A Theology for Family Ministries

by Michael J. Anthony (Editor), Ken R. Canfield (Foreword)

The times are definitely changing. What was once simply referred to as a Nuclear Family in North America has morphed into labels such as Non-Traditional Families, Fragmented Families, Single-Parent Families, Gay-Partner Families, Blended Families, and beyond."It may not always be pretty, but it is reality, and that's the intersection between biblical ideal and ministry practice," writes editor Michael J. Anthony in A Theology for Family Ministry.Other contributors include Ken Canfield, Michelle D. Anthony, Karen E. Jones, Freddy Cardoza, Michael S. Lawson, Richard Melick Jr., Curt Hamner, Leon Blanchette, Gordon R. Coulter, James W. Thompson, Timothy Paul Jones, Randy Stinson, Kit Rae, and David Keehn.

Genres: Theology, Family, Church

304 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 2011

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Family ministry is one of the hardest yet most rewarding calling a person can have. For family ministry not just towards what age group but children, teenagers, and parents/guardians. Furthermore since the nuclear family has changed in North America and non traditional families have become as common as traditional ones, family ministry can be a minefield waiting to happen. Therefore one of the most helpful books I have come across, a long time, with regards to family ministry is, a theology for family Ministries. This work by Michael and Michelle Anthony is a plethora of helpful knowledge. While the Anthony’s act as editors to this work, each chapter is written by a person who is knee-deep in family ministry. This book is broken down into three units. The first one details the history as well as the current state of what is considered the new your family in North America. This unit is followed by a multitude of chapters dealing with forming a theology for family ministry. In this unit each of the chapters help a person build practical plan for pursuing families to minister to as well as to Amanda lies. The third and final units deals with how family ministry should be done in the local church. All the previous dealt with more theoretical with practical application, this final unit is all practical.

While it may seem like each of these chapters is too short to deal with the complex subject that they are tasked with, they are written in such a way that they can be skimmed in a quick read before diving into a more dedicated study in a different work by the author who wrote that specific chapter. While there are a few issues I disagree with in this work, as a whole this work is beneficial to anyone who is in family ministry, or desires to have their Church be more family ministry oriented. I highly recommend it.

This book was provided to me free of charge from B&H Academic in exchange for an unbiased, honest review.

A Theology for Family Ministry

© 2011 by Michael and Michelle Anthony

Publisher: B&H Academic

Page Count: 304 Pages

ISBN: 978-0805464214

[Brittany · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book for my Family Ministry in the 21st Century class in seminary, and it was great! A good blend of theology and practical application of family ministry. Each chapter was written by a different leading expert in the family ministry world, so it was good to get different perspectives. Gives a great overview of why family ministry is important and how to implement it in your ministry context.

[Spencer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A helpful collection of essays on different topics relating to family ministry.