Think Orange: Imagine the Impact When Church and Family Collide...

by Reggie Joiner

Founder of the Orange Conference, Reggie Joiner looks at what would happen if the church and families combined their efforts to create a revolutionary strategy to affect the lives of children.

Families and churches are each working hard to build faith in kids, but imagine the potential results when the two environments synchronize, maximizing their individual efforts. What can the church do to empower the family? How can the family emphasize the work of the church? They can Think Orange. Former family ministry director Reggie Joiner looks at what would happen if churches and families decided they could no longer do business as usual, but instead combined their efforts and began to work off the same page for the sake of the kids. Think Orange shows church leaders how to make radical changes so they

• 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 the family • Mobilize the next generation to be the church

With a transparent, authentic approach that gives every family and church hope for being more effective in their common mission, Think Orange rethinks the approach to children’s, youth, and family ministry.  

Genres: Church, Parenting, Leadership, Family, Reference, Faith, Christianity

272 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 2009

About the author

Reggie Joiner is the founder and CEO of Orange, a non-profit organization whose purpose is to influence those who influence the next generation. Author of more than 30 books, including Think Orange, Seven Practices of Effective Ministry, and Lead Small. Reggie has changed the way churches and organizations create environments for and equip leaders, parents, and the next generation. Orange partners with over 8,000 churches internationally and is the architect of the Orange Conference and the Orange Tour, which provide national training opportunities for senior pastors, church leaders, and ministry volunteers.

Prior to Orange and along with Andy Stanley, Reggie co-founded North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, Georgia. During his 11 years as the executive director of Family Ministry, Reggie developed the new concepts of ministry for preschoolers, children, students, and married adults. He has found a way to wear orange for 4,353 days and counting.

Reggie is a graduate of Georgia Southwestern College. He and his wife Debbie have four grown children and live near Atlanta.

Reviews

[Micah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really enjoy the principles of this book, in fact we are in process of rethinking most of our ministries based on some take-aways that our team found in between the covers, which is a huge vote of confidence. However, I did not enjoy reading this book. It took far too long to get to the points, and felt like many of my term papers, inflated to meet a minimum word count. I fact, every member of my team that I've asked to read this book has said the same thing, so I've gotten to the stage of telling people to skim this book.

[L Frost · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every church should read this. Every children’s minister. Every youth minister. Every preaching minister. Parents. Volunteers.

Joiner is fair at the beginning in telling the reader that they may or may not agree with everything he says, but to at least read it with an open mind.

The concept of the church and parents partnering and working together to raise the next generation is as old as the Bible itself. Yet somehow many places have developed the mindset that parents do their thing while church does its thing, but they don’t do it together. Many children’s and/or youth ministers have created a drop-off environment and hung out a “you’re not welcome” sign to parents. We’re better at this than you are. Parents aren’t getting the help and support needed from the church so many parents are saying “we don’t need you.”

Joiner does an excellent job laying the groundwork and basis for the Orange concept and gives several practical ways to develop and implement it. He also uses excellent Bible examples and other references to support it.

Even if a congregation doesn’t want to use Orange’s curriculum, there is still so much value to be gained by learning about the concept and approach. If we are truly interested in guiding the spiritual development of our children so they don’t walk away after graduation, then we must leverage the influence of the home and the church together.

It interesting that this book was written 8 or so years ago, but the principles have largely remained the same. That’s some indication that this approach has merit.

[Chrissy · Rating 3 out of 5]

If the church is represented by the color yellow (like a lamp that illuminates) and families by the color red (like a loving heart), then this book urges thinking "orange" combining the influence of family and church to have the greatest impact on the next generation.

A fundamentally good idea, with sound reasoning and recommendations.

The most useful parts however, could be extracted to make a book about half this size. The author spends a lot of time rambling and repeating himself, like he was trying to meet a minimum word count, to the point where I found it hard to focus. Also, much of the time, it was a little hard to see the color orange through all the dull, gray corporate speak of a pastor who acts like a CEO.

[Mandy Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book with great principles that have practical application. It is a long read with many intros and examples that make it seem dry at times. The Orange Ministry crew offers Podcasts that convey many of the same messages, and might be more friendly for people who have a hard time focusing on reading.

[Ryan Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read the any family ministry leader. Lots of great ideas, wording, and understanding of how to come alongside of families who have kids in every age and stage until the child leaves for college.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book on thinking about the ways that the church and family can work together to better disciple young people

[Jacob London · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read for school like 5 years ago. It was okay.

[Katie Mason · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's a lot of wisdom in these pages. I appreciate Joiner's focus on strategy and combining the influences of the church and the family.

[Travis Wentworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great overview of the theory of thinking orange.

[Jens Kristian Wikstøl · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bra prinsipper, for lang og treig bok.

[eleisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. I had to use it for my Children's ministry book and fell in love.

[Alexa Bailey · Rating 2 out of 5]

While the main thrust of the book (combining the influence of church and family) I agree with,
I question the author’s understanding of the gospel and how it should be applied to the next generation.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

At the church I serve in, we have a saying regarding our leadership and beliefs. Be like wet cement. Be rigid enough to have convictions, but teachable enough to accept correction. I believe this is how Reggie Joiner approaches Think Orange, and the style is very refreshing. He doesn't present partnering with parents as a systematized thing, he acknowledges the organic nature of it, and while the principles are the same, the way it looks will be different in each church's cultural context. Multiple times he informs us that he isn't an expert, and this book is not the Gospel (which, of course, is true). That being the case, my few criticisms are relatively small. My only issue with the book was during the section on teaching, Joiner wrote, "Not all scripture is equal." He acknowledged the inflammatory nature of this statement, and went on to explain what he meant, but I just couldn't jump on board with it. As teachers, we should be able to find the Gospel in every nook and cranny of our Bibles. I teach the children at our church, "The Bible is all about Jesus." That being the case, it doesn't matter if we are teaching from Nahum or Philemon, we should be able to point kids to Jesus. My minor issue aside, if you're a pastor, you should read Think Orange.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

The basic idea of the book can be a very helpful one - integrate the work of the church and the work of the family to create new synergy for the mission of God in the world. Or in other words, YELLOW + RED = ORANGE. Although there is a somewhat conservative-leaning bias toward the family and church present in the book, it is actually a quite open-minded read and able to be adapted to various visions of church and family. And while individual and social life is actually a whole rainbow of overlapping realities which need to be addressed, RED (the family) and YELLOW (the church) do indeed need to experience some reconciliation. Concerning the structure of the book, there is a lot of unnecessary repetition, but you can just skim over these parts. The two main concerns I had throughout this read were the possibility of an over-emphasis on (a particular vision of) the family and a constant danger of marginalizing single persons. These concerns need to be addressed. Good read, good advice, but read with some caution.

[Nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Our church council read this book together and then attended one of the Orange Tour events. It's a simple strategy - the church and the family partnering to raise a new generation - but certainly an effective one. I'll give just one example of how this book caused me to rethink some of my assumptions, both as a parent and a church leader. From Sticky Faith: Everyday Ideas to Build Lasting Faith in Your Kids I knew that it takes five people of faith in a child's life to virtually assure they won't walk away from their faith. But as a stubborn, independent person, I tend to fall back on doing things myself - including parenting. After reading this book, my wife and I have begun to think about how we can bring like-minded people from our church into meaningful relationships with our daughters.

[Mollie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been familiar with the reThink group for several years and even used their curriculum as a small group leader when I was in high school. As someone now leading a children's ministry, I can say that their strategy just makes sense. This book offers tons of insight to leaders for kids aged from preschool to high school. If you want to make a greater impact for Christ in your kids ministry, I suggest you read this and begin to rethink how you do ministry.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is a paragraph in the middle of page 228 that invites the reader (actually more of a challenge) to summarize in their own words five major points which, even if you've not bought his entire argument, you might come back to as principles in the rearing of a child in a family that intends to have a Christian home. I am one who is still a bit skeptical and will have to take up his challenge on those principles, although I am a bit less skeptical now than when I set out to read this

[Wade Stotts · Rating 2 out of 5]

Contains a few helpful reminders about the integration of church and family as well as wild amounts of rambling.

More concerning, however, is that the author operates under the assumption that all parents are doing their best to raise their kids and just need more information and direction. This may be true in his context, but it's not universal.

[Kenny Conley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. I've been a big fan of all things Orange for quite some time. This book will fan the flames of passion and motivate you to continue to fight for families and lead your ministry in a way that makes a greater impact!

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reggie Joiner makes a clear & impassioned plea for churches (and church leaders) to rethink how they do age-graded ministry.

This work is more conceptual/philosophical in nature - I'm looking forward to reading the companion book to see more help with application/rubber hits the road material.

[Meri Sue]

This book was extremely inspiring! Family is so important and our culture has seriously stepped away from it. This book gave deep insight to the church on how to engage and inspire families, and then to charge them!

[Randall O. Watkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another key Children's Ministry resource book by Reggie Joiner who has influenced me greatly over the years in reaching out to partner with parents in raising up kids that love the Lord with all their heart, soul, strength and mind.

[Matthew Melville · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best book I've read that explains the importance of integration of the church and family. Specifically to reach the next generation! The power of leveraging the church and home in the discipleship of our children in an effort to see them live 100% for the Lord!

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

READ AUG 2020

This has been around for a while, and I recently heard about it through my kids. Very helpful. Love the idea of focusing on the themes of wonder, discovery, and passion. While the focus is on families and student ministry, these themes are applicable for all disciples.

[Rahul · Rating 4 out of 5]

When we work with the people who influence children the most (parents) then great things can happen. Reggie Joiner does a great job of presenting the implications when we work together.

[Ron · Rating 3 out of 5]

good book to have somebody else read and summarize for you

[Alan Stucky · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's ok. Pretty basic stuff, but good reminders.

[Jeff · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great book. Very challenging in how I approach youth ministry.

[Walt Walkowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Challenging read that leaves you with more questions than answers, but there are plenty of ideas. I'll be thinking about this one for some time to come.

[Jocelyn]

This is being so dull :( I read Impractical Jokes for a break