Pass It On: Building a Legacy of Faith for Your Children through Practical and Memorable Experiences

by Jim Burns, Jeremy Lee

Parents often experience a “freak out” moment when they realize their children’s view of God will primarily come from what they learn at home. Most parents spend more time helping their kids succeed at academics or athletics than infusing shared spiritual experiences into the rhythm of everyday family life.

While the idea of strategically passing down our faith can seem intimidating, the annual Rites of Passage Experiences contained in Pass It On make it easy for your family to celebrate milestones from kindergarten through high school graduation. Forever change the direction of your family’s spiritual legacy ... starting now!

Jim Burns is president of HomeWord and executive director of the HomeWord Center for Youth and Family at Azusa Pacific University. He has more than 1.5 million resources in print and a radio broadcast heard on 800 stations a day. Jim resides in Southern California with his wife Cathy and their three daughters.

Jeremy Lee is the founder of ParentMinistry.Net, a subscription-based service for children and youth ministry workers. He was on the writing team for the Simple Truth Bible from Group Publishing and the Ignite Study Bible from Thomas Nelson Publishers. Jeremy lives in Nashville with his wife and children.

Genres: Parenting, Nonfiction

216 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 2015

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Jim Burns, Ph.D., President of HomeWord is the host of the HomeWord with Jim Burns daily half-hour, daily one-minute, and weekly half-hour radio programs. His passion is communicating to adults and young people practical truths to help them live out their Christian lives.

Jim is the author of many resources including his latest books The Purity Code: God’s Plan for Sex and Your Body, Teaching Your Children Healthy Sexuality and Accept Nothing Less: God’s Best for Your Body, Mind and Heart. In recent years, he has also written Confident Parenting and Creating an Intimate Marriage which are available in audio CDs, books, and small group curriculum kits; The 10 Building Blocks for a Happy Family; Devotions on the Run; and Parenting Teenagers for Positive Results kit. Since 1985, HomeWord has been assisting parents and churches worldwide through radio, resources, seminars, and the web at www.homeword.com. Jim writes monthly columns for Ignite Your Faith magazine and Simply Youth Ministry newsletter and website.

Reviews

[Clint Benesh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love the milestones that they have as example for your children from K-12. It is also set them up in a way that you can build them into regular activities for your family to do. As a student director, I wish I could get this book in the hands of all of my parents.

[Brenda Seefeldt · Rating 5 out of 5]

A life principle I believe in with lots of examples you can use for yourself. Good work has been done for you.

[Janelle Cole · Rating 4 out of 5]

In today’s age, I think parents feel like they are watching time fly by as their children reach adulthood far too fast and far unprepared. So often we do not realize the impact of our choices until the impact has set in as normal, i.e. shows we allow them to watch, movies, games, etc. Not only that, but we are bombarded from all angles about what normal looks like, how parents should relate to and with their children and also what family even means.

Pass-it-On-PK-252x378

Jim Burns and Jeremy Lee have partnered together to write a book that will help parents of all ages of children navigate these challenging years. Pass It On is a book that will give practical hands on ideas and tools for parents to connect with their kids and to pour truth into their hearts.

Building a legacy is something all of us strive to do, at least I think it is. We are reminded every time we go to a funeral just how precious life is. We are reminded that one day we too will be gone, and the only thing left behind to show we were here are the people who’s lives we impacted. When we pour into our children, teach them to respect authority, to take responsibility and to have accountability for their actions we are raising leader for tomorrow and leaving a legacy.

Jim and Jeremy spend thee chapters defining legacy and God’s blue print. Very quickly they change gears into explaining and outlining a schedule of Rites of Passage Experiences. There 12 experiences, each has a chapter so you can really understand the goal and get ideas of the execution.

Each year of your child’s school years they suggest you have a Rite of Passage Experience. Each year you layer a new subject on top of those already laid down. Each year or experience is age appropriate, and each chapter even goes into an explanation of where your child is at that season of their life. I felt that the chapters that addressed the ages of my children were quite appropriate with their descriptions of what is going on in their lives according to their ages. Then they offer a Rite of Passage for that age, several discussion starters for the parents and they even have a few questions that your children may ask, so you can be prepared, as you go through the entire process.

I honestly think this is an amazing resource. One of the parts I liked was at the end of each chapter you can read about what a child that age is like, physically, emotionally, and relationally – for boys and girls. This is a great tool you can even share with your child, I am personally in favor of showing them why the act the way they do so maybe they can be less frustrated that I was. So much of growing up is hormonal and chemical changes going on, but I think if they know it is normal and everyone else is experiencing it too, would make it seem less scary and crazy!

This is a great book! A great resources for parents of kids ages Kindergarten through 12th grade, and even before the kids hit kindergarten it would be a good resource to be reading through and understanding.

NOTE : I was offered a copy of Pass It On by LitFuse.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my worries in regards to being a widowed mom is am I going to be able to pass on my husband and I’s faith single-handily. When Pass It On came up for review especially with the secondary title of “building a legacy of faith for your children through practical and memorable experiences”, I knew it was a book that I needed to read. I’ve always thought, even though we aren’t Jewish, that rites of passage for children are something that Christians should do – to recognize who their children are as they grow in their faith. Mr. Burns and Lee give parents the tools they need to be able to bless their children at whatever stage they are at and make it meaningful – even if the child rolls their eyes or deny wanting anything to do with a ceremony. My only issue with the book was the use of grade levels to determine where a child is at – as a home school family – my children don’t fit into the typical grades like if they were in school so one may be above, another below or another in between. The good thing is this book is flexible and if your ‘kindergarten’ aged child is more mature and seems to fit in the ‘first grade’ then use that.

So each grade has a different spiritual aspect attached to it, so second grade is “an invitation to the Bible”, the authors walk through what is going on in this child’s life and how it affects their faith, then they describe what a rite of passage could look like for that child (these passages don’t have to be huge to-do’s just gather the immediate family) and some ideas for gifts ranging from the cheap to the more expensive as well as Scripture. The authors then list what the average second grade child is like physically, emotionally, relational and spiritually – this will help parents better gauge where their child fits especially if the family doesn’t assign grade levels. I know it comes in handy for myself such as my 9 year old son who isn’t reading yet (not for lack of trying though) but is working at a fourth grade level in all other subjects.

Overall, I think this is a fantastic book and I know my oldest who is 13 will more than likely find it cheesy but I’d love to try to fit these into our lives especially as I try to strive to make our faith more strong and real in light of our new lives. The rites of passage aren’t bound in stone and each family can tweak as they need to for their family or for their child – but the authors do say if you do it for this child and the other children see it be prepared to do it for the next child and so on. I often find it hard to have one on one time with the children as we’re so busy and I’m only one person but the other positive about a rite of passage is letting the child know they are loved and cherished by both the Lord and myself even if the one on one attention is lacking. I will be referring back to this in the coming months and try to figure out how to implement this in our lives.

**I was provided a copy of this book from Litfuse Publicity in exchange for my honest opinion, no other compensation was given.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jim Burns and Jeremy Lee have a sincere desire to help parents find practical, intentional ways to promote faith and faithfulness in their children. As they say on page 139, "Parenting does not have to be about survival." With wisdom and experience that comes from raising their own children and shepherding other parents along the way, these authors share specific things you can do with your child for every year they are in school to point the way towards developing a personal faith of their own.

Using Biblical-based themes of ceremonies and symbols, Burns and Lee believe that kindergarten is a good age to get started on the various rites of passage which they lay out. "Your child may only be in kindergarten," they posit in Chapter 1, "but he was created to make a difference in the world around him." Beginning with lessons about generosity and responsibility, each year's themes grow to include topics like identity, friendship, and finances. Each chapter not only talks about the age-appropriate rite of passage, but also spells out what to expect from your child physically, emotionally, relationally, and spiritually at each grade level. The chapters are fairly brief and very easy to read, and they leave lots of room for you to incorporate their suggestions according to the unique needs of your child and family, as well as the leading of the Holy Spirit.

I liked the encouragement on page 66 to "...strive to parent in such a way that will cause the 35-year-old version of your child to say, 'Thank you.'" Other highlights included the focus on intentionally making memories as a family, and talking about how to help your child discover who they want to be rather than what they want to do when they grow up. Those are such good points!

I am not a parent, but I take seriously my role to influence young people as a sister, aunt, teacher, and friend. I feel like this book would be an excellent resource for parents, as it is full of good ideas and information. I know no parent desires for their children to fall away from the faith, but true relational parenting is not seen much these days. By exhorting parents to take full responsibility of passing on their faith to their children, Burns and Lee set the pattern for you to have a home where love and communication reign. Every childhood and adolescence is bound to have some turbulent times, but a solid foundation can go a long way toward surviving it with grace.

I received my copy of the book in exchange for this honest review. All opinions are my own.

This review originated at http://reviewsbyerin.livejournal.com

[Carrie Schmidt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved that the emphasis from the very beginning is on being intentional about the legacy of faith you will leave. It’s not going to happen by accident. The authors have done a wonderful job creating Pass It On as a reference book to be revisited each year as parents carve out opportunities to help their children become responsible adults who love God.

And the great thing about Burns’ & Lee’s approach to legacy is that you don’t need a seminary degree to implement the rites of passage experiences on which they’ve based Pass It On. They happen in the natural rhythm of life. Beginning in kindergarten and continuing through 12th grade, Rites of Passage Experiences are “shared spiritual moments between parent and child that use the power of symbols and ceremonies to infuse faith into the natural transitions that take place in a child’s life.” Burns and Lee use Scripture to explain that this is God’s blueprint, how He intended faith lessons to be passed down within a family. Not to worry, however, if your child has already passed kindergarten. The authors suggest just picking up at whatever grade level he/she is in currently and looking back at the previous rites to see if any would benefit your child.

After the introductory section, each chapter is assigned a different grade level. The Rite of Passage ceremony and symbol are detailed, and resources are given to make it as easy as possible for parents to implement. A “Laying the Foundation of Faith” section follows – the authors outline the spiritual truth reinforced by the ceremony/symbol and provide some questions for your child to consider as well as Bible passages to read together. Each chapter closes with a section explaining what parents need to know about children at that grade level – so helpful!!

My favorites are the Invitation to Generosity in Kindergarten (a family service project), Money Matters in 10th grade (a lesson on budgeting and a bank account), and Family Tree in 11th grade (family-tree dinner and gifting of a family heirloom). Very easy to implement projects/lessons and important truths for your children to learn BUT the added benefit of each experience is the time spent together as a family!

Bottom Line: A practical and do-able book that will help parents who are caught up in the panic of not knowing how to leave a legacy of faith for their children. Broken down in easily digested segments, Pass It On will prove a valuable and lasting resource for families.

(I received a copy of this book in exchange for only my honest review.)

[Rebecca Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think we can all agree that we want to pass on our faith to our children, but we often don’t know how or where to start. Sure, it’s easy to pass on the Bible stories, but how do we pass on the values and the beliefs that we hold in a way that is meaningful to our children?

Pass It On: Building a Legacy of Faith for Your Children through Practical and Memorable Experiences has some ideas. In fact, they have thirteen ideas, one for each year from Kindergarten to Twelfth grade. In their book, they share how to take one idea per year and make a memorial of that idea through creating a ceremony with it so that you create faith-building experiences in your children’s world that they’ll be able to look back upon. We can consider it their own personal stones of remembrance over their childhood years.

The suggestions range from ideas like service projects, bestowing a blessing, a purity weekend and a driving contract all the way to a manhood or womanhood ceremony to celebrate the adult that your child is becoming in their senior year of high school. In each suggestion, they share a why they chose that for this particular year, the components of doing this experience and an example of someone’s memories from having one of these type of experiences with their children. They also share some snippets of child development from that year of your child’s life.

As I read through this book, I found myself pondering how to make these work in my house of four children, ranging in age from preschool to fifth grade. Each one is simple, from simply finding and doing a service project to things like presenting your child with a box of letters from the teachers and important adults in their lives to bless your child and show him/her how wonderfully we think they’re growing in Christ. I think that many of the ideas for experiences in this book are practical and easy to set up and do by busy families, making this a neat handbook for parents to turn to time and time again for ways to bless and build faith in their children. This one’s staying on my permanent shelf for reference.

Disclaimer: I was given a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. I was not required to write a positive review.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Pass It On, Jim Burns and Jeremy Lee explored the principles on how to parent during each stage of your children’s development. The authors both believe that our faith in Jesus can leave a lasting legacy for our children. The Bible even declared how the effects of previous generations could have on the current generation. They shared a story about the famous speaker Jonathan Edwards and how each generation make a lasting positive impact. They also revealed the story of Max Jukes and how his family line included a number of rapists, murderers, and prostitutes. The book contains thirteen chapters and they cover each grade level in order to assist your child in their rite of passage.

One of my favorite chapters was entitled, “Seventh Grade: The Blessing”. This chapter discussed the importance of celebrating your child entering adulthood. The authors encouraged parents to have a blessing ceremony for their child. They could give them a written blessing, a family dinner, or a public blessing. They also strongly suggested not to focus on achievement as being the center of the blessing, instead parents should focus on their faith, choices, future, and much more. They also included scripture verses of where passages discuss blessings. I believe this chapter has the potential to greatly impact and bless your child’s life, if you’re a parent, I encourage you to try this!

I would recommend this life changing book to any parent on any stage of parenting. This book is meant to be read year to year in order to assist parents in raising their children and instilling principles in their life that will benefit generation after generation. I love how the authors both appeared to be very knowledgably in parenting and teaching children about the importance of faith in Christ. I loved how the book was laid out and how they included different resources for each chapter such as samples scripts and questions. I also liked how they enclosed a special section on “What You Need to Know about _____ graders”. I thought it was really helpful seeing what changes physically, emotionally, relationally, and spiritually affect our children at each different stage of their life.

“I received a review copy of Pass It On from Litfuse for this review.”

[Jalynn Patterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

About the Book:
Parents often experience a “freak out” moment when they realize their children’s view of God will primarily come from what they learn at home. Most parents spend more time helping their kids succeed at academics or athletics than infusing shared spiritual experiences into the rhythm of everyday family life.

While the idea of strategically passing down our faith can seem intimidating, the annual Rites of Passage Experiences contained in Pass It On make it easy for your family to celebrate milestones from kindergarten through high school graduation. Forever change the direction of your family’s spiritual legacy ... starting now!

My Review:
For any parent to try to pass the buck or not even be reassured that it is a parent's job to instill a Christian legacy in them, in my opinion is a cop out. It is of vital importance to pass this on to our children and to ultimately let it begin to span generations. We should not leave this very important tasks to others-these are our babies that we will have to answer for some day. It is very important.

For me it was very important for them to know and love God as I do. And the most perfect way to do this is to develop a plan of action for a long lasting Christian legacy. I started with my children as baby's reading Bible stories to then and listening to praise music. I think it is imperative for my children and future grand children to walk streets of gold with my husband and I. I can't imagine a more beautiful gift to hand down to them.

I'm so glad to have received this book as an essential guide to do this for them. The book is very well thought out, researched, and is the best guide I have found so far. I love the author's ideas about each of the different ceremonies and different Rites of Passage Experiences.

**Disclosure** This book was sent to me free of charge for my honest review from Litfuse.

[Virginia Garrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

As parents we all want to pass down a legacy to our children. As Christian parents we want to pass down a legacy of faith to our children. But we often feel unsure that we're doing it right, or doing it at all. We all know people who have chosen to take the easy way out and allow the church to raise their children and to give them the godly legacy. But we can't do that.

Jim Burns and Jeremy Lee collaborated on a book, Pass It On, Building a legacy of Faith for your children through practical and memorable experiences. In its pages is nestled a wealth of information and ideas.

The first few chapters are spent telling you how it's important to consciously leave a faith legacy to and for your children. The rest of the book is spent giving you ideas on how to celebrate your child's "Rite of Passage" at every age, from kindergarten through their senior year of high school.

If you're children are already in middle school or high school, or late elementary, it's okay! You can pick up this book and start right where your children are. You can also go back and do a few of the celebrations you missed if they apply.

Each celebration is designed to celebrate your child and to follow the directive in Deuteronomy 6 to "teach them to your children when you sit at home and when you walk along the way, when you lie down and when you get up. Each chapter/celebration is also designed to correspond to what your child is experiencing already.

I love the practicality of this book! It is one you can use over and over and then pass it around to your friends. It can be used much the way The Blessing has been used in the past.



I received a free copy of this book from Litfuse for the purpose of review. All opinions are my own.

[Jane Maritz · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book starts with an explanation of why parents should pass on a Christian legacy, and how “rites of passage” are a great way to intentionally pass this on. It is then broken up into years – a chapter for each year from Kindergarten through 12th grade.

The first thing that grabbed my attention – though it was at the end of each chapter – was the section describing typical characteristics of each year – physical, emotional, relational, and spiritual. For someone like me who wants to be (as) prepared (as possible) for each stage, this is perfect.

The primary focus of each chapter is the Rite of Passage that includes a ceremony and a symbol. Something that can be as simple or complex as you choose to make it – that supports your child’s spiritual growth with intentionality – in a memorable way. There is a lot of room for flexibility, but also tools, such as sample letters and conversation starters, as well as a section called Laying the Foundation of Faith that helps you stay focused on what’s important.

I was wishing I’d found this book sooner – at the Kindergarten level – because that first Rite of Passage – an invitation to generosity through a family service project – is one that my 8yo could really use right now. But this book is flexible enough to adapt; we’re just going to start right now with that first Rite of Passage and just squeeze them in a little closer together until we’re caught up.

I’m excited about the years ahead, and I’m thrilled to have this roadmap of sorts to keep us on the right track with the milestones to come.

[LeAnne Klopfenstein · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pass it On is a good book in helping you gain some "hows" in passing on a Christian legacy to your kids. I specifically liked the "Rites of Passage" that each chapter provides starting with kindergarten and finishing in 12th Grade. This isn't the first book of its kind, but it is a great resource within this genre. It incorporates Biblical examples, as well as step by step ideas and guides that ultimately lead to you releasing your kids into the world with a foundation laid so they are trusting their own faith and not just standing in the shadow of their parents' faith.

This would be a great book for new believers who didn't grow up in Christian homes themselves and want a good guide for how they can train up their own kids.

One terrific part of Pass It On would make it an excellent resource for Children's Ministry training, childcare workers, and others who spend time with children (in addition to parents) is that each chapter contains a "What you need to know about {that specific grade for each chapter}". Here you find information that states where this age of child most likely lands physically, emotionally, relationally & spiritually. While I really appreciate the insight and milestone/rites of passage moments for every age, I definitely will continue to look at the book to see that I'm truly meeting my kids at their individual stages of development.
**I received a complimentary copy in exchange for my honest review.**

[Tima · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the greatest things that we as parents can pass on to our children is our spiritual legacy. It is the only thing of importance that we will leave behind and the only thing that will benefit them in the long term. The authors have joined together to and written a book using the concept of rites of passage that the Hebrews used with their children. The traditions and ceremonies were specifically designed to bring to remembrance God and what he meant to them. These rites of passage that are outlined in this book are to help the parents make faith real and lasting into the next generation. They are broken up by grades and each chapter is a separate grade beginning with Kindergarten and ending with twelfth grade.

I was really impressed with this book. The layout is user friendly. The writing is simple in the approach, but the concepts have depth. Lots of Bible verses are used to back up the ideas and thoughts. Each chapter describes what a child of that age period will be experiencing, discussion questions, suggestions for instilling faith based rituals, prayers, etc. Each chapter a wealth of information, but doesn't come across as overwhelming. I really enjoyed the book and intend to implement things into our family. I would highly recommend this to Christian parents.

I received this book free of charge from Litfuse Publicity in exchange for my honest review.

[Tima · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the greatest things that we as parents can pass on to our children is our spiritual legacy. It is the only thing of importance that we will leave behind and the only thing that will benefit them in the long term. The authors have joined together to and written a book using the concept of rites of passage that the Hebrews used with their children. The traditions and ceremonies were specifically designed to bring to remembrance God and what he meant to them. These rites of passage that are outlined in this book are to help the parents make faith real and lasting into the next generation. They are broken up by grades and each chapter is a separate grade beginning with Kindergarten and ending with twelfth grade.

I was really impressed with this book. The layout is user friendly. The writing is simple in the approach, but the concepts have depth. Lots of Bible verses are used to back up the ideas and thoughts. Each chapter describes what a child of that age period will be experiencing, discussion questions, suggestions for instilling faith based rituals, prayers, etc. Each chapter a wealth of information, but doesn't come across as overwhelming. I really enjoyed the book and intend to implement things into our family. I would highly recommend this to Christian parents.

I received this book free of charge from Litfuse Publicity in exchange for my honest review.

[Sharon Chance · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Pass It On" is a book that should be on every new parent (and grandparent)'s check list for when they have a baby! Training up children to respect and worship God is so important, especially in this day and time of turmoil and danger. The authors, Burns and Lee, have come up with a sensible and inspirational guide to making faith and worship important once again for families.

Written in an easy-to-follow language, Burns and Lee give examples of "celebrations" that parents can follow or use for their own inspiration to introduce and bring their kids into family traditions and spiritual traditions. Ideas are included for kindergarten through high school age children and are appropriate for the entire family to participate in.

"Pass It On" is a smartly developed and brilliantly presented plan that I highly encourage all parents to check out! I can not stress enough how important it is to introduce religion and faith to your children, no matter how old they are! And this is just the book to help that process along. I highly recommend it!

[Crystal Carney · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's so hard for parents to know what to do at each age in our child(ren)'s life/lives to help them in learning the Gospel of Jesus. "Pass It On" is a great book in helping with just that!

This book gives activities to learning the Gospel fun & memorable. Of course you don't HAVE to do the activities, but why not!? This book is a wonderful resource and I would recommend it to every parent.

*Disclaimer*
I received this book free from the publisher in exchange for my honest review. I am not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are 100% my own.