Believe Kids' Edition - A Great Tool For Passing On a Heritage of Faith - I'm Giving One Away!

As I have been saying, the price is far, far too high if we fail to pass on a heritage of faith to the children in our families and ministries. And, while I absolutely am in favor of strong and successful children's ministries, I do believe as a whole, churches have, "put all their eggs in one basket" and this has been unwise. 

I keep referring to Larry Fowler's book, The Question Nobody Asks about Our Children, for a reason. He has pushed away all the rhetoric, all the theory, all the tradition and looked at the simple, bare, basic facts: there are 168 hours in a week and children are at church for one of these hours. (If they attend more than Sunday School, of course the hours increase, but only to as much as four hours, typically.) And, many children only attend church every other week, which means they are there for one hour out of 336 hours. How can we honestly believe this is enough to influence children to know, love and walk with Jesus? Yes, it can have an influence, but in Deuteronomy 6 God says it is more than just a one hour out of 168 to 336 hours "job". It is a day-in-day-out influence which is needed to pass on a heritage of faith, which of course, means this is the primary responsibility - and joy - of parents and grandparents. The price is far, far too high if we do not encourage and equip parents and grandparents, so they are able to pass on this heritage of faith. We have to "move the eggs to a new basket". Yes, we still need effective, engaging and exciting children's ministry, but we must be equipping and encouraging parents and grandparents, too.

One way we can do this is by letting them know abut resources they can use at home with their children/grandchildren. Believe Kids' Edition: Think, Act, Be Like Jesus is one such resource. Please allow me to share it with you.

Believe Kids' Edition: Think, Act, Be Like Jesus
Author - Randy Frazee
Publisher - Zonderkidz
Ages - 8-12

Favorite Features -

• Designed to help children change the way they think, act and to think like Jesus!
• Presented in three parts: Think - What do I believe?, Act - What do I do? and Be - Who am I becoming?
• Each chapter includes a key question, key idea and key verse along with a "Think about it" section and actual Scripture from the NIrV followed by discussion questions.

Zonderkidz says; "You know the story of the Bible, but do you know what it means? This kids’ edition of Believe teaches you the core beliefs, practices, and virtues of Jesus-followers, so you can understand how to live out God’s story in your own life today.

As you walk through the three big categories—beliefs, practices, and virtues—you’ll begin a journey which will take you closer to the heart of Jesus and deeper into the words of Scripture. You’ll learn what the Bible has to say about everything from the nature of God and the identity of Jesus, to prayer, worship, and the fruit of the Spirit. Each big category is divided into ten topics to give you an up-close look at the important things God wants you to know. From bestselling author and pastor, Randy Frazee, the Believe: Kids’ Edition will take you on a step-by-step tour through the Bible and show you how to think, act, and be more like Jesus."

My grandson, Josiah saw this book sitting on my icebox/end table and started reading it. I was surprised at how quickly it captured his attention! He is six years old, but sat down and read two chapters! Which of course, gave us the opportunity to talk about what he read! Just watching how my grandson responded to this book caused me to look at it in an entirely  different way. I take very seriously my responsibility and joy in passing on a heritage of faith and a resource which gets their attention and gives us the opportunity to have important conversations is a resource I will use.

Believe Kids' Edition: Think, Act, Be Like Jesus is a resource we can use with our children/grandchildren and it is one we can recommend to the parents/grandparents in our ministries. If we are serious about, "moving some of those eggs", this is one way we can do so. Consider offering a class for parents/grandparents which works through a chapter each week, so they can go home with the confidence of being ready for the conversations they can have with their children/grandchildren as they work through the same chapter at home. This book is a great tool to help lay a firm foundation for what we believe and why we believe it and is very user friendly; parents and grandparents will be able to use it! Most importantly, it will truly help them pass on a heritage of faith!

I'm very happy to say, not only did Zonderkidz send me one Believe Kids' Edition: Think, Act, Be Like Jesus to review, but they are making another available for me to give away - USA only. If you are over 18 years old and you'd like to be in the drawing for Believe Kids' Edition: Think, Act, Be Like Jesus, which will be on June 10, 2015,  please comment below to let me know if you would use this book to help you pass on a heritage of faith to your children or grandchildren - I will definitely be using it with my grandchildren!

In addition if you have followed on Google Friend Connect, followed by liking on facebook with the tab in the "Find us on Facebook" box ON THE BLOG or at this link (not just liking the post) and/or have followed About the Children's Department by email you will receive one entry for each of these which you have done. Plus, if you "share" this post, you'll receive another entry (please let me know if you share). This will help me be able to draw names from among people who would like to win Believe Kids' Edition: Think, Act, Be Like Jesus and it gives you several ways to enter the give-away! Thank you for reading About the Children's Department and for sharing it with the people you know!