In Transforming Children into Spiritual Champions, researcher and author George Barna throws his hat into the increasingly-crowded Family Ministry arena. The reader will discover the same things that we have come to expect from Barna: massive and thorough research, insights from the Christian community, and helpful evaluation of the data. Much of what Barna has to say focuses on the church's responsibility to create environments where discipleship happens in the lives of children. While he repeatedly acknowledges that discipleship is the primary responsibility of the parents, this book focuses on what churches need to do in that process. I wish he had honed his research more towards parents in evangelical churches and what they do. Such a study would have been more helpful in my opinion. If parents are charged with the responsibility of being the primary disciples of their children (and they are!), then why focus on what the church needs to do to disciple children. This book, while helpful, does not stand up to others in the field. Those interested in digging into family ministry should consider the works of Timothy Paul Jones or Randy Stinson. Those authors focus more on the home and what parents need to do to take seriously their job of discipling their children.

All in all, Barna's work is what most have come to expect from him - sound, well-researched, and well-written. Reading this book will certainly help leaders see the importance of building up future generations for the Kingdom of God.

Five Great Quotes:

"Although fewer that 10 percent of churched households spend any time at all during a typical week either reading the Bible or engaging in substantive prayer as a family unit, about 3 out of every 4 (72 percent) churched parents believe that are doing well when it comes to providing a regular regimen of spiritual experiences and instruction to their children" (133).

"Various studies have confirmed the results of some of our data: By the age of nine, most of the moral and spiritual foundations of a child are in place. From the time a child is born until he or she is in the early primary grades, the child is voraciously consuming cues and lessons related to each of the developmental dimensions. It seems that by the time he or she is nine, the child shifts mental gears and begins to use the cues he or she receives front hat point forward to either confirm or challenge an existing perspective. It also appears that by the time the child has reached this age, it is much more difficult to change an existing view than to form a new view" (65).

"In total, 59 percent of all 13-year-olds are 'notional Christians' - people who say they are Christian but are not committed followers of Christ in any discernible way" (38).

"This is a major reason why youth ministries that are based on large group events have little lasting impact: Nobody really knows the children, cares about them, follows up on them or personally directs their paths in the way that they should go. Teaching a gymnasium packed with kids may be emotionally satisfying for the teacher, but the process leaves much to be desired in terms of human impact" (136). ( )

Drawing on his market-based research, Barna issues a stirring, strategic call for the prioritization of children’s ministry within the local church. (JKC)