1. Think Orange - This excellent book by Reggie Joiner (where I got the Yellow, Red, Orange color illustration from) spells out the need for churches and families to embrace a new strategy of combining their efforts and working together to instill faith in the next generation. It calls for church leaders to start "Thinking Orange" and make radical changes so they can "engage parents in an integrated strategy, synchronize the home and church around a clear message, provoke parents and kids to fight for their relationships with each other, recruit mentors to become partners with families, and mobilize the next generation to BE the church." It's a great and challenging read.
2. It Starts At Home - Written by Kurt Bruner and Steve Stroope, the pastors of Lake Pointe Church in Rockwall, Texas, this book emphasizes that "faith must be nourished in the rich soil of a God-honoring family. The church's role is to provide the water. But lifelong faith requires deep, abiding roots." As they share the strategies they see as essential to be intentional about developing a lifelong faith in your children, they also include several practical ideas and activities that you can put into action immediately to start being intentional. As a new parent, I've found this book very formative to how I plan on passing my faith my own children.Here's a list of a few other books on a variety of matters important to families that I'd recommend:
"The Five Love Languages of Children" by Gary Chapman and Ross Campbell, M.D.
"The Slow Fade" by Reggie Joiner, Chuck Bomar, and Abbie Smith
"The Blessing" by Gary Smalley and John Trent
In Christ,
Ryan Fillinger
Fusion Church
Fountain, CO
