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Editorial Review Product Description
In Perspectives on Family Ministry, Timothy Paul Jones makes the case that every church is called to some form of family ministrybut what he means by "family ministry" isn’t simply one more program to add to an already-packed schedule! According to Jones, the most effective family ministries involve refocusing every church process to engage parents in the process of discipling their children and to draw family members together instead of pulling them apart. Jones sets the stage with introductory chapters on the historical contexts and foundations of family ministry. Then, three effective practitioners show clearly how your church can make the transition to family ministry. Paul Renfro (pastor of discipleship at Grace Family Baptist Church in Spring, Texas) writes in favor of Family-Integrated Ministry, where the emphasis is on intergenerational discipleship. Brandon Shields (minister to high school students at Highview Baptist Church, a multi-site megachurch in Kentucky and Indiana) supports Family-Based Ministryministry that organizes programs according to ages and interests but also develops intentional activities and training events to bring families together. Jay Strother (minister to emerging generations at Brentwood Baptist Church in Tennessee) prefers Family-Equipping Ministry, maintaining age-organized ministry while reorganizing the congregation to call parents to become active partners in the discipleship of their children. Customer Reviews (7) 
Very useful comparison between different ministry models
CONTENT
"Perspectives on Family Ministry," by Paul Renfro, Brandon Shields, and Jay Strother, is a cordial debate contrasting three models of ministry - family-intergrated, family-based, and family-equipping.The Perspectives series mirrors the format of the similar Counterpoint series by Zondervan, but with a Baptist publisher and Baptist contributors.
Part one, "Why Every Church Needs Family Ministry," addresses the importance of parenting, a brief review of the development of the history of youth ministry, a definition of family ministry, and an overview of the methodological distinctives of the three views.It defines family ministry as "the process of intentionally and persistently realigning a congregation's proclamation and practices so that parents are acknowledged, trained, and held accountable as the person primarily responsible for the discipleship of their children" (Jones 40).Some of their stated assumptions are that "Scripture is the supreme and sufficient standard for how to do ministry," "God has called parents-and especially fathers - to take personal responsibility for the Christian formation of their children," and "The generations need one another."
Part two, "How Churches are Doing Family Ministry," describes in detail what each model looks like and explains its theological or practical basis.Each contributor has about 25 pages to define and defend his model, which is followed by a 10-15 page response section by the other contributors, which is followed by an 8 page final defense by the original contributor.
Family-integrated ministry is defined by its integration of all age groups in worship and teaching and its rejection of age-segregated ministry.Its secondary focus is that of the home as the primary location of discipleship and evangelism.Using the cultural background of Hebrew life, Biblical mandates to "train your children" are used to support the idea that God wants the training of children and family worship to happen in the home (as opposed to the church or synagogue or a school).The most significant critiques against the model are that the emphasis on parents' roles makes it difficult to reach children in non-Christian homes, it is overly separatist from culture, and it is only embraced by one demographic - the two-parent, Christian, home schooling family.
Family-based ministry maintains age-segregated ministry, such as youth group or children's church, but they also include intergenerational activities and family events.In this way, it attempts to keep the benefits to targeting specific age-groups with developmentally-appropriate training while still addressing the Biblical need to equip families and promote unity amongst the generations.Using the tools relevant to contemporary culture, it attempts to be evangelistic in reaching the unchurched and those outside of Christian culture or influence.The most significant critiques against this model are that it does not go far enough to systematically and regularly equip parents, it simply adds more events to families' busy schedules, and it is too focused on cultural relevance and event-based ministry.
"Family-equipping churches retain some age-organized ministries but restructure the congregation to partner with parents at every level of ministry..." (144).In doing so, this model attempts to systematically equip and train parents to disciple their children at home.The responsibility of the church is to develop a comprehensive plan for a child's spiritual formation and to encourage parents to take up this responsibility.The most significant critiques against this model are that age-organized events still demand more time away from the parents and that there is no proven need to change from the professional, programmatic way of doing ministry.
CRITIQUE
I found part one to a very informative part of this volume.In contrast with many introduction to the argument, this section was in-depth, thoughtful, and useful.Having only read part one, I was able to understand the big picture for why this was even a significant issue for the church today.Without the historical component, for instance, I would never have thought about the "invention of adolescence" as a relatively new part of society.Without the definitions or assumptions clearly stated, it would have been difficult for the contributors to communicate without unfairly attacking each other.
Part two was very useful as it requires the reader to think through the different positions.Reading the chapter on family-integration was an important start, because it is the only position to attempt to create a Biblical theology that supports its model.Doing so made me think through the contexts for Deut 6, Ps 78, and Eph 6.What the method what God was commanding, or was it the end result?Was the edict given to fathers because teachers should not have that role or because mothers were not equipped?It would be unfair to conclude that the only divinely-sanctioned method of passing on the history of what God has done is for dads to tell their kids.But it would also be unfair to conclude that God did not intend for the primary place of spiritual training to be the home, not the temple.
The chapter on family-based churches was a useful contrast reminding me of why age-segmented ministries were formed in the first place - to reach the unreached youth of America on their turf.It also reminded me to challenge given statistics, as they can be misrepresented.But this model failed to answer its critiques and was found lacking in its claims that 1) there is no need to change from program-driven, age-segmented ministries and 2) that random parenting classes or intergenerational events are sufficient to fulfill the Biblical mandates.
The chapter of family-equipping ministry was the most balanced model in terms of implementation and Biblical value, and the critiques against it were the weakest.(This author was also the most gracious in critiquing his peers.)The family-equipping models seems to be the one that would work within the context of most current church set ups while gradually transforming the values of the church to be more home-based and parent-based.This chapter includes a useful example from the author's home church as to how the purposes of the church and values of family ministry are integrated into age-segmented ministries.Clearly, this specific church model would not work for every church, but it serves as a framework for adaptation.
I would recommend that Perspectives on Family Ministry, by Paul Renfro, Brandon Shields, and Jay Strother, be read by children's ministers, youth ministers, and senior pastors."Family ministry" is becoming a bit faddish, and the term is being used by different groups without clarifying their purpose or intention.Pastors must be aware of the different uses of the term by different groups so that they can understand the appeal of D6, Think Orange, and other conferences or ministry models.Even though "Perspectives on Family Ministry" is a Baptist publication, there is no current parallel resource on the market, even from Zondervan.To engage in a thoughtful debate between different models of family ministry, one must think through the positions represented by the contributors here.
- J. Foster
Fascinating overview of various directions of family ministry in the church
Having just finished reading this book, I was satisfied to find that all three writers in the discussion, Paul Renfro, Brandon Shields and Jay Strother, all presented fair and comprehensive arguments for differing models of what family ministry should be.Yet at the same time, I felt that so much more could have been said and discussed about the issue.There's still plenty of good discussions, responses, and rebuttals, though, to make this a fascinating read.
I thought that Paul Renfro opened up with an excellent presentation and defense of the Family-Integrated model, and indeed there is much good that can be said of this structure of worship.Yet at the same time, as the counter-discussions dig into this model (namely Brandon Shield's counter) the arguments strike that this model doesn't address the community at large, or fractured families.There might be something to this, in the fact that there can be a niche quality some family-integrated churches.Don't get me wrong: as someone personally with a large family, it can be wonderful to be a part of a congregation that is largely family focused and oriented.But at the same time, in this day and culture of fragmented families, the counter-arguments seem to challenge if the family-integrated model does the most to reach those alienated demographics (such as fractured families, singles, etc).
Brandon Shields presents the Family-Based Ministry model, one seemingly more culturally emersed (and at the same time, criticized by some for being too much of the culture.)I did find it commendable that Shield's took time to dig in with a critical view of some of the earlier research as to why children are leaving the church (p. 104) and also, in light of things such as the regulative principle, how Scripture does present non-traditional methods of ministry (p.116).Absent from this model, though, as Renfro points out, is mention of father leadership and the importance thereof - a strong feature of the family integrated model.
Jay Strother followed with a convincing overview of the family-equipping ministry model, which in a nutshell is built around restructuring church roles to work more with parents.One thing noteworthy about Strother's section (as well as with the other writers) was the inclusion of practical examples of the particular ministry model in practice.I think this helped a lot, as sometimes the writers try to describe each individual system, but often what is the most helpful is reading about a realistic example described.
Ultimately the take-away for me was that there are pros and cons to each model of family ministry.I thing that each writer presented a fair case for the different models, as well as a decent challenge to the other viewpoints.While the models of family worship did all have notable differences, it was equally noteworthy to read about the similarities as well (particularly family-based and family-equipping.)The discussions and responses were all cordial and focused on being informative discussions moreso than heavily confrontational, which was greatly appreciated.
One of the things missing, though, that I would have liked to see Paul Renfro take on a little more deeply, was the FIC focus on large families (e.g. families with more than a two kids), and the need to change the child perception paradigm to reflect Biblical principles of children as blessing, instead of the church just mirroring culture's viewpoint that children are a hindrance to material pleasure.To me, large families seem to go hand in hand with the family integrated model, and I would have at least liked to see this addressed (if for no other reason than to verify this conception) and to see how the other models (family-based and family-equipping) approach this view as well.If anything, this seemed to be a sorely missing topic and would have added a richer dimension to the text for me.Renfro would likely have trumped the other two models on this topic, and I can't help but think that addressing the topic of large families, as a key component to the family-integrated model, would have been a fascinating aspect of the debate.
Now slightly off the beaten track, but still noteworthy:what does the cover image of a subway track have to do with this topic?I'm thinking instead that maybe the book should have featured the image of a Sunday School classroom, or a group of school kids, or even a church congregation.So where does the subway come in?Family-based churches that meet on trains?:)
Also, what good does the Latin footnote on pg. 21 do to those who can't read Latin?It looks classy, sure, but means nothing to the monolingual reader.
Great resource
This is an excellent, informative resource on family, children, and student ministries.It covers one on the most critical topics the church must address in the next generation or run the risk of dying.Each author does a good job of sharing their philosophy so that you can make a better, informed decision on the topic of family ministry.I would highly recommend Family Driven Faith by Voddie.
It's about time
What an incredible blessing it is to finally see family integration get a serious part of the discussion. Paul Renfro has been blessed with a true heart for discipleship and a gift of sharing the Word of God in a graceful, clear, and humble manner. This book is a must read. :)
Excellent resource
I very much enjoyed this new book by Timothy Paul Jones and believe that it adds much to the developing discussion of family ministry within the Church today.Set up as a structured debated between three proposed models of family ministry within the Church, Dr. Jones begins by bringing to light the current ruined state of the Christian family and setting the stage for his three contributors to describe their proposed solutions.The structure is unique to books of this sort, in that each contributor is given a chance to critique and ask questions of the opposing viewpoints.The original contributor is then given a followup chance to address these issues as best he is able.This setup allows/forces each contributor to further define and defend his position and grants the reader a deeper understanding of the models presented.
Dr. Jones' introduction to the matter was very good and I appreciate that he tells the reader up front which view he champions (the family-equipping approach) without trying to hide his opinion.He sets the stage well in describing the decline and current crisis of the Christian family and prepares his reader to acknowledge the need for the subsequent debate.
As for the debate itself I would encourage each reader to evaluate critically the proposals and challenges of the three contributors.Please do not simply pick the model you are comfortable with but read with an open mind and especially with an open Bible.I will note that the majority of the criticisms of the family-integrated approach championed by Paul Renfro (the proposal I believe to be the most biblical) center more on pragmatism - declaring it will "never work" in the modern church - rather than on a biblical critique.There is an assumption made that the family-integrated model cannot reach the wounded and broken families of the modern world.Both of the other contributors make sure to include a story of a family that has been reached by their model, with the accompanying challenge that such a family could not have been reached by the family-integrated approach.They seem to ignore the detailed description by Paul Renfro of how such families would be (and are) reached; by biblical hospitality, gospel proclamation, and discipleship.As a member such a family-integrated church I know from experience that many broken(unreachable) families are now on the road of Christian discipleship thanks to this approach.The one critique of family-integrated church that is doctrinal in nature, an attack on the "family of families" concept of the church, is well refuted and shown to be a misunderstanding of the claims of the family integrated model.
I heartily recommend this book to all discerning Christians who are wondering what to do to combat the decay of the Christian family in our day!
- Joshua Loyd
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