Parenting with Kingdom Purpose

This book was practical. A little different since they give statistics from a study that they personally did not do. It is like bullet points instead of a story line book.

Even though this book is primarily for parents of teenagers, I read it as a parent of a three and five year-old and was still able to get very useful information. The statistics that the authors give are astounding and should reaffirm to Christian parents the importance of open commmunication with your child. Because I am raising my children in a Christian environment, I assumed that I was doing everything right. However, the authors of this book help explain the importance of doing more than just "being" a Christian. They get to the heart of the Scriptures and hold all parents accountable for the commission that is given in the Bible to diligently teach our chldren God's word while helping them to realize their role in bringing others into His kingdom. I am placing this book on my shelf to pull back out when my children are reaching the middle school years. By then I will need the gentle, scripture-based nudging that is provided by the authors.

Every Christian parent should read this book and consider the advice, recommendations and helps that it offers in raising what the authors call "Kingdom kids", children that have been raised with a consistent message that conveys a faith-centered Christian worldview. Near the end of the book, Ross writes regarding problems with youth, "Parents come to the office of counselors and church leaders when they are in crisis. Often they say 'We never thought it would come to this. How did we ever get into this situation?' The answer is often by hundreds of decisions parents and children have made over the years." The focus of this book is for parents to understand that a primary parenting responsiblity is to see that faith is central in their own lives and to ensure that they consistently live and communicate that message to their children by making it a priority. Too often, parents will sacrifice to send children to sports camps but not for mission trips. They will skip church to attend a child's sports activity. They drop the children off at church but don't attend themselves. Over time, decisions such as these convey to the child that mom and dad's faith just isn't all that important. As a result, 70 percent of youth will drop out of the church within two years of high school graduation. The authors don't just tell us what has gone wrong but also offer practical advise for how to stay "on message" with your children.