family camp with the adults in their life are encouraged to let us know what they want to do and to sign up for a Faith Web. Once they are signed up we find other adult supporters in the congregation to pair with them. These "webs" then spend the year getting to know each other better and building relationships. Each Faith Web gets to decide how they are going to connect based on what works best for them. Examples have included meals together, attending youth sporting and music/theatre performances, job shadowing, camping, being "pen-pals". The opportunities are endless and God shows up in big ways when people choose to connect and support one another.
The primary family is asked to contribute the first $300 and then each supporting household also contributes $300. The amount is collected via a one time payment or in smaller amounts throughout the year. All money is asked to be in by mid-May so that camps and trips can be finalized. Supporters have also signed up with a friend to support a child and thus share costs. Connecting to each other is the primary goal of Faith Webs so please let us know if you are interested in participating (we never want finances to be a barrier to participation).
We look forward to building connections with you soon!
Support the youth
in your Faith Web
Frequently Asked Questions
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Visit the Faith Webs / Scrip table in the narthex after any worship service to learn more and start the next step!
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Any school aged child looking to have a faith based experience at a summer camp or mission trip can sign up by Sunday, Oct. 27.
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Any household wanting to build community and get to know others better while supporting the youth of the congregation.
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Once grouped into their “faith web,” families will be asked to exchange contact information. They will also be given a monthly “menu” of ideas/suggestions for members of the household to spend time together or support one another. All ideas are optional. We also welcome and encourage you to come up with your own ideas and share them with us!
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YES! The menu of ideas will include ways people can connect even if they are not in town. Pick and choose the ideas that work best for your location and schedules.
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Every participating household is asked to contribute $300 (per child you sign up to support) on or before the end of our program year on May 18, 2025. This can be given in one donation via check or electronically. It can also be given in installments or via fundraising efforts such as scrip cards purchased in the child’s name. (Please note: only the donated percent of that particular scrip card goes toward the $300 goal, not the full amount of the purchased card. Example: if a store donates 3%, then $3 of a $100 gift card is donated to the youth’s fundraising effort; but with gas and groceries each week, this can add up between now and May 18).
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Excess funds will go towards supporting the chaperones and counselors who make these experiences possible.
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Summer camps vary but average approximately $600/full week
Mission school mission trip will be approximately $900
High school mission trip will be approximately $1200
From Pastor Stanton’s article in the
Nov. 2023 Good News
On First Fest Sunday, back in September, First Lutheran tried something new (to us). The idea was to invite every kid and every adult into a Faith Web. On poster paper, we drew five lines. On the top went the name of a child who, in 2024, plans to experience a faith formation event by attending a Christian camp, our middle school mission trip to Rapid City, SD, or the ELCA Youth Gathering to New Orleans. On the next line down goes the name of the child’s family. That family is “supporting household #1” for that child. There is space under that first supporting household for three more. Each supporting household commits to connecting with that child in whatever way(s) they choose. It could be as simple as getting to know each other’s name, keeping the child in prayer and perhaps receiving a note of thanks at some point after the faith formation experience. The ‘thanks’ is for the other big commitment made by each supporting household: $300 toward their faith formation experience.
“We want this family of faith to feel more like a family…
Faith Webs put kids’ faith formation at the center of a group project ”
Each month, a menu of possibilities for connections will be provided to all the supporting households and kids. In October, some were, “sit together at worship”, “Go to the First Lutheran Fall Fest together” or “offer to rake each other’s leaves.” There was also a “meet-your-web” event in our sanctuary where participants shared ‘trading cards’ that included basic contact information and answers to some fun questions like ‘sweet or spicy’, ‘summer or winter’. 57 kids signed up, meaning that in addition to their 57 families, 171 more lines awaited supporting households. As of the last week of October, 115 of those lines are filled! Only 60 (or so) supporting households to go.
The first and most obvious goal of Faith Webs at First is to financially support families so that they can more easily send their child(ren) to faith formation experiences. Think about what gets communicated to a kid AND their family who have friends at church (perhaps strangers otherwise) who put their money where their mouth is? At a baptism, everyone in the room says they will support the newly baptized in their life of faith. But that can feel insincere when we don’t even know each other’s names. $300 is a significant but doable amount of money as some of us can simply write a check while others of us will make full use of the months between signing up and June 1, 2024 when the gift is ‘due’. Many of us will be using scrip cards to meet our financial commitment. Give us 7 months and much of our commitment will be met!
The other—and just as meaningful—goal of Faith Webs at First Lutheran is to make our church feel smaller. Leaders at First Lutheran have talked about this challenge for years: “how can we know each other’s names?” “How can we get to know each other amidst so many busy schedules?” “We want this family of faith to feel more like a family.” Faith Webs answers all these questions by putting kids’ faith formation at the center of a group project shared by a wide variety of partners: one child might have supporting households of 1) a widow, 2) an ‘empty-nester’ couple and 3) a 20-something and their partner along with 4) their own parents and siblings. Well, guess what? Those households do not only learn the name and likes/dislikes of the kid… They become familiar with the whole web! That widow meets and becomes known to 7-10 people in that scenario and vice versa for everybody else.
On October 15, at the first “meet-your-web” event, one 70 something grandmother said, “it was so fun to trade cards with our kid (who is 8). Our grandkids just aren’t little any more and it was fun to remember that age and he is such a great little boy! I’m so glad we signed up for it!” In fact, it was so fun that she and her husband signed up for a second child to support.
Thank you to all who have received this opportunity to connect with your family of faith. If you’d like to become a supporting household, or if you have any questions about whether such a program is right for you, please visit the Faith Webs table in the narthex before or after worship on Sundays or Wednesdays. It is the same table where we sell scrip cards.
Still have questions? Connect with Carla……
