It Starts at Home: A Practical Guide to Nurturing Lifelong Faith

by Kurt Bruner, Steve Stroope

As Your Children Grow, Will Their Faith Grow Too? As both stories and statistics attest, the number of evangelical children who abandon Christianity in adulthood is staggering. To see effective change, parents cannot leave their child’s faith to chance. Rather, families must start nurturing faith early—you cannot start once your child is grown, you must start at home. Strengthening family and home life is the best way to encourage your children to maintain a lifelong faith. It Starts at Home upholds marriage and family as the proving ground for lasting success. Experienced pastors Kurt Bruner and Steve Stroope provide a clear purpose, an effective strategy, and a simple plan for anyone who wants to be intentional in their homes. Their insights will help leaders recalibrate their priorities by asking them to evaluate their leadership where it counts most. This newly revised edition evaluates the current trends families and young adults face that can contribute to this crisis. Don’t let your child’s faith fade to memory—learn how you can create a home that will prepare them for lifelong faith.

Genres: Parenting, Family, Nonfiction, Christian, Christian Living

176 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2010

About the author

Kurt Bruner serves as Pastor of Spiritual Formation at Lake Pointe Church and on the adjunct faculty of Dallas Theological Seminary. A graduate of Talbot Seminary and former Vice President with Focus on the Family, Kurt led the teams creating films, magazines, books, and radio drama. As President of HomePointe Inc., he helps local church leaders create an ongoing culture of intentional families. Kurt is the best-selling author of more than a dozen books. Kurt and his wife, Olivia, have four children and live in Rockwall, Texas.

Reviews

[Colton Campbell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing groundbreaking here, but some decent, practical insights that I could see myself implementing. I would have gotten the same amount of value out of listening to a podcast or Googling “ways of showing intentionality with faith-based parenting,” to be honest.

[Candyce Steiner · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so encouraging! Had so much good information and ways to help raise kids in faith. It shows not one style fits all.

[Lauren Terwilliger · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a good overview for someone looking for basic foundational principles on how to start discipleship in the home. I would have given it 5 stars if it had more stories to engage and relate to the reader and if the associated tools were listed in the book!

The video series study alongside this book was more engaging than the book (had family testimonials that would have been really powerful had they been in the book itself), but the stories were sometimes told without an ending or check-in (like a kid who went off the rails and then…?), so it left some in our group feeling more anxious than before.

Overall, this book was a succinct summary for the what and why of discipleship that should be nurtured in the home as parents seek to disciple their children.

[Sande Powledge · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book to be a good reference for remembering the importance of the home as a foundation for faith growth. It had several good and doable ideas for recognizing the opportune times to teach and how to reinforce Biblical truths to younger ones. - A resource that can increase the likelihood of them owning and walking their own faith journey with God.

[Lizzie Michalak · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. I took my time going through it and there were so many good points. I am currently going through my 120 days of intentional change for the family and I’m excited to have a more solid foundation of faith for my kids to grow up on. This book also gave me hope for the future generations of believers who will be raised in Bible believing homes.

[Dennis Thurman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I give five stars to few books. There is nothing not to like about this book. It is very readable, fully Biblical, and eminently practical. It doesn't stop at diagnosing the disease of our failure to pass on the faith to the next generation, but it offers a cure!

[Lisa Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

The basic premise of this book is that we have outsourced faithbuilding in our children to one hour of church on Sunday, and building faith just doesn't work that way. Faith develops and builds in the context of the family and the way the family lives their daily lives and experiences. I've always had this point of view, so there's nothing very earth shattering here, but I do love all the practical suggestions they give for intentional family activities based on your child's developmental stage.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Raising kids in a world where faith and religion are increasingly viewed with disdain is a daunting task. This book provides brief but practical insight into childhood development, and suggests ways to be intentional about the things we pass on to our children. I especially appreciated the evaluations included at the end of the chapters on marriage and parenting, because they encourage you to consider and apply what you've read in specific ways.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good read with some practical tips for raising children in the Christian faith.

[Carie Paine · Rating 3 out of 5]

A few good tidbits, but it seemed more like an advertisement for their programming.