Research Review: Families and Faith (Bengtson)

This research review of Families and Faith* translates Vern Bengtson’s thirty-year, four-generation study into language and insights kids and family pastors can actually use. It explains why relational closeness between parent and child is the top predictor of faith transmission, and introduces the core ideas that shaped the WalkWith framework of Warmth, Wonder, and Walk. Use it to ground your parent strategy in robust research, to brief leaders on why parent-child relationships matter so much, and to cast vision for investing in the home as the primary site of discipleship.