Beyond Baptism: Accompanying Families on Their Journey of Faith

At Christ on the Mountain Parish in Lakewood, programs and community are encouraging families to preach, teach and live the faith.

Mary Ann Fairbank, director of religious education and youth at Christ on the Mountain Parish in Lakewood, smiles with children involved in the parish's programs. (Photo courtesy of Christ on the Mountain Parish)

For many Catholic parents, the day of their child’s Baptism is the culmination of months of preparation. At Christ on the Mountain Catholic Parish in Lakewood, however, it is seen as just the beginning of a family’s lifelong journey of faith.

“I don’t know that the programs that I’m offering are all that extraordinary,” said Mary Ann Fairbank, the parish’s director of religious education and youth. “I just meet families where they are at and offer them opportunities to come together for growth in a supportive Catholic Church setting.”

Reaching Families

Although the baptismal ceremony initiates a lifelong relationship with Christ and the Church, many parishes struggle with young families disappearing from Mass after the sacrament.

Often, while parents devote significant time to preparing for their child’s Baptism, the months and years that follow can be far more challenging. As families navigate busy schedules, the demands of raising young children and sleepless nights, remaining connected to their parish can become difficult.

Still, the Church calls Catholics to accompany families before, during and after their child’s baptismal ceremony. As Pope Leo XIV recently stated at his March 18 audience, "Every baptized person is an active agent of evangelization, called to bear consistent witness to Christ." The challenge for parishes is helping parents embrace that mission in the years that follow their child's Baptism.

That reality has shaped Fairbank's approach to ministry. Rather than expecting families to find their way back to the parish on their own, she believes the Church must actively create opportunities for connection, formation and support.

Bringing Moms Together

For Fairbank, who has a degree in religious education and pastoral ministry and has spent more than 30 years with families in parishes in Lakewood, Baptism is not just a one-day celebration but the beginning of a family's church life. Walking alongside parents, particularly mothers, during this time has been successful for parishes.

“Families of young children need opportunities to gather to feel supported and to feel welcomed,” she said.

Christ on the Mountain Parish offers a Mom’s Group within their community, where mothers can come together for fellowship, prayer and support, twice a month for two hours, with childcare.

Natalie Miller said she almost didn’t attend the parish’s Mom’s Group but decided to go after another member personally invited her.

“I was a little bit nervous, but a personal invitation makes all the difference," Miller said. "From there, we became more involved in PPP [Picnic/Pizza, Pajamas and Prayer, a parish event] and the other events of the parish."

“If the moms are home with kids, it's essential to offer them some opportunities to be together with other moms and to offer childcare during that time,” Fairbank added. “They can have a bit of a break to have some adult conversations and feel supported in their ministry as a stay-at-home mom and oftentimes as an at-home educator.”

Families, Faith and Fun

For entire families, the parish offers PPP: Picnic, Pajamas and Prayer during the summer and Pizza, Pajamas and Prayer in the school year. Complete with a short catechesis based in the liturgical year or the saints, these Friday night gatherings offer families the opportunity to come together for a meal and prayer, especially Eucharistic Adoration.

“The families can stay as long as they wish,” Fairbank said. “What is really important is that the families have a little bit of quiet during their very busy, noisy lives. This short time of Adoration and prayer provides some Christ-centered quiet to close out their school or work week. This fall and winter, we are adding a candlelight Mass that the families can choose to stay for following the pizza and Adoration portion of our evening.”

Miller agreed, sharing that for her family, the gatherings have become more than just another parish event.

"These gatherings have provided a community of other families to grow in faith together," she said. "It is so wonderful to have other families to journey with."

A Family Mission

Fairbank added that she shares information about opportunities like these during baptismal preparation classes.

“When I sit with families and begin the conversation about having their child baptized, I often ask them why they want their child to be baptized,” she said. “It opens up the opportunity for them to speak about their own faith and why they desire Baptism for their child, and then I talk to them about restored order and what the future of religious education will look like for their child at our parish and in our Archdiocese.”

In addition to encouraging families to fulfill their baptismal promises for their child, Fairbank also recommends they attend Mass regularly, live the liturgical year at home, pray together as a family, share scripture stories and more.

“I always remind them that they are their child's first and best teachers of our faith,” Fairbank said. “While that is an awesome responsibility, it is also a gift and a privilege, and the parish is here to support them with that task.”

Connection and Accompaniment

While the programs themselves may appear straightforward, Fairbank believes their success comes from creating meaningful relationships among families who are often searching for community. Parents who first connect through a baptismal preparation class frequently return for a Mom's Group gathering, a PPP event or religious education opportunities as their children grow.

Over time, those small points of connection can have a lasting effect. Families become more comfortable participating in parish life, friendships develop and parents gain confidence in their role as the primary educators of their children's faith.

"Ultimately, they teach us more about God and how to be in relationship with him than we explicitly pass along to them," Miller reflected. "They lead us to him by showing us how to be like little children. It is humbling but beautiful."

Fairbank said that in addition to these programs, Christ on the Mountain Parish has seen “families inviting other families to come to family-based programming,” as well as religious education classes and Vacation Bible School. She has also “witnessed several couples begin the process of having their marriages convalidated.” In addition, she has had “one non-Catholic parent inquire about OCIA” recently.

But, above all, what Fairbank likes about walking with families during this time is that, “I'm able to educate the families about restored order and accompany them post-Baptism throughout their children's elementary religious education and into middle school and high school youth ministry.”

For Fairbank, that long-term accompaniment is the heart of post-Baptism ministry. Over more than three decades, she has watched children be baptized in parishes, grow into teenagers, and

eventually become parents themselves. The journey has been a profound privilege, a special grace of God, and Fairbank can’t help but be grateful for the opportunity to walk with others in faith through Baptism and beyond.