Family Discipleship
Discipleship is the process of guiding and nurturing families to become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ. It is based on the idea that parents and caregivers have the greatest influence on their children and that churches support caregivers along the way.
The goal of discipleship is to help families love God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love their neighbor as themselves through intentional activities like study, prayer, worship, and service.
We learn best through modeling. As caregivers live out their faith, children learn humility, forgiveness, and self-control, cultivating a strong foundation for children to grow in their own relationship with God.
We cannot do all of this alone. By investing in local churches, families connect with other believers to learn and grow together.
Resources for Family Discipleship
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Books
Teach Your Children Well: A Step-by-Step Guide for Family Discipleship by Sarah Cowan Johnson
Phase Guides by Orange
Growing Young: Six Essential Strategies to Help Young People Discover and Love Your Church by Kara Powell
Give Them Grace by Elyse Fitzpatrick
Sacred Parenting by Gary Thomas
Parenting Beyond Your Capacity by Reggie Joiner
Parenting by Paul David Tripp
Age of Opportunity: A Biblical Guide to Parenting Teens by Paul David Tripp
Imaginative Prayer: A Year-Long Guide for Your Child’s Spiritual Formation by Jared Patrick Boyd
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Books
The Tech-wise Family by Andy Crouch
Right Click: Parenting Your Teenager in a Digital Media World by Art BamfordGlow Kids
Glow Kids by Nicholas Kardaras
Talk: A Practical Approach to Cyberparenting and Open Communication by Mandy Majors
Analog Christian by Jay Kim
Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport
Faith for Exiles by David Kinnaman + Mark Matlock
The Life We’re Looking For by Andy Crouch
Planners
All by Screen Sanity
Middle School Plugged-In Planner
Websites
Jonathan Haidt’s After Babel Substack for research into teen mental health + tech.
Axis Media + Technology Library for parents of teens - and sign up for their Culture Translator
Screen Sanity for free tools, tips, etc.
Center for Humane Tech - make sure to check out their incredible Youth Toolkit
Wait Until 8th for support delaying the introduction of smartphones
Common Sense Media for age-based media reviews - and many other resources
The Social Dilemma - film website, discussion guides, etc.
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Boundaries with Kids by Henry Cloud and John Townsend
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Hero Tales by Dave & Neta Jackson
Window on the World by by Molly Wall & Jason Mandryk
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The Talk: 7 Lessons to Introduce Your Child to Biblical Sexuality (Ages 6-19) by Luke Gilkerson
Changes: 7 Biblical Lessons to Make Sense of Puberty (Ages 8-12) by Luke Gilkerson
Relationships: 7 Lessons to Give Kids a Greater Understanding of Biblical Sexuality by Luke Gilkerson
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