Resources for Children’s Leaders

• Downloadable Resources
• Links
• Recommended Reading List for Children's Ministers
• Resources to Equip Children
• Resources to Equip Leaders
• Equip Parents to Shape Their Children's Faith
• DVDs to Equip Children’s Leaders

Aleshire, Daniel.
Faithcare: Ministering to All God’s People through the Ages of Life.
Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1988.

Allen, K. Eileen and Marotz, Lynn. 
By the Ages:Behavior and Development of Children Pre-Birth through Eight. 
New York: Albany, 2000.

Barna, George. 
Transforming Children into Spiritual Champions.  Ventura: Gospel Light, 2003.

Beckwith, Ivy. 
Postmodern Children’s Ministry.
Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005.

Borba, Ed.D., Michele
Parents Do Make a Difference
Josey-Bass, 1999

Caldwell, Elizabeth F.
Making a Home for Faith, Nurturing the Spiritual Life of Children.
Cleveland:The Pilgrim Press, 2000.

Capps, Donald.
The Child’s Song – The Religious Abuse of Children. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1995.

Chapman, Gary. 
Five Signs of a Functional Family. 
Chicago: Northfield Publishing, 1997.

Chapman, Gary.
The Five Love Languages of Children. 
Chicago: Northfield Publishing, 1992.

Castleman, Robbie. 
Parenting in the Pew.
Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 1993.

Coleman, Paul. 
How to Say It to Your Kids When Bad Things Happen.
New York: Prentice Hall Publishers, 2002.

Coles, Robert. 
The Spiritual Life of Children.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1990.

Crasy, Elizabeth. 
Without Spanking or Spoiling. 
Seattle: Parenting Press, 1993.

Dawn, Marva J. 
Is It a Lost Cause? Having the Heart of God for the Church’s Children. 
Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1997.

Duckert, Mary. 
New Kid in the Pew: Shared Ministry with Children. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1991.

Elkind, David. 
The Hurried Child.
Reading: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1988.

Elkind, David. 
Reinventing Childhood. 
Rose, NJ: Modern Learning Press, Inc., 1988.

Elkind, David.
Ties that Stress: The New Family Imbalance.  Harvard University Press, 1994.

Fitzgerald, Helen. 
The Grieving Child. 
New York: Simon & Schuster, 1992.

Foster, Charles R.
Educating Congregations. 
Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1994.

Freudenburg, Ben and Lawrence, Rick. 
Family Friendly Church. 
Loveland: Group Publishing, 1998.

Fuller, Cheri. 
Opening Your Child’s Spiritual Windows. 
Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2001.

Geary, Bonnie L. and Thomas F. Geary
Nurturing the Souls of Our Children.  
Macon: Smyth & Helwys, 2002.

Gilbert, Roberta M.
Connecting With Our Children – Guiding Principles for Parents in a Troubled World. 
New York:  John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2000.

Halverson, Delia. 
How Do Our Children Grow?  Introducing Children to God, Jesus, the Bible, Prayer and Church.  Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1993.

Hays, Rita B.
The Children’s Minister
Discipleship Resources, 2007

Haywood, Janice
Enduring Connections: Creating a Preschool and Children’s Ministry
St. Louis: Chalice Press, 2007

Heller, David. 
The Children’s God. 
Chicago: University of Chicago Pres, 1986.

Houser, Tina
Building Children’s Ministry
Thomas Nelson of Nashville, TN, 2008

Talking to Your Child about God. 
New York: Berkley Publishing Group, 1988.

Jones, Timothy. 
Nurturing a Child’s Soul.  
Nashville: Word Publishing, 2000.

Leffert, Nancy. 
Starting Out Right: Developmental Assets for Children. 
Minneapolis: Search Institute, 1997.

Leman, Kevin. 
Bringing Up Kids without Tearing Them Down.  Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publisher, 1995.

Lester, Andrew D. 
Pastoral  Care with Children in Crisis. 
Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1985.

Lester, Andrew D. 
When Children Suffer. 
Philadelphia: Westminster Press. 1993.

May, Scottie. 
Children Matter. 
Grand Rapids:Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2005.

Miller, Craig and Kenneth Norton, Mary Jane Pierce.
Making God Real to a New Generation.
Nashville: Discipleship Resources, 2003

Morgenthaler, Shirley K., Ed.
Exploring Children’s Spiritual Formation – Foundational Issues. 
River Forest: Pillars Press, Concordia University, 1999.

Morgenthaler, Shirley K., Ed. 
Right From the Start – A Parent’s Guide to the Young Child’s Faith Development. 
St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2001.

Nelsen, Jane. 
Positive Discipline. 
Ballantine Books, 1987.

Peters, Becky. 
Building Faith One Child at a Time. 
St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1997.

Price, Max. 
Help! I Teach Children’s Sunday School: A Guide to Effective Teaching and Faith Development.
Macon: Smyth/Helwys Publisher, 2003.

Ratcliff, Donald E. 
Handbook of Children’s Religious Education.
Birmingham: Religious Education Press, 1992.

Richmond Garland, Diana S. and Penecost. Diane L. 
The Church’s Ministry with Families. 
Dallas: Word Publishing, 1990.

Roehlkepartian, Eugene and Jolene. 
Embracing Parents: How Your Congregation Can Strengthen Families. 
Nashville: Abindgon, 2004.

Roehlkepartian, Eugene. 
The Teaching Church.  
Nashville: Abingdon Press,

Roehlkepartain, Jolene and Nancy Leffert.
What Young Children Need to Succeed.
Minneapolis: Free Press Publishing, 2000.

Stonehouse, Catherine. 
Joining Children On the Spiritual Journey—Nurturing a Life of Faith. 
Grand Rapids:  Baker Books, 1998.

Swift, Madelyn.
Discipline for Life: Getting it Right with Children.
Forth Worth: Stairway Education Programs, 1998.

Thompson, Marjorie J. 
Family—The Forming Center—A Vision of the Role of Family in Spiritual Formation. 
Nashville: Upper Room Books, 1989.

Tobias, Cynthia Ulrich. 
Every Child Can Succeed.
Colorado Springs: Focus on the Family Publishing, 1996.

Vanderwell, Howard
Jan Rogers Vann, Foreward
The Church of All Ages

Westerhoff, John H. III.
Will Our Children Have Faith. (revised)
Harrisburg:  Morehouse Publishing, 2000.

Yust, Karen Marie.
Real Kids, Real Faith.
San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publisher, 2004.

Resources to Equip Children:ad

Raising Up Spiritual Champions: How to Teach Children to Think and ACT like Jesus (ISBN 0-8307-3293-4) is an 8 sessions teaching unit for children in grades 4-6. Includes 2 CD-ROMs.

Opening Your Child’s Spiritual Windows by Cheri Fuller (ISBN 0-310-22449-7) deals with worship, prayer, Bible learning, Helping, Church. Contains chapter relative to faith & moral development in preschoolers and children.

The Hurt that They Feel: Helping Preschoolers Deal with Tough Issues (ISBN 1-56309-839-3) deals with such issues as family violence, anger, terrorism, death, divorce. Each chapter ends with "reflection and application" for use in a parenting group.

Discipline with Children and Teens, Jim Williams, Abingdon Press, 2004.  This DVD includes all the content needed for leading an effective parenting class.

Helping Kids Through Tough Times, Doris Sanford, Standard Publishing, 1995.  Reproducible “help” sheets can aid parents in guiding their children through the tough times of life including adoption, death, divorce, illness and many others.

Parent-Child Retreats:  Spiritual Experiences for Children Ages 7-10 and Their Parents, Lynne Knickerbocker, Maggie Pike, Mary Ann Figlino, CSJ and Eleanor Sheehan, CSJ, Living the Good News, Inc., 1998.  Everything you need to conduct meaningful retreats for children including ready-to-use scripts, material lists, prayer suggestions and much more. Materials can be used with children alone, with children and their parents or with children, parents and younger siblings as a family retreat. A wonderful way to get parents more actively involved in their children's religious training.

Raising Up Spiritual Champions, Jean K. Lawson, Gospel Light, 2007.  Each reproducible newsletter highlights quick and easy age-appropriate activities and includes bonus fun ideas to help families enjoy learning together about patience, generosity, gratefulness and more.

Side by Side: Families Learning and Living Faith Together, Delia  Halverson, Abingdon Press, 2002.  Nine 45 to 60-minute complete classroom sessions, focusing on specific topics and themes, for family-oriented Sunday School where parents and children learn about the Christian faith together.

Take It Home:  Inspiration and Events to Help Parents Spiritually Transform Their Children, Mark Holmen and Dave Teixeira, Gospel Light, 2008.  If we want our children to have a faith that is “impressed on their hearts” (Deut. 6), we must reestablish the home as the primary place where faith is nurtured.  Teaches families how to fit Christ into the center of their homes and their children’s hearts.

We Are Baptists:  Studies for Younger Elementary Children, Jeffrey D. Jones and Debra L. Sutton, Judson Press, 2000.  14 flexible, Scripture-based sessions can be shortened into a 6-week program or fully explored to help children learn more about Baptist identity and beliefs.

We Are Baptists:  Studies for Older Elementary Children, Jeffrey D. Jones, Judson Press, 2000.  14 flexible, Scripture-based sessions can be shortened into a 6-week program or fully explored to help children learn more about Baptist identity and beliefs.

Resources to Equip Leaders:ad

Transforming Congregational Culture (ISBN 0-8028-0158-3) is a wonderful, wonderful resources for leaders who are concerned about changes in congregational life that bring about changes in individual lives—-from Board culture to ministry culture, from an end to a means, from givers to receivers who give.

Children’s Ministry Smart Pages (ISBN 0-8307-3096-6) for grades 1-6 contains administrative information and forms for the Children’s Minister as well as materials for leader equipping. Contains a CD-ROM. Materials are reproducible.

Early Childhood Smart Pages, Sheryl Haystead, Gospel Light, 2002.  Includes programs and curriculum, facilities and supplies, recruiting and training, games, art and music, teacher preparation, take-home papers, miniposters, storytelling and prayer, all designed to help create the most effective children’s ministry.

Embracing Parents: How Your Congregation Can Strengthen Families, Jolene and Eugene Roehlkepartain, Abingdon Press, 2004.  This book challenges pastors and other church leaders to expand their vision, become proactive in meeting the needs of families and help the church to be a place where parents and their children can grow.  The authors provide key research findings, true stories, quizzes, checklists and practical tools that congregations can use to become more effective. Even the most experienced pastor and church leader will find new ways to strengthen their families—and their churches.

Between Everything:  Teacher Helps for Transitioning Preteens, Ed Trimmer and Patty Meyers, Abingdon Press, 2004.  Designed to help Sunday School teachers smooth the transition for fifth, sixth and seventh graders as they take the giant steps from childhood to youth to adulthood, and from concrete thinking to abstract thinking.

Building Faith at Home, Mark A. Holmen, Regal Books, 2007.  Shows the Church how it needs to reestablish the home as the primary place where faith is nurtured and partner with parents to equip them for faith building at home.

Nurturing Faith in Families: 425 Creative Ideas for Family Ministry, Jolene L. Roehlkepartain, Abingdon Press, 2002.  Practical, easy-to-use ideas for ministering to families that can be used in various aspects of church life.

Preteen Ministry Smart Pages, Gordon and Becki West, Gospel Light, 2005.  Provides a solid, practical and comprehensive understanding of how to build an effective ministry that reaches preteens.

Side by Side: Families Learning and Living Faith Together, Delia  Halverson, Abingdon Press, 2002.  Nine 45 to 60-minute complete classroom sessions, focusing on specific topics and themes, for family-oriented Sunday School where parents and children learn about the Christian faith together.

Takeout Training for Teachers, Keith Johnson, Group Publishing, 2006.  52 training sessions help leaders prepare to be effective teachers, stay composed when things don’t go as planned, use creativity in the classroom and build relationships with children.  Reproducibles and entire book on CD included.

Equip Parents to Shape Their Children’s Faith:ad

FaithHome ProActive Parenting has released 4 DVDs related to parenting uses. Contact Abingdon Press for more information about these parenting resources.

Common Sense Parenting DVD/Video Series, from Boys Town Press

Grace Based Parenting video series, from Family Matters

Parenting is Heart Work video series, from Biblical Parenting

Say Goodbye to Whining, Complaining and Bad Attitudes—in You and Your Kids video series, from Biblical Parenting

1, 2, 3, 4, Parents, is a video-based, multi-cultural program for parents of preschoolers, ages 1-4.  This program is designed for three, 1 ½ hour sessions and recommended for groups of ten to twenty parents.  (Includes one video, leader’s guide, one parent’s workbook, promotional/information items.)

10 Gifts Your Children Will Grow to Appreciate, Lynn P. Clayton, Peake Road, 1998.  An encouraging, humorous book which gives parents ways they can give their children what matters most, such as love, affection, guidance, time freedom and more.  A short book with much wisdom.

Active Parenting Today, a video-based parenting course for parents of children ages two through twelve, is designed for six two-hour sessions and deals with self-concept, discipline, communication, problem solving and more.  (Includes leader’s guide, two videos, parent’s workbook and promotional items.)  Parent handbook is available in Basic English and is useful for persons with English as a second language.

Affordable Family Fun, Susan L. Lingo, Group Publishing, 1998.  Fun-packed book of great activities for families on a budget.  Family Field Trips, Homespun Fun and Family Festivals each contain many terrific, easy-to-do-ideas, which your family can enjoy together or with other families.  Each idea includes a Bible concept and Scripture reference so you learn more about God while having fun.

An Introduction to Family Nights—Family Night Tool Chest, Book 1,  Jim Weidman & Kirt Bruner, Chariot Victor Publishing, 1997.   A complete guide to 12 family night activities.  Four sessions each on Christian beliefs, Christian character qualities and wisdom life skills.  A great resource for parents for “creating intentional impression points” as they share their faith with their children.  (Additional volumes available.)

At Home With God:  Family Devotions for the School Year, Anne Broyles, Sue Downing, Paul and Elizabeth Lynd Escamilla, Marilyn Brown Oden, Upper Room Books, 2002.  Designed to bring a family together in worship at home for 10 to 15 minutes each day with no advance preparation.

Attention Deficit Disorder, Juan I. Molto Garcia, Rapha Publishing/Word, Inc., 1991.  Provides a good overview of what ADHD is and is not, its signs and symptoms, how ADHD is diagnosed and how an ADHD child sees life.

Becoming a Disciple:  Making Great Kids, Keith Madsen et al., Serendipity House, 2006.  A 7-session small-group resource for parents in which they explore the challenges of parenting and plan steps to grow their children toward happier, healthier futures.

Bringing God Home—Family Devotions for the Christian Year, James L. Evans, Smyth & Helwys, 1995.  A resource for family worship and devotions.  Each day includes a Scripture passage and worship activity which can be completed in 10-15 minutes.

Coauthoring Your Child’s Story:  Parenting on Purpose, Tommy Nelson, Serendipity House, 2006.  An 8-session small-group study designed to help parents rear children of meaning and purpose.

Faith Begins at Home: The Family Makeover with Christ at the Center, Mark Holmen, Regal Books, 2005.  In the past faith was a central part of the family's home life, yet the reality for many families today is that faith is no more than one-hour, drop off Christianity. To become the strong, healthy, joy-filled families God intended begins with parents establishing their homes as the primary place where faith is nurtured. Faith Begins at Home combines inspirational stories and practical ideas with biblical truth to help families rediscover how to bring the basics of faith back into their home.

Faith-Shaped Kids:  Helping Your Child Grow Spiritually, Steve & Valerie Bell, Moody Press, 2001.  Nine lessons about how a genuine faith in Christ is formed in a child’s life.

Family: The Forming Center, A Vision of the Role of Family in Spiritual Formation, Majorie Thompson, Upper Room Books, 1997.  Provides helps for families of all ages in nurturing their children in their relationships with God.

The Five Love Languages of Children, Gary Ghapman & Ross Campbell, Moody Press, 1997.   Chapman teams with his friend, Dr. Ross Campbell, author of How to Really Love Your Child, to help parents speak their child’s love language.  Discover your child’s primary love language and learn what you can do to effectively convey unconditional feelings of respect, affection and commitment. Also available on DVD and Video.

Front Porch Parenting, Dr. Manz Simon, Chariot Victor Publishing, 1997.  The subtitle covers it all…Down–To-Earth Answers to 300 Questions Real Parents Ask.  The book is divided into two sections.  One is related to specific ages and the other to general topics such as behaviors, relationships, activities, school and more.  Check out the contents by your child’s age or search the index for specific areas of interest.

Fun Excuses to Talk About God – 48 No-Fuss Family Devotions, Joani Schultz, Group Publishing, 1997.  Busy lives sometimes prevent families from sharing in family devotions.  Here are 48 low-preparation, thought-provoking devotions that take 10-15 minutes.  Families will use everyday items and situations to discover Bible truths while they eat, ride in the car or take a walk.

Getting Out of Your Kids’ Faces and Into Their Hearts, Valerie Bell, Zondervan, 1994.  For parents who want to enjoy their kids more, relax around them and love them better—finally, a book that is not about how to manage, train and discipline children, but how to have  relationships with them.

Giving Good Gifts: The Spiritual Journey of Parenthood, George E. Conway, Presbyterian Publishing Corporation: Westminster John Knox Press, 2001.  This book discusses seven gifts parents can give to their children that will help them form a healthy spiritual identity and will help readers understand that the first step toward providing our children with these gifts is to make parenting its own spiritual journey, one that can draw us closer to God, closer to our children and even closer to the best parts of ourselves.

Habits of a Child’s Heart: Raising Your Kids with the Spiritual Disciplines, Valerie E. Hess and Marti Watson Garlett, Ph.D., NavPress, 2004.  This book gives parents resources and specific ideas to intentionally develop their child's faith. Loving and diligent adults will learn all about the spiritual disciplines—including study, meditation, service, worship and more—so they can model and teach them to their kids.

Help! I’m a Parent, Bruce Narramore, Zondervan, 1995.  Provides a basis for understanding children’s behavior or misbehavior and offers ways to deal with misbehavior; appropriate for parents of preschoolers and grade-schoolers.

Helping Kids Through Tough Times, Doris Sanford, Standard Publishing, 1995.  Reproducible “help” sheets can aid parents in guiding their children through the tough times of life including adoption, death, divorce, illness and many others.

The Hurried Child, Growing Up Too Fast Too Soon (3rd Edition), David Elkind, Addison Wesley Publishing, 2001.  Helps parents to evaluate the stressors in the lives of their elementary-age children, effects of these stressors and ways to cope with them.

If I Were Starting My Family Again.  John Drescher, Good Books Publishers, 1994.   A “small” book containing great truths for parents about what is truly essential in parenting for the long term.

Making a Home for Faith: Nurturing the Spiritual Life of Your Children, Elizabeth F. Caldwell, Pilgrim Press, 2007.  This book addresses the how-to's of being faithful parents who, in their words and actions, show what it means to live the Christian faith. Elizabeth Caldwell offers simple, straightforward, solid guidance to help parents monitor and nurture their children's faith development, respond to their children's questions and present the best possible example of faithful living.

Merging Families:  A Step-by-Step Guide for Blended Families, Bobbie Reed, Concordia Publishing House, 1992.  For remarried couples or those considering remarriage.  It covers how to prepare for marriage, steps in creating the new family and developing family relationships.  You’ll learn how to create a lasting marriage, prevent conflicts before they occur, strengthen family relationships and understand and nurture your children.

Nurturing the Leader Within Your Child, Tim Elmore, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2004.  Explores mentoring the basic types of children and provides real-life insights on how to help them reach their full potential, providing tools for parents who want more than average for their children and who seek to inspire the pursuit of vision larger than they are.

Opening Your Child’s Spiritual Windows, Cheri Fuller, Zondervan, 2001.  Children have spiritual windows of opportunity--periods of time in their development when their hearts and minds are most open to experiencing the wonder of God’s creation, learning his ways through the Bible, talking and listening to God through prayer, through service, and through being a part of the family and the church. This book opens the reader’s eyes to these incredible windows of opportunity and shows how to make the most of them.

Parents & Grandparents as Spiritual Guides: Nurturing Children of the Promise, Betty Shannon Cloyd, Upper Room Books, 2000.  Readers will find examples of how they can introduce children to the presence of God during daily, routine activities as well as in planned devotional times. Questions for discussion and an interactive project and pledge are included to help incorporate Cloyd's ideas into the lives of parents and children.

Parenting Is Heart Work, Dr. Scott Turansky and Joanne Miller, Life Journey, 2005.  This book helps to reveal how you can learn to truly reach your child's heart to teach, train and build a tremendous relationship.  Turn correction times into learning experiences. Equip your children to accept responsibility for their mistakes and meditate on the right things.  Influence and adjust the values and beliefs your children hold. Maintain relationships with your children through love and emotional connectedness.

Parenting Preschoolers with a Purpose, Jolene L. Roehlkepartain, Search Institute Press, 2006.  This resource promotes the physical, social and emotional well-being of 3-to-5-year-old children and their parents while enhancing the parent-child relationship.  Included are innovative approaches that provide answers to 40 everyday issues such as bedwetting, discipline, sibling relationships, eating, bath time and rebellion.

Parenting With Scripture, Kara Durbin, Moody Press, 2001.  Kara Durbin's passion is for parents to capture those teachable moments and use Scripture to shape their children's behavior. She offers Parenting With Scripture, a unique topical guide to prepare parents with scriptural teaching and helpful activities on 100 specific behaviors.

Positive Discipline, Jane Nelsen, Ballantine Books, 2006.  Deals with a positive and workable definition of discipline; gives suggestions for using logical and natural consequences to discipline; discusses the power of encouragement in nurturing preschoolers and elementary age children.

The Power of a Parent’s Words, Norman Wright, Regal Books, 1991.  The sub-title is descriptive of the contents of the book—How You Can Use Loving, Effective Communication to Increase Your Child’s Self-Esteem and Reduce the Frustrations of Parenting.  Appropriate for all parents.

Putting on the Brakes—Young People’s Guide to Understanding Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Patricia Quinn & Judith Stern, Magination Press, 2001.  A book for children with ADHD, their parents and adults who work with children.  It provides an easy-to-understand yet thorough explanation of what ADHD is and what to do about it.

Raising Great Kids, Henry Cloud and John Townsend, Zondervan Publishing House, 2000.  Helps parents find the balance between control and permissiveness in raising children with character.

Raising Up Spiritual Champions, Jean K. Lawson, Gospel Light, 2007.  Each reproducible newsletter highlights quick and easy age-appropriate activities and includes bonus fun ideas to help families enjoy learning together about patience, generosity, gratefulness and more.

Revolutionary Parenting, George Barna, Tyndale House Publishers, 2007.  George Barna conducted a series of surveys and thousands of personal interviews with both young adults and their parents. In the process, he was able to uncover a number of common denominators to parenting success. Some of his findings will encourage you; others will surprise you. But be forewarned—raising a spiritual champion takes Revolutionary Parenting.

Sacred Parenting:  How Raising Children Shapes Our Souls, Gary L. Thomas, Zondervan, 2004.  This is not a book that teaches how to discipline children or help them reach their full potential.  Instead, it demonstrates how God uses children to change parents.

Siblings Without Rivalry, Adele Faber & Elaine Mazlish, Avon Books, 1988.  The sub-title is appropriate:  “How to Help Your Children Live Together So You Can Live Too.”  Easy to read and comprehend, full of practical suggestions for living with preschoolers and children.  (These authors also wrote How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk, another excellent resource.)

Successful Parenting has several DVDs (which may be purchased separately) related to parenting older preschoolers and children.  Topics include “Self-Esteem is the Key,”  “Communication Is Crucial,” “Discipline Makes the Difference,” “School Success Takes Teamwork: the Basics,”   “School Success Takes Teamwork: Taming the Homework Monster,”  “The Single Parent Family: a Challenge for Parents,” and “The Single Parent Family: a Challenge for Children.”  The first three videos listed are available in Spanish.  Contact Successful Parenting, P.O. Box 11851, Winston Salem, NC 27116.  Phone 1-800-544-2219 or www.successfulparenting.com.
  
Take It Home:  Inspiration and Events to Help Parents Spiritually Transform Their Children, Mark Holmen and Dave Teixeira, Gospel Light, 2008.  If we want our children to have a faith that is “impressed on their hearts” (Deut. 6), we must reestablish the home as the primary place where faith is nurtured.  Teaches families how to fit Christ into the center of their homes and their children’s hearts.

Teaching Your Child about God, Wes & Sheryl Haystead, Gospel Light Publications, 1997.  A practical, Scriptural guide to prepare you to answer your child’s questions and nurture your child’s relationship with God.

Tying the Family Knot:  Meeting the Challenges of a Blended Family, Terri Clark, Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2004.  A very practical and Biblical book that can help make a blended family situation work, written by someone who has done just that, offering clear, commonsense advice.

Without Spanking or Spoiling.  A Practical Approach to Toddler and Preschool Guidance. Elizabeth Crary, Parenting Press, Inc., 1993.  This excellent resource for parents of preschoolers helps parents clarify behavior of and expectations for preschoolers, communicate with preschoolers and guide their behavior.

Blended Families, Yours, Mine, Ours, William Cutler, Richard Peace, 1990.  Becoming a support group while learning about how to become better stepparents.
           
Discipline Them/Love Them, Betty N. Chase, David C. Cook Publishing, 1982.  26 practical projects for parents.

Family Sunday School Fun: 13 Bible Lessons for Children & Parents, Tim Smith, Group Publishing, 1999.  These 13 lessons help parents and elementary school kids study the Bible—together! Innovative, family-friendly activities give families the chance to build relationships as they explore and apply God's Word at Sunday school, in a small group, or at a special family program. The 60 to 75 minute, easy-to-use intergenerational lessons are as fun for grown-ups as they are for children.

Family Time with God:  Bible Story Activities for Every Day, Peg Augustine, Abingdon Press, 2004. A helpful way for parents to share their faith with their children including Bible stories, talk points and simple activities.
           
Making Two Halves a Whole:  Studies for parents in blended families, Lonni Collins Pratt, David C. Cook Publishing, 2002. 13 one-hour sessions.

Parenting Adolescents, Easing the Way to Adulthood. Rachel Kiepe, 1992.  Become a support group while learning about how to become a better parent to adolescent children.
           
Raising Kids in a Violent Culture, Victoria Johnson, David C. Cook Publishing, 1995. Studies for today’s parents.  13 one-hour sessions.

Teaching Your Child about God-Group Study Guide, Wes & Sheryl Haytstead, Gospel Light Publications, 1995.  A 6-session undated group study with facilitator guide, reproducible worksheets and clip art which can be used in a small group Bible study.  It is adaptable as a weekly study or a weekend retreat (group study for book by same name).

From Acacia Resources, Baptist Center for Ethics:

Families in 3D.  19 undated Bible studies for adults on topics from the pages of real life.  Topics include time, money, parenting, stress, sex, and health.

Families in 3D-2.  17 undated Bible studies for adults on the topics of family priorities, family work, family changes, and family habits.

7 Virtues & 7 Vices, 16 undated Bible studies that explore the stepping-stones and stumbling blocks of the Christian faith and their effect on family, such as pride, courage, anger, wisdom and more.

From Virginia Baptist Mission Board:

Firm Foundations for Families, Ann Tonks, 2008.  “Firm Foundations for Families” contains six interactive learning resources for parents and 1st through 6th graders dealing with basic Biblical principles such as baptism, tithing, the Lord’s Supper, church membership.