Home Grown: How to Equip Parents for Spiritual Leadership

by Tina Houser (Editor)

The greatest influencers in a child's life are his or her parents. Children parrot words they hear at home. They mimic behaviors they see lived out in front of them. You can tell a great deal about a child's home life if you listen and watch for a few moments. Wouldn't it be great, after spending a short time with a child, to see evidence that parents are sowing spiritual seeds! As those involved in children's ministry, our hearts overwhelmingly desire to see children begin a lifelong adventure with Jesus as their Savior and Lord. But, our time and influence are limited. God is aware of that! He wants you to have an influence on the kids you come in contact with. But, His plan is much broader. He created "family"--the ultimate in small groups and a place where He meant for a child's faith to be home grown. In Home Grown you'll be challenged to come alongside parents, to both equip them and encourage them to step into the calling God has placed on their lives. That calling is to live out their faith in front of their children and not shy away from the biblical mandate to be their child's primary spiritual leader. May you be rejuvenated with excitement at what's possible when parents lead their children daily in God's Word and closer to Him.

152 pages, Paperback

Published February 21, 2018

Reviews

[Brittany · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is for you if… you serve in children’s ministry, you think parents are an important part of discipleship, you want more practical ideas for equipping parents that you can implement today.

My thoughts: As a contributing author to this book (check out chapter 4 for my thoughts on being a parent cheerleader), I am a little bit biased. But there really is so much good stuff in this book! Each chapter is filled with practical, applicable, and encouraging ideas for helping parents be the primary spiritual leaders in their children’s lives.

Home Grown covers a variety of topics including communicating with parents, spiritual milestones, first impressions (that includes your website!), and helping families in times of grief.

Each chapter provides both practical tips and inspirational stories; there’s even a family questionnaire at the end that you can use to get to know the families in your ministry better. Since the chapters contain fewer than 2,500 words, each one gives you enough information and detail without becoming overwhelming, and overall it’s a quick and easy read.

One of my favorite chapters includes Trish Weeks’ chapter titled “X-Rays and Oreos: Help Parents Lead their Child to Christ.” It includes step-by-step lessons and details for a parent-child baptism class that Trish started in her ministry, and yep, she uses X-Rays and Oreos to explain salvation. The ideas and activities are ones that kids are sure to love, and they’re so easy to implement. I’m already brainstorming ways to use Trish’s ideas!

Another favorite chapter comes from Jack Henry, and it’s all about first impressions. Jack spent some time talking about the importance of the very first thing people see about your church: your website! As a Millennial and ministry leader, I cannot stress enough how important your online presence is to my generation, and Jack outlines why your website needs to be updated and the key tasks your website should accomplish. He also discusses applicable tips for making a great first impression in the parking lot and church building that you can implement this Sunday with minimal effort or budget.

[Elizabeth Cohen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED this book! Excellent resource for equipping and partnering with parents from a church perspective!