Synopses & Reviews
Over the past several years church leaders have seen one report after another stating that over 50% of evangelical kids walk away from Christianity as adults. Believing the best strategy for turning the tide is to strengthen families, the authors seek to challenge leaders to restore their homes as the proving ground of meaningful success.
It Starts at Home upholds marriage and family as the proving ground for lasting success. It helps recalibrate a leader’s priorities by asking them to evaluate their leadership where it counts most. Experienced leaders, speakers, and pastors Kurt Bruner and Steve Stroope provide a clear purpose, an effective strategy, and a simple plan for couples, parents, grandparents, and church leaders in this movement toward intentionality in the home. (120 Day Assessment, Plan & Ideas included.) It isn't too late.
Review
One of the most insightful leaders in America is Steve Stroope. We’ve been friends since teenagers, coworkers in ministry together for almost 40 years, and we’re always learning from each other. Now Steve has tackled one of the most critical needs today: building strong families. We can’t have strong churches, communities, or nations without strong families. Families are foundational. The greatest single influence on my life and leadership was the strong family I grew up in. It Starts at Home is one of the most important books to read this year.
Rev. Rick Warren – Founding Pastor of Saddleback Community Church and author of The Purpose Driven Life
Faith-formation begins at home – for better or worse. No one has done more to make that reality clear and practical than my friend and partner, Kurt Bruner. I urge every leader to read It Starts At Home as a first step toward joining one of the most important movements of this generation.
Dr. John Trent – President of the Center for Strong Families and author of The Blessing
If the local church is the hope of the world then we must take seriously the church’s responsibility to call couples, parents and grandparents to create God-honoring homes. Only then will we see the tide of declining generational faith transfer turn. I encourage you to use this book as a tool to spark a movement among those within your sphere of influence.
Rev. Bill Hybels – Founder of the Willow Creek Association and author of Just Walk Across The Room
Synopsis
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.
Synopsis
The authors agree that many evangelical kids walk away from Christianity as adults. Bruner and Stroope believe the best strategy for turning the tide is to strengthen families, which they outline in "It Starts at Home."
About the Author
KURT BRUNER is a graduate of Talbot Seminary who spends most of his time as Pastor of Spiritual Formation at Lake Pointe Church in Rockwall, Texas. He and Olivia host the HomePointe ministry, helping create a culture of intentional families. Kurt also serves as Executive Director for the Strong Families Innovation Alliance, a network of leading churches driving new strategies for impacting the home. The bestselling author of more than a dozen books, Kurt spent twenty years with Focus on the Family where he was Vice President over films, books, magazines, radio drama, broadcasting, internet and other media groups.
STEVE STROOPE is Lead Pastor of Lake Pointe Church in Rockwall, Texas. He also provides coaching to partnership churches and missionaries throughout the world. He is a sought-after speaker and is the co-author of Money Matters in the Church. A graduate of Hardin Simmons University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Steve and his wife, Marsha, have two grown daughters and four grandchildren.
Table of Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS
FOREWORD
PART ONE: IT STARTS AT HOME
Chapter 1: Losing Faith
Chapter 2: Spiritual Formation at Home
PART TWO: INTENTIONAL COUPLES
Chapter 3: The Foundation
PART THREE: INTENTIONAL PARENTS
Chapter 4: Beyond “Oops”
Chapter 5: Strategy Number One - Leverage Legacy
Chapter 6: Strategy Number Two - Play The Odds
Chapter 7: Strategy Number Three - Define “Normal”
Chapter 8: Strategy Number Four - Go With The Grain
Chapter 9: A Simple Plan (120 Day Assessment, Plan & Ideas)
PART FOUR: INTENTIONAL GRANDPARENTS
Chapter 10: Second Generation Impacy
PART FIVE: INTENTIONAL LEADERS
Chapter 11: The Challenge
Chapter 12: Innovation
Chapter 13: One Church Model