How it all started

No more big data.  Future of Faith is a collective effort to bolster one community at a time by helping them listen and love in real, dedicated ways that help leaders connect strategically with the people they care so much about.

I (Josh) have devoted my career to telling the stories of religious people and movements across this country through research.  As a professor, my research agenda focused on collecting data and shining a light on people often left out of traditional church structures.  More recently, Megan and I helped to found the only national research institute dedicated to the understanding the religious and spiritual lives of young people.  Together, we have conducted nearly a hundred individual studies, amassed the largest dataset about religion and young people and spoken to tens of thousands to share research findings.

All of that research, data, statistics and stories are interesting, but we were not so sure how USEFUL it’s been to the people who have boots on the ground every day. While it's important for some to know what’s going on in the entire country, what most people really need to know is what’s going on in their community with the people they lead, serve, and teach.

We are committed to using our expertise as sociologists and researchers to help others explore and reimagine the future of faith in their communities. The resources and tools in this site are one piece of a much larger movement to rekindle the wonder of faith and spark curiosity that leads to engagement in a meaningful faith life.