What do you think?
Rate this book
When Children Walk Away from Jesus: Comfort and Hope for Parents of Prodigals
Gentle, compassionate, and honest insights for parents whose grown-up children have turned away from faith.You did your best to raise your child to follow Jesus, but they walked away from him.
Perhaps like the younger prodigal son in the Bible story, they embrace a rebellious lifestyle. Maybe, like the older son, they try to live a moral life apart from Jesus. In either case, they seem hopelessly far from God.
Drawing on over four decades of pastoral experience, Paul Mallard shares practical wisdom and biblical truths that will give you comfort, courage, and hope in the gospel.
You will be helped to…
persevere in prayernurture loving relationships with your adult childhave courage as you share and reflect the gospelprocess feelings of guilt and griefcast your hope on the LordGentle, practical, and honest, When Children Walk Away from Jesus offers renewal and support as you continue to point your grown-up child to the one who is mighty to save.
Each chapter is followed by reflection questions that can also be discussed with a spouse or in a support group for parents of prodigals.
Perhaps like the younger prodigal son in the Bible story, they embrace a rebellious lifestyle. Maybe, like the older son, they try to live a moral life apart from Jesus. In either case, they seem hopelessly far from God.
Drawing on over four decades of pastoral experience, Paul Mallard shares practical wisdom and biblical truths that will give you comfort, courage, and hope in the gospel.
You will be helped to…
persevere in prayernurture loving relationships with your adult childhave courage as you share and reflect the gospelprocess feelings of guilt and griefcast your hope on the LordGentle, practical, and honest, When Children Walk Away from Jesus offers renewal and support as you continue to point your grown-up child to the one who is mighty to save.
Each chapter is followed by reflection questions that can also be discussed with a spouse or in a support group for parents of prodigals.
162 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 30, 2025
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 15, 2026
Warm, theological, pastoral, applicable. This book will be a gem for me. I read this book quickly- to make sure it would be helpful for our church library. And it is. And I will use this book and give it out to many parents! Wonderful book.
It covers many areas related to children who walk away from the faith (how do I pray for my child? Did they walk away from the church because of my lack of leadership? How do I love my child who is against the church? How do I love my child though he is in sin?). But also, this book shows vividly that every conversion (even our children's) is miraculous and from God. So this book encourages us to not idolize our children or wear a weight of parent guilt when our children steer away from faith.
As a father of young children, this book reminded me of both my duty to disciple my children but also to trust them fully to the Lord!
It covers many areas related to children who walk away from the faith (how do I pray for my child? Did they walk away from the church because of my lack of leadership? How do I love my child who is against the church? How do I love my child though he is in sin?). But also, this book shows vividly that every conversion (even our children's) is miraculous and from God. So this book encourages us to not idolize our children or wear a weight of parent guilt when our children steer away from faith.
As a father of young children, this book reminded me of both my duty to disciple my children but also to trust them fully to the Lord!
January 26, 2026
Excellent book on a tough topic. Author goes beyond surface-level insights.
* "A sense of failure is one of the constant companions of parenting."
* "There is a kind of gravity about parental love which you only discover when you become a parent. Of course our children love us, but the love that we have for them is usually more profound and sacrificial ... the pull towards them is like gravity."
* "Our love for our children gives us a glimpse of God's love for us--which is greater by far ... When we love our wayward children, we are experiencing something of God's heart towards us."
* "The best thing we can do for such children is to show them Jesus so that they are captivated by his love and satisfied with him alone."
* " ... we must avoid the idea that our child's salvation depends on what we do. Some children are saved in the absence of good Christian parenting, while in many a believing family, some children are saved but their brother or sister is not."
* "Allow yourself to enjoy all God's gifts, including the gift of your children, and don't be weighed down by a burden of guilt that Christ died to remove."
* "There is a great mystery about the way in which God chooses to save people. Without denying human responsibility, every conversion involves a miracle. And only God can work this miracle. Although we are accustomed to riding in to rescue our children when they are in trouble, in this area we are powerless."
* "When children are small, it's normal for them to echo the faith of their parents. This is not necessarily an indication of saving faith. It might be. But it might not be. If they are not currently 'walking with the Lord,' it might be because their faith was not genuine in the first place. Or it might be that they are in a backslidden condition. We just don't know. And because we don't know, it is not enough to rest our hope on a mere profession of faith at any age."
* "God has placed our children in a family where they have heard the good news of the gospel and can continue to hear it. This should bring us great encouragement."
* " ... take every opportunity you can to talk about the goodness God--in all areas of your life. He is abundantly generous! Make this the dominant tone of your conversations. Our children should hear more from us about what God is for--beauty, goodness, justice, kindness--than what he is against."
* "We sometimes imagine that some people, because of their temperament or life circumstances, are naturally closer to accepting the gospel than others ... God can overcome any barrier."
* He emphasizes the importance of learning to lament and grieve for these children: "Something is profoundly wrong when our kids reject Christ ... It feels like a bereavement--and the biblical response to bereavement is to lament."
* "Why did God give you the blessing of children and then break your heart when those children turned their back on him? Why is he so slow to answer your prayers?"
* "Our problem is that we just can't figure it out. We are limited in our understanding, and we cannot see how what God is doing in our lives can be described as good."
Little book that packs a big punch. Definitely recommend.
* "A sense of failure is one of the constant companions of parenting."
* "There is a kind of gravity about parental love which you only discover when you become a parent. Of course our children love us, but the love that we have for them is usually more profound and sacrificial ... the pull towards them is like gravity."
* "Our love for our children gives us a glimpse of God's love for us--which is greater by far ... When we love our wayward children, we are experiencing something of God's heart towards us."
* "The best thing we can do for such children is to show them Jesus so that they are captivated by his love and satisfied with him alone."
* " ... we must avoid the idea that our child's salvation depends on what we do. Some children are saved in the absence of good Christian parenting, while in many a believing family, some children are saved but their brother or sister is not."
* "Allow yourself to enjoy all God's gifts, including the gift of your children, and don't be weighed down by a burden of guilt that Christ died to remove."
* "There is a great mystery about the way in which God chooses to save people. Without denying human responsibility, every conversion involves a miracle. And only God can work this miracle. Although we are accustomed to riding in to rescue our children when they are in trouble, in this area we are powerless."
* "When children are small, it's normal for them to echo the faith of their parents. This is not necessarily an indication of saving faith. It might be. But it might not be. If they are not currently 'walking with the Lord,' it might be because their faith was not genuine in the first place. Or it might be that they are in a backslidden condition. We just don't know. And because we don't know, it is not enough to rest our hope on a mere profession of faith at any age."
* "God has placed our children in a family where they have heard the good news of the gospel and can continue to hear it. This should bring us great encouragement."
* " ... take every opportunity you can to talk about the goodness God--in all areas of your life. He is abundantly generous! Make this the dominant tone of your conversations. Our children should hear more from us about what God is for--beauty, goodness, justice, kindness--than what he is against."
* "We sometimes imagine that some people, because of their temperament or life circumstances, are naturally closer to accepting the gospel than others ... God can overcome any barrier."
* He emphasizes the importance of learning to lament and grieve for these children: "Something is profoundly wrong when our kids reject Christ ... It feels like a bereavement--and the biblical response to bereavement is to lament."
* "Why did God give you the blessing of children and then break your heart when those children turned their back on him? Why is he so slow to answer your prayers?"
* "Our problem is that we just can't figure it out. We are limited in our understanding, and we cannot see how what God is doing in our lives can be described as good."
Little book that packs a big punch. Definitely recommend.
May 12, 2026
Fairly sure this will end up being one of my favourite Christian reads of the year. Paul Mallard addresses the question of the title with pastoral warmth and wisdom. He is writing for the full range of experiences - the prodigals who have gone off the rails, and the children who have drifted from faith but live outwardly respectable lives; the parents who are worried sick about their children, and those who have become complacent and need a right perspective on priorities. There are helpful sections on processing the range of emotions parents can feel, including the question of true and false guilt over failures. There are some practical chapters on loving your children/grandchildren, including a insightful reflection on 1 Corinthians 13, and on praying for them, with 10 ideas to fuel prayer. Paul Mallard also ultimately gives us comfort and hope by pointing us to the God who saves, ending with an encouraging story from his own experience with his parents. This is a really important book on a difficult topic, which has been helpful to me as a church leader and also as a parent wanting to support our children as they grow.
March 31, 2026
Paul Mallard, a retired minister, put together a very useful book. The title tells the reader the whole aim of the work, and who it's for. The author biblically handled this subject with compassion, sympathy, and clarity. I appreciated how he made very clear that God's promises in Proverbs (especially 22:6) are not automatic. He also nicely handles Titus 1:6 with regard to church leaders when their children walk away from Jesus. As I was reading this book several families in my congregation came to mind, and I'm certain a copy will find its way into their hands. I'll make certain of it.
February 3, 2026
helpful and comforting
I appreciated the care and concern expressed in this book for prodigals and their parents. I didn’t agree with everything but with 95%. I found it very helpful and encouraging.
I appreciated the care and concern expressed in this book for prodigals and their parents. I didn’t agree with everything but with 95%. I found it very helpful and encouraging.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews