Raising Passionate Jesus Followers: The Power of Intentional Parenting

Raising Passionate Jesus Followers: The Power of Intentional Parenting

Hope and practical help for parents whose greatest longing is to shepherd their children into a vibrant faith in God. For Christian parents, there is no greater joy than seeing their children learn to walk with the Lord. And there is no greater fear than that their children will walk away from God. After serving together in pastoral ministry and raising their now-grown children, Phil and Diane Comer know those hopes and fears well. Like all new parents, they were intimidated and unsure about how to take on the task of spiritually training their young children. But now, with all four of their children grown and establishing their own households of faith, Phil and Diane have embarked on a quest to help the next generation of parents raise passionate Jesus followers. Drawing on years of pastoral counseling, teaching, leading, and decades of watching families from the perspective of pastors and leaders in ministry, Phil and Diane instruct, guide, encourage, and offer hope and practical help to Christian parents. Raising Passionate Jesus Followers is a manual full of practical, biblically based, and time-tested guidelines that parents will be able to turn to again and again through every stage of their children's development, including . . . Formulating a plan - Laying the foundation, ages 0-5 - Doing the framing, ages 6-12 - Installing the functional systems, ages 13-17 - Completing the finish work, ages 18-22 - And keeping the front door open for your grown children 'Until I became a parent, I had no idea what a hard, labor-intensive, complex, rewarding, fun, exhausting and exhilarating skill it was to unfold a child into their full potential. I always knew I had good parents, but it wasn't until our first child was born that it dawned on me: I had some of the best. I quickly realized that if I could be half the father my dad was I would be a raging success, but that was no easy task! Within days of Jude's birth I found myself regularly calling mom or dad and asking a barrage of questions. Now as we enter the teenage years I have more questions than ever before. My parents don't have all the answers, but they have more than a little wisdom to pass on to a generation that is reeling from the dissolution of the family in Western culture, and the corresponding emotional, relational, and spiritual fallout. Our family has its fair share of dysfunction, as all families do, but to this day our entire family is following Jesus, and for my parents, that was always the number one goal. If you share that goal, I can't think of a better guide for the journey than this book. Read it!' -- John Mark Comer, Author -- John Mark Comer Phil Comer, with assistance from his wife Diane and his son, John Mark, was the founding pastor of Westside: A Jesus Church, a large and vibrant church that welcomes millennials in Portland, Oregon. After handing the lead role over to his son, he and Diane launched Intentional: Raising Passionate Jesus Followers conferences as a way of teaching and training the hundreds of young parents in their church who were now raising families of their own. With his 40 years of pastoral experience and counseling, and lessons learned through his own parenting, he and Diane are bringing parents hope and practical help to accomplish their God-given task of raising children who will walk with God in vibrant faith. Phil has also worked with Luis Palau ministries around the world. He and Diane have been married for over 35 years and have four grown children.