Do Your Children Believe?
Becoming Intentional About Your Family's Faith and Spiritual Legacy
- Marriage, Family & Relationships
- Publisher: W Publishing Group (Thomas Nelson)
- Published: 2017
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Publisher's Description
Are your children ready to live out their faith in the real world? Most parents who value Christian faith want their children to enjoy a vibrant, growing relationship with God, both now and throughout their lives. But few of those parents ever attach this hope to an ongoing plan; therefore, they fail to lay a reliable spiritual track in front of the fast-moving train of family life. This book is a junction point where deep parental desire meets workable design and where timid inadequacy meets Christ’s sufficiency. It’s where individual families become multiplication factories, exerting a lasting impact not only on their coming generations but even on the culture at large. The death of Joshua and his contemporaries was barely old news in Israel before the people of God experienced a Judges 2:10 moment: “There arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done” (ESV). One generation is all it takes. One generation who stops remembering. One generation who stops creating. One generation blinded to God’s real work in their lives who then subtly quiets the expectation of His new work in succeeding generations. Do Your Children Believe? appears at a time in history when another Judges 2:10 moment doesn’t sound so incredibly far-fetched—a day when many people’s only real knowledge of God comes from what they’ve heard and read about, not what they’ve actually seen and experienced, and when His work is more about the dutiful following of rules than the daily adventure of walking with Him as Lord. Imagine, instead, a generation of your family who knows God with intimate familiarity. Who doesn’t just pretend at faith but actually lives it. Kids who can tell you what they believe and why it matters. Teenagers who handle adversity with the resilient joy of godly wisdom. A family who prays together and worships together, growing into young adults who are equipped and inspired to keep this torch ablaze from the moment their own new families begin. This book is here to make that reality happen, written by an author equipped with not only a passion for the concept but also a proven plan for success—a wealth of first-hand personal stories from his wife and kids for how they’ve put this plan into living action with remarkable blessings in tow. When God puts His power behind families who embrace this kingdom call, on-the-ground change will result in off-the-charts revival.
Endorsements (15)
“PRAISE FOR DO YOUR CHILDREN BELIEVE? “My hope and prayer is that this book will have the same impact on your family as it has had on ours. May it draw your family closer to God and each other for generations to come.”
“Men love a challenge. They become animated talking about leading their team in scoring, leading their company in sales, or reaching the top of their profession and the corner office. But talk about the goal of leading every one of their children to love God with all their hearts, and the room goes silent. Terence Chatmon has written about the leadership that matters most. I encourage you to read it!”
“Who hasn’t struggled with how to successfully pass on his faith in Christ to his children? Terence Chatmon provides a powerful path through his own struggles to blossom his hope for his children into reality. If you want practical and authentic wisdom that will guide you to achieve the legacy of your life—your children becoming committed disciples—then Terence’s new book is waiting for you!”
“Seven years ago we embarked on a journey as a family that would change my life forever. My dad’s starting of a spiritual family plan challenged me to grow deeper in my faith, offered a connection with family, and highlighted the importance of prioritizing what we valued most. Our family relationships are changed because of his hard work, passion, and vision. But most important, our strengthened relationship with God is our rock and foundation.”
“Terence has developed a resource that takes the mystery out of developing a family plan. As a leader in our church, he and Wanda have been leading many of our young families through this process, giving them the tools necessary to lead their families. You will find the principles and practices of this great resource extremely helpful.”
“As parents we want the best for our children, and we strive to leave them an inheritance and words of wisdom to live by; however, I have come to learn that the greatest gift we could ever leave our children is a blueprint on how to build a personal relationship with God. My children know God today because my father took the time to make sure his children knew God and read the Word of God.”
“Do Your Children Believe? is timely, highly readable, insightful, and encouraging. I am proud to call Terence my friend and look forward to sharing his book with others.”
“As a parent I have realized that the best thing I can give my son is knowledge of the truth and Christ. Charting has helped me to grow in my personal faith and walk with Christ. It is also equipping me to plant little seeds in my toddler and set a foundation for him as he grows. He may not understand much yet, but he knows who made him, loves him, and protects him.”
“This book illustrates where deep parental desire meets workable design, where timid inadequacy meets Christ’s sufficiency. Wanda and Terence have lived out their faith in the home, with their children. They are witnessing transformation firsthand and now desire to bless many more with a proven step-by-step plan to raise children in the Lord. Praying the Lord moves to place this book in the lives of many families.”
“My friend Terence Chatmon is a substantive, practical, gracious, caring leader who has written a great book that is just like the man. This book can change your life as a parent and subsequently change your children’s lives. What better legacy is there?”
Dr. Ron Jenson
“This book is a gift to Christian families. I pray God uses it and Terence to make a difference in passing the faith from generation to generation.”
“As the grandmother of seven, living in a post-Christian culture, I believe the need to leave a spiritual legacy for the next generation has taken on a whole new meaning. It’s a matter of spiritual life or death. This tool in the hands of families has the potential to impact them and our society for generations to come.”
“As the father of four adult children who are starting their own families, I can easily affirm that Do Your Children Believe? by Terence Chatmon is a highly needed resource. While I am thankful that all of our children and their spouses are followers of Christ, I have become acutely aware that the process of parenting does not end when your children leave home. Rather, the process of mentoring and providing counsel continues. Fortunately, Terence provides the vision, structure, and encouragement needed to continue on the path of providing spiritual instruction to your family, even as you move into the next stage of solidifying your family’s legacy.”
“Terence Chatmon is a walking example of open commitment to leading his family’s succeeding generations into an abiding relationship with the Lord. He talks regularly of his heart-felt burden to extend genuine belief in Christ and the authority of the Word of God to the next generation of children who are budding within his own lineage. He personally and professionally mentors young men in the ways of ‘working as unto the Lord.’ Writing a book and walking out what is written can be two separate things, but in the case of Terence Chatmon, his talk and walk are the same. He illustrates with his life how an individual can demonstrate the cascading priorities of God and family ahead of all else.”
“Terence Chatmon’s Do Your Children Believe? provides a powerful blueprint to impact a generation and create our families’ legacies.”
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