Family Ministry

A compassionate, humorous story of faith, betrayal, and coming of age on the sawdust trail. She was just three years old when her mother signed on as the organist of tent revivalist David Terrell, and before long, Donna Johnson was part of the hugely popular evangelical preacher’s inner circle. At seventeen, she left the ministry for good, with a trove of stranger-than-fiction memories.

Fights at school, sexual abuse, eating disorders, school crises … the list goes on and on. Hardly a day passes without a local crisis at involving junior highers or high schoolers. This practical resource covers the whole continuum of private and public crisis, equipping parents to work with their kids to deal with any crisis in a way that helps the individual and helps the family stay intact.

Let God guide you in thinking, acting, and becoming like Jesus through these 365 powerful devotions. Randy and Rozanne Frazee walk you through the key beliefs, practices, and virtues of the Christian faith and help you along the journey to renew your mind, practice your faith, and be transformed - to live more like Jesus. This devotional is a great standalone devotional or a wonderful companion to the Believe campaign.

In CinderGirl, Christina tells her piercing and poignant story of leaving behind homelessness to become Ms. California and the founder of a nonprofit organization that provides advocacy for foster-care children.

Today's Christian family is under attack. It is experiencing an aggressive, culturally progressive bombardment unlike any other we have witnessed in our lifetime. A key focus of this secular barrage on the Christian home is the parent/child relationship. Unbiblical cultural values and attitudes have invaded many believing families, threatening to diminish, divide, and destroy the bond that God desires for parents and children.

"Write that book. Love God and Isabelle." Amy Lyon took her orders seriously, and in this transformative memoir, the author takes listeners on a gut-level journey as she shuffles (less than perfectly) through postpartum depression, the tragedy of losing an infant, and intense anger toward God - all while asking the question that plagues so many of us: What on earth am I here for? In time, she proves that - buried beneath the thick layers of sorrow - hope and joy can exist...even if you refuse to believe.

Today, everybody seems to be trying desperately to pander to young people in the church, even as growing numbers flee from it. This is largely because the church today does not expect what it ought to from children or their parents, and this can be attributed, at least in part, to a flawed concept of youth ministry. This need not, and should not, be so.

Make a lasting connection with your kid by learning how to effectively discuss life's most complicated topics. Tough Stuff Parenting will equip you to have thoughtful, age-appropriate conversations with your child. The biblically-based wisdom and practical tools you'll find inside will help you confidently engage your kid in meaningful dialogue. And when questions arise, your child will look to you first for answers instead of friends or the Internet.

The history of adoption is the history of the world itself. Children taken in by new families have grown up to dramatically reshape the world in ways most of us do not fully appreciate. Chosen for Greatness profiles 16 well-known adoptees who were given the opportunity to change history for the better when they were taken in by their new families.

As a Christian parent, you want your children to develop good character and godly wisdom. But how do you go beyond hoping and praying to teaching them ethical knowledge, practical skills, and virtuous habits? This innovative guide provides practical, effective ideas you can use to help your children build their faith and character in 50 ways, including engaging with the Bible and culture, interacting with God and others, making good decisions, becoming better learners, and managing conflict.

Change: If I Can You Can is the story of a man destined for as much turmoil as life can provide. Travis Angry created his identity through childhood rebellion, dropping out of school, being in the military, fighting cancer, marrying, divorcing, raising children as a single father, obtaining a college degree, writing a memoir, and working as a professional speaker. Angry’s gift is showing others how to resolve fear.

Do you want your children to be actively serving in the local church when they turn 30 and beyond? Why They Stay can help! Much has been written about younger adults and their departure from church involvement. Concerned parents and church leaders want to know what has caused them to depart. Instead of asking why young adults are leaving the church, Parr and Crites conducted a national research project of those who grew up in church and are still serving faithfully.

When Gail Gallant was five months old, she died. A year later, she was reborn. Or so her mother said. The crash occurred on a July night in 1955. The truck hit the Gallant family's car head-on; a few weeks later, newborn baby Gail died from her injuries. Mad with grief, her mother prayed feverishly for Gail's return, convinced that God would bring her child back to her. And when she gave birth within a year to a baby girl who looked identical to her lost child, she believed her prayers had been answered. She named that newborn baby Gail.

Christian men are uniquely called by God to fulfill two important roles: Lead their families and lead the church. How this is achieved is also unique: A delicate balance of being a bold leader and a humble servant, with love for God and others at the heart of it all. Written for Christian men in every culture and filled with biblical examples and reasoning, Russo offers twelve practical ways for Christian men to LOVE, LEAD, SERVE.

A whisper of a threat looms over widow Deidre Morris. She and her young son have unwittingly become prisoners of her intimidating father-in-law's power. One wrong step could find her son torn from her and in the hands of the influential judge. But when Deidre collides with an intriguing stranger, the prospect of a new friendship gives her renewed hope...until a devastating murder rocks the quiet community of Echo Falls and Deidre learns first impressions can't be trusted.

Do you know your child's 9 needs? The love you have for your children can give them a foundation for life - provided you show it in the ways they need most. Using a child's language of love, you'll learn how to meet your child's 9 needs for security, play, affirmation, guidance, family, discipline, respect, independence, and hope. Elisa Morgan and Carol Kuykendall are president and vice president of communication ministries for MOPS International Inc, a Denver-based organization dedicated to nurturing mothers of preschoolers.

For many, the Christmas season can be filled with distractions and anxiety rather than the joy and peace it is supposed to bring. In The Christmas Spirit, his first holiday book, Joel Osteen offers uplifting and inspiring stories of family and friends celebrating Christmas traditions that will help readers return to the essence of the holiday by practicing the principles taught by our Savior, Jesus Christ, whose birth we celebrate that day. With these stories, Joel reminds us all of what is truly important in life.

Eating Disorders, depression, gender confusion - these sound like problems for other people, but the reality is your students are dealing with them every day. The issues that girls face are growing in complexity and number. Written with the end user in mind, this resource will be one that won't leave a youth worker's hands.

Traditional psychiatry, psychotherapy, and pastoral counseling - many Christian parents have tried these methods to help their troubled tweens, teens, and young adults, but have found that nothing works. These parents are frustrated, feel criticized by their church community, and no one seems to understand their teen, with caregivers providing outdated advice. In Your Teen’s Miraculous Brain, Dr. Nina Farley-Bates combines Christian principles and scientific methodology to bring relief to struggling families, gleaning from her 20 years of experience to help teens thrive.

Loving a prodigal is a long and desperate journey, filled with fear, worry, anger, self-recrimination. You wait for the phone call - will it be from jail or the hospital? You plead with your loved one. You search for help. You feel the shame. You cry out to God, "How long, Lord?" Author Judy Douglass knows these lovers of prodigals well. She is one herself and has created a large and growing community with others. When You Love a Prodigal is a collection of 90 essays - 90 days of perspective on what God offers to you as you love your prodigal.