Resilient: Child Discipleship and the Fearless Future of the Church {book review}
Every generation has its challenges and its progress, but we’re living in a unique time in history. Qualities such as grit and resilience are valuable character traits to develop. As parents, we want to instill these qualities in our children and teach them the importance of strong character and Biblical faith and hope.
What happens when it feels like the church is falling apart? When it seems that we’re losing the future generation by the droves because our ministries just aren’t reaching out to them? It can feel insurmountable and discouraging.
Resilient: Child Discipleship and the Fearless Future of the Church by Valerie Bell and Awana Clubs International is the book that breaks down those concerns and gets to the heart of how to shape the future of child discipleship (KidMin).
About Resilient
People are saying the future of the church looks bleak. Voices are crying out that the church is dying. Every week church buildings shut their doors for the last time. It leads to the question, “How can we impact the future of the church?”
Thankfully, in the midst of all the talk, there’s a new conversation that’s emerging. Here it is: Child discipleship works!
The most powerful way to shape the future of the church is to effectively disciple kids who will thrive in a culture that aggressively runs counter to their faith in Christ. But in this season, we must ask new questions. As the world around us is rapidly changing, are the methodologies and assumptions from past decades still working? Is today’s KidMin built to produce disciples who will lead the church with courage and compassion in a culture that is becoming increasingly hostile to the gospel? In order to thrive in this unknown future, our kids will need to be Resilient!
What is Resilient?
Resilient is an honest calling to ask robust questions about the future, it is a timely conversation in the midst of changing cultural landscapes, and it’s a love letter to the church to walk this road of child discipleship together.
Something special begins to happen when KidMin leaders and disciple-makers look beyond the tactics of everyday ministry and begin to focus their energy on the few, key factors that truly contribute to effective, long-term discipleship impact.
Resilient child discipleship focuses on three key areas, essential for shaping long-term faith:
- Belonging: Highly relational ministry led by a loving and caring adult
- Believing: Deeply Scriptural ministry rooted in the truth of God’s Word and the power of the gospel
- Becoming: Experiential ministry, designed to move kids from simulation to real-world application of faith-based living
Resilient equips you with an innovative, Biblical and proven child discipleship philosophy to build your home and/or ministry around.
My thoughts on Resilient
I wanted to read this book not because I’m involved in children’s ministry directly in my church. I wanted to read it because I believe it’s essential as a Christian parent to share our faith in a relevant, relatable way with our own children. It’s also important to know what the church is doing in this area and how we can support those efforts.
I was encouraged by the hopefulness in this book, as well as the practical advice on sharing the Gospel with our children. The focus is definitely relational — something that is near and dear to me because I’ve seen what a difference it makes in our homeschool educational journey. We must reach both their hearts and minds so relationship is the key at the center of it all.
As parents, we provide the example and the resources to point our children to Jesus. We need to have the tools to do this. Resilient is a book that can help with that most important mission.
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