Family Ministry

Aching Joy is an honest psalm of hope for those walking between pain and promise: the aching of a broken world and the beauty of a loving God. In this place, rather than trying to dodge the pain, we choose to feel it all - and to see where Jesus is in the midst of struggle. And because we make that choice, we feel all the good that comes with it, too.

Wouldn't you like to know how to have a healthy marriage, effective ministry, and godly children? Learn the 13 keys that helped these pastors plant churches and continue leading them for up to 33 years while they grew to over 1,500 people. Now in their 60's, these pastors are still enjoying ministry, happy marriages, and children who are all following the Lord. How did they do it? You're about to find out! This book is based upon a real-world case study that will give you the keys to keep you standing strong - not just in ministry, but personally, and in marriage and family as well.

In the age of fingertip access to answers and a limitless supply of ambitions, where do we find the God who was birthed in dirt and straw? Sara Hagerty found him when life stopped working for her. She found him when she was a young adult mired in spiritual busyness and when she was a new bride with doubts about whether her fledgling marriage would survive. She found him alone in the night as she cradled her longing for babies who did not come. She found him as she kissed the faces of children on another continent who had lived years without a mommy’s touch. In Every Bitter Thing Is Sweet, Hagerty masterfully draws from the narrative of her life to craft a mosaic of a God who leans into broken stories. Here readers see a God who is present in every changing circumstance. Most significantly, they see a God who is present in every unchanging circumstance as well.

Many parents want to see positive character traits in their children but wonder how to instill them. As stars of the hit reality TV show Duck Dynasty, Korie and Willie Robertson receive loads of letters and messages from fans asking how they've raised such good kids. As they will tell you, "It isn't always easy, but raising kids with good character is possible".

God's Word teaches us that Jesus Christ was ordained by God and anointed by the Spirit for His work as prophet, priest, and king of His children. Those who are in union with Him share His offices in a limited but important way. In this booklet, Joel Beeke explains how husbands and fathers should lead their families as prophets, priests, and kings. Filled with biblical wisdom and practical application, How Should Men Lead Their Families? is a helpful guide for men who desire to bear the image of the father of glory and of the heavenly husband.

Lysa TerKeurst, mother of five and president of Proverbs 31 Ministries, knows about the bouts of "mommy stress" that come with parenting and managing a home and a life. From her own experience and conversations with hundreds of other women, Lysa shares how mothers can release the guilt they sometimes feel and stop blaming their parenting skills every time a child does something wrong.

As God allows us to understand the mystery and marvel of brain science, we have the exciting opportunity to reexamine our assumptions about human behavior. Perhaps nowhere does this impact our lives more profoundly than when we think about raising children - especially teenagers. Where parents often see a sweet boy or girl who has morphed into an incomprehensible bundle of hormones and angst, what we really ought to be seeing is an amazing young adult whose brain is under heavy construction.

This best-selling classic encourages and equips Christian men to lead their families successfully through hazards and ambushes like divorce, promiscuity, suicide, and drug addiction. Men will find practical insight on topics such as a father's influence, maintaining purity, and husband-and-wife teamwork. In this war, renowned men's author Steve Farrar emphasizes, Jesus Christ is looking for men who will not die, but live for their families.

Parenting isn't rocket science, it's just brain surgery. And Dr. Joshua Straub has good news for you: You can do it! You don't need to do all the "right" things as a parent. Both science and the Bible show us that the most important thing we can provide for our kids is a place of emotional safety. In other words, the posture from which we parent matters infinitely more than the techniques of parenting. Emotional safety - more than any other factor - is scientifically linked to raising kids who live, love, and lead well.

Many parents of teenagers or young adults feel as though they're guessing about what to do next-with mixed results. We want to stay connected with our maturing child, but we're not sure how. And deep down, we fear our child doesn't want or need us. But growing up doesn't have to mean growing apart. Based on brand-new research and interviews with remarkable families, Growing With equips parents to take steps toward their teenagers and young adults in a mutual journey of intentional growth that trusts God to transform them all.

Renew your imagination for what family life can be. Many of us feel overwhelmed about the prospect of raising children in our high-performance, rapid-pace culture. Reflecting on difficulties from our own families of origin can increase our doubt and insecurity about being a good parent. Positive examples of family life can seem few and far between. Mark and Lisa Scandrette understand these challenges, and in Belonging and Becoming they cast a compelling vision of what the family can be.

Fusion Children's Ministry is a collection of big ideas from expert kid pastors. Book two of the series describes how your ministry can relate to family, science, and strategy in the local church. If you are a children's pastor, or work with kids, you need to check this book out. It is packed full of great ideas and even better questions.

Are you willing to do whatever it takes to have the marriage you dreamed of? Interestingly, this is the question Clayton and Ashlee ask young couples before they get married and married couples in crisis. If they answer yes, then there is hope for the couple. If they are willing to commit to the hard work ahead, they have a very good shot.

Sixty-eight stories that will inspire you to bless a child's life. Do you remember that one moment (or maybe there were several) that changed your life when you were a child - and shaped part of who you are today? Does it bring a smile to your face? Tears to your eyes? A wistful gaze back through time? We all have those stories and we can all, now, make those stories happen!

Rachel Price’s one happy memory from her childhood is of playing outside with her father, Mitch, on a cold and snowy day. In that moment he took her hands in his and called her his angel. She felt safe, loved, and protected. Rachel’s mother dies in a car crash a few years later - a sudden and unresolved ending to a complicated relationship. Mitch’s reaction to certain realities surrounding the death pushes Rachel away and confirms her fear that Mitch never truly loved her at all. Years later, Rachel’s daughter, Lily, is the only light in her dark life.

Successful people confront well. They know that setting healthy boundaries improves relationships and can solve important problems. They have discovered that uncomfortable situations can be avoided or resolved through direct conversation. But most of us don't know how to have difficult conversations, and we see confrontation as scary or adversarial. Authors Henry Cloud and John Townsend take the principles from their award-winning and best-selling book, Boundaries, and apply them to a variety of the most common difficult situations and relationships.

A book for parents and family members of those who are far from God, Praying for Your Prodigal draws on insights from AHA to help readers pray - and hope - for their prodigal. In this hope-filled, honest book Kyle Idleman offers stories about prodigals specifically for parents and grandparents of prodigals, as well as a series of prayers for readers to work through as they offer their prodigals to God.

Jesus Christ intentionally discipled twelve people every day for three and a half years and then commanded us to go and make disciples as well. And he empowered us by sending us the indwelling Holy Spirit to guide us. The early church thrived and expanded by imitating the intentional relational methods Jesus modeled, yet somewhere along the way we lost sight of the simple truth that Jesus' methods of disciple making are as holy as his message. It's time relearn those methods.

From the man who became Pope Francis: Jorge Mario Bergoglio shares his thoughts on religion, reason, and the challenges the world faces in the 21st century with Abraham Skorka, a rabbi and biophysicist. This book brings together a series of these conversations, in which both men talked about various theological and worldly issues, including God, fundamentalism, atheism, abortion, homosexuality, euthanasia, same-sex marriage, and globalization.

In Mother to Son, Jasmine Holmes shares a series of powerful letters to her young son. These are about her journey as an African American Christian and what she wants her son to know as he grows and approaches the world as a Black man. Holmes deals head-on with issues ranging from discipleship and marriage to biblical justice. She invites us to listen as she reminds Wynn that his identity is firmly planted in the person and work of Jesus Christ, even when the topic is one as emotionally charged as race in America.