About the Book:
Book: Raising Kids to Follow Christ: Instilling a Lifelong Trust in God
Author: Lee Ann Mancini
Genre: Nonfiction, Family and Relationships, Parenting
Release Date: February 20, 2024
How can we raise the next generation to have an unshakable faith in God as they navigate the challenging terrain of modern culture?
Offering years of experience and countless success stories, author and parenting expert Lee Ann Mancini says what our children need is a heart change, not just a behavioral change, so that they become effective disciples. In Raising Kids to Follow Christ: Instilling a Lifelong Trust in God, she inspires parents, grandparents, teachers, and others to teach their children essential Christian principles to enable them to navigate the world with grace, integrity, and an unbreakable bond with their heavenly Father.
This book goes beyond surface-level advice, delving into the intricate matters of children’s hearts and minds and offering a blueprint for nurturing a deep and unwavering faith in Christ.
Raising Kids to Follow Christ offers:
• Decades of personal experience and training based on key essential principles in Scripture
• Practical strategies for addressing doubts, fears, and questions that arise in today’s culture
• Ways to help children control their emotions and actions in various situations
• Suggestions from some of today’s brightest Christian minds in children’s spirituality
• Empowerment for parents to become their child’s spiritual champion
• Easy-to-understand apologetics for children and adults
• Fun ways to connect your child’s heart to Christ
Raising Kids to Follow Christ is a collaborative journey inviting parents to learn, grow, and flourish alongside their children as they become bold in their witness and committed to their faith rather than secular culture.
My Thoughts:
Back when I was a new mother, I started reading books about raising children. Over the years, I’ve read quite a number of them. All of them have good pointers—and most of them have had things I don’t quite agree with. I don’t read very many books like that now, but I probably still should, since even after being a mother for 25 years I still have a 4-year-old. When I was offered a review copy of Raising Kids to Follow Christ, I decided it would probably be a good book to spend some time with.
Lee Ann Mancini has a lot of good advice in Raising Kids to Follow Christ. This would be a very good book for new parents to read. Much of the advice for instilling a love for Jesus in your children works best with babies, toddlers and preschoolers—if I tried implementing her suggestions with my children, most of them would think it was pretty silly, but if you started very young it would be natural. I liked the encouragement in building a God-centered worldview for your children, and helping them to learn to know Jesus personally.
On the other hand, she clearly states that “discipline never means physical punishment.” I wondered if she means that physical punishment is never to be used? I may have missed something, but what I understood her to say was that seeing the parent’s disappointment should be enough punishment for most things. Maybe I’ve totally failed with my children, but that has never been enough for them. I did appreciate the author’s advice for ways of teaching children right behavior. She has some very creative ideas for teaching children about God.
I received a review copy of this book from the author, and these are my honest thoughts about it. Links may be affiliate links, which will benefit Esther’s website if purchases are made through them.
About the Author:
Author Lee Ann Mancini is the award-winning author and executive producer of the Sea Kids series, which can be viewed on Answers.TV, Pure Flix, Right Now Media, and SeaKidsTV. Lee Ann earned a master’s degree in theological studies from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (Trinity International University), as well as two master’s degrees — one in Christian and Classic Studies and one in Biblical and Theological Studies — from Knox Theological Seminary. She serves as an adjunct professor at South Florida Bible College and Theological Seminary and hosts the award-winning podcast, Raising Christian Kids.
More from Lee Ann:
Recent statistics show our youth abandoning faith at an alarming rate. 90% of 13–14-year-olds believe there is no absolute moral truth, and 75% of parents agree.[1] In the cultural war against Christ-centered values, vulnerable young souls are our greatest casualties. It’s time to raise up a faith-armored generation and equip them to change the world. With the right resources, we can equip our kids with enduring faith.
Raising Kids to Follow Christ: Instilling a Lifelong Trust in God endeavors to remedy the statistically high rate at which children turn away from Christianity. Raising Kids to Follow Christ (February 2024 from Whitaker House) offers today’s families the resources they need to nurture children in faith. This expert guide offers developmentally appropriate and scripturally centered methods based upon top research and expert insights from the brightest minds in childhood spiritual development. Author and Raising Christian Kids CEO Lee Ann Mancini emphasizes truth wrapped in love and joy in a parenting approach designed to prevent children from abandoning their faith. Her reason for writing this book is to help readers eagerly search the Bible, looking for fresh truth they can find in each word of scripture — “for the word of God is living and active” (Hebrews 4:12, niv) — to build a strong foundation of Christ in their children that will last a lifetime.
Valentine’s Day Bible craft for your family:
Memory Verse: John 13:34-35, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (ESV).
Supplies
- Markers/pens
- Scissors
- Sheets of paper (1-2 per person)
- Small jars/clear containers (1 per person)
Setup
- Gather items and have them ready to use.
- An adult can draw seven hearts on each sheet of paper. Make one sheet per person.
- Optional: If children are older, allow them to draw hearts on their sheets of paper.
Say
- Our memory verse, John 13:34-35, tells us that God wants us to love others in the same way He loves us. That’s how other people will know that we are His disciples.
- God wants us to love everyone. A great way to start practicing loving others is to love the people you are closest to first.
- I want you to think of seven people who you spend the most time with. We are going to start practicing showing God’s love to them this week.
- Each of us will fill up a jar/container with hearts with those seven people’s names written on each heart.
- We will pull out one heart each day this week and come up with ways to show that person God’s love all day.
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