Raising Disciples: How to Make Faith Matter for Our Kids

by Natalie Frisk

Natalie Frisk is the curriculum pastor at The Meeting House Church in Toronto, Canada, where she and a team create kids’ and youth curricula for ages 0–18 used by churches worldwide. Frisk is a sought-after speaker on topics of youth and children’s ministry, spiritual formation, and discipleship, and her work has been published in Canadian Youth Workers Magazine and at the ReKnew and Pangea blogs. Frisk has a master’s degree in theological studies from McMaster Divinity College and serves on the board of Be in Christ Church of Canada. She is married to Sam, mom to Erin, and child of God. She loves Jesus, coffee, and samosas.
 

Genres: Parenting, Theology, Discipleship, Nonfiction

208 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 17, 2019

Reviews

[JC · Rating 5 out of 5]

So grateful that Natalie wrote this book. This book is for parents, children’s pastors, youth pastors, grandparents, or mentors. I became a parent almost 2 years ago and have read countless “Christian parenting” books and have always felt unsatisfied after finishing. Do this, don’t do that etc. Here, Natalie brings an alternative, that should be a “no-brainer”, model Jesus. Too many times the “why” of our faith goes without saying. Raising Disciples gives practical advice and guidance on how to change that. Combining Piaget/Erickson stages of development, with Janes Fowler’s “stages of faith”, Natalie provides a breakdown of each stage and suggestions on how to make Jesus matter for children in that stage. If you want to raise children who value their faith in Christ, this is a must read.

[Candida · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deciples in our home

This book was a great resource. Churches are emptying out and we're wondering why. This book gives some great insight.

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the hands-down BEST books on Christian parenting I have read. The book is honest, practical and realistic. Rather than simply offering a how (which it does), it challenges parents to live in a Jesus-centered way and raise their children in this way too. I was challenged by this book but also felt empowered - like I could do what she was asking! The tips for each developmental stage were very practical and I can definitely see myself implementing them. I will be recommending this book to parents in my church family and circle!

[Ben Graber · Rating 3 out of 5]

What I liked about this book was it's emphases on living out your faith, modeling it, if you want to help your children also seek to become disciples of Jesus (in other words, it's not going to go over well to try to teach/expect certain things and then be a hypocrite about the same things in your own life). The part of me that wants answers and control wishes there were some more "do this, do that, specifically" type council, and there was some, but always with the broadness that is to be expected in attempting to council the lives of readers who will inevitably be very diverse, and contexts ranging all over the place.

Prayer was given much importance, and one's own spiritual formation and I think that both are fitting and important. Also, gentleness and respect for each child's free-will and need to ultimately make their own decision was encouraged and I believe rightly so.

Overall, the title's question is one the church (and parents) need to grapple with and it is only fair to consider how faith matters to ourselves if we are to somehow disciple our children in faith.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author addresses not just parents, but grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends, anyone who has become a spiritual mentor to someone. This book is different in that it encourages. I loved when she said, "As disciples, we ebb and flow in our journey with Jesus. We may grow leaps and bounds. We may lean closer and closer to Jesus, but them we may stumble and fall. We get back up, but it takes time."

With Deuteronomy 6:4-9 as a basis for her writings, Natalie emphasizes the importance of living our lives in genuine faith and having our relationship with Jesus to be daily and natural. In later chapters she suggests practical actions to live out our faith and how those will be used to establish a long term faith in our children.

*I recived a free copy of this book from the publisher for a free review. All opinions expressed are my own.*

[Keely Powley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was written by my sweet and incredible friend Natalie, so in some ways I always knew I would love this book, because I love her. However, reading her passion for children being discipled, and her ideas on ways to engage in that were inspiring.

If you have children in your life (as a friend, parent, teacher, pastor, grandparent, family member) this book is for you. This book will encourage you, and guide you to seeing the amazing potential of children and how you can be involved in their growth as Christian’s.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really got a lot out of this book. There are lots of practical tips that I tried with my kids, most of which actually resulted in change, great conversations, and quality moments with my kids. And not always just about Jesus and faith either. There are tips in here that would benefit non-believers as well (though, they likely wouldn't enjoy the reading, as that's not who it's written for!).

THanks Natalie for writing something very needed!

[Jesse Nickel · Rating 4 out of 5]

There was some helpful guidance offered in this book. A lot of it get like common sense stuff, but that doesn’t make it any less important. My only issue with the book was that a lot of the language that the author uses to speak about faith and its presence in her own life did not always reflect my own experience. I felt that this created some limits in terms of my own parenting. That said, this is a minor critique, and overall I found the book to be encouraging and hopeful.

[Autumn Dauer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book does a great job at explaining how to disciple children according to their age and developmental stage. Frisk does a wonderful job at explaining ways that parents and other adults in a child's life can set an example of and encourage deep faith within children. At the end of each chapter, she gives thought provoking questions or examples of practices that can be done with a child in daily life.

[Ash Wells · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this book is good for newer believers but it’s very similar to other Christian books on parenting. I think the authors lack of raising teenagers yet makes it hard to relate when you are in that season. It’s also heavily focused on children being in public school and that’s not everyone’s story. I probably would pass this book on to a young new mom just starting her faith journey but I don’t recommend this for seasoned moms.

[Marissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a must read for all parents wanting to raise kids who follow Jesus. It gives great pointers for every age group on how to bring Jesus more into daily conversation and routine, beyond just going to church on Sunday. It was also the reminder I needed to invest again in my own faith journey; and I now feel more prepared to do this Jesus-centred parenting journey.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. Wanting to raise my two small kids to love Jesus, I found this book to be full of great ways to engage them in their faith at every age. The practical ideas were so helpful and easy to implement. This book has given me some great concrete suggestions and it’s been so helpful. I highly recommend it. A great resource for Christian parents and grandparents!

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a super helpful book on discipling your kids.

I lead the children’s ministry at my church and I plan to use this book to provide some guidance and ideas to parents for the next few months. Its always been true that parents are the primary teachers of kids, and this has become even more true during the pandemic. This book is an excellent resource.

[Jeretta Hall-Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting book with several different take-aways on how to help you get started on discipling your child, no matter the age. I like the break-down between all of the different ages and how things change from one age to the next.
Linking the objectives to Biblical truths makes it more relatable and understandable for parents who have not been in this position before.

[Wintermote · Rating 5 out of 5]

Where are my mommy friends so we can talk about got to practically implement these ideas in our families—and hold me accountable for doing my best with these ideas. :)

Great theological framework and practical suggestions for every age!

[Russ Skinner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. I wish this had been around when my kids were younger. (Disclosure:: I know the author.)

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad. A good word for parents.

[Jesse Duperouzel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not extremely profound or groundbreaking, but then again I guess I’m not, you know, raising disciples.

[David Wise · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great resource for parents on how to discipline your children in the Christian faith without simply outsourcing it to church or other Ministries. It has something for every aged child.

[Seán · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Good: Natalie’s writing style made this book an easy read, and she is relentlessly Jesus-focused throughout. Along with stories that helped solidify the content, each chapter included a section of reflection questions and/or tips for discipling your children. These lists, rather than resembling “to do” lists, where actually rather encouraging, and summarized the content of each chapter. They were especially helpful during the final chapters which looked at ages and stages of development, and gave good reminders for both what to do and what not to do as babies grow into kids, kids into youth, and youth into adults. The chapter on “Outsourcing Discipleship” was particularly insightful.

The Bad: I would have appreciated more in depth reflections on scripture. Most of the scripture discussions were drive-bys, rather than dive–ins, which gave the unfortunate impression that scriptural reflections were an addendum to already formed ideas rather than the central locus from which the ideas and reflections of the book were flowing from. Ultimately, this made it seem that the stories from Natalie's own experiences were more central to the book than The Word her words were drawing their "life" from.

I received a review copy of this book from the publisher, provided through Netgalley. The opinions expressed are my own.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Natalie Frisk's new book, Raising Disciples: How to Make Faith Matter for Our Kids, will likely be a good handbook for parents looking for guidance in discipling their children. It is a biblically based book filled with practical suggestions. The author focuses on what Jesus-centered parenting looks like, and gives hints for each developmental stage. Additionally, each chapter ends with a "Don't Try This at Home" section which actually poses questions to help parents process what they're reading and think through what the principles and concepts might look like in thier own homes. Having read countless parenting books, including several specifically about discipling one's children, I found that this one really didn't offer anything new or original. On the positive side, Frisk does offer a new book for a new generation of parents seeking to raise their kids in Jesus-centered homes.

Note: I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for this honest review. The opinions expressed are my onw.

[Myndi · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I return to God and my journey as a Christian, I am devouring books that will help me along the way. My son used to think that Captain America was Jesus. While Captain America is pretty flipping awesome, he is not the Son of God. I knew then that I had to do more for my children. Enter Raising Disciples. I liked how the author gave tips on how to guide our children in their spiritual journey through every single age. There are things we can do with little ones that probably won't have the same impact on the teenagers. Throughout the book, there's also advice for how to strengthen your own spiritual journey while helping your children. Intention is a big theme throughout the book. You have to do everything with intention or your kids will be able to tell the difference. Overall it was a very informative book and I plan on putting everything in to practice immediately.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. Wanting to raise my two small kids to love Jesus, I found this book to be full of great ways to engage them in their faith at every age. The practical ideas were so helpful and easy to implement. This book has given me some great concrete suggestions and it’s been so helpful. I highly recommend it. A great resource for Christian parents and grandparents!

[Adela · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the more practical and compassionate parenting books I've read.