Collect Growing With: Every Parents Guide To Helping Teenagers And Young Adults Thrive In Their Faith, Family, And Future Narrated By Kara Powell Issued As Textbook

parents of a teenager or young adult feel as though they're guessing about what to do nextwith mixed results, We want to stay connected with our maturing child, but we're not sure how, And deep down, we fear our child doesn't want or need us,

Based on brandnew research and interviews with remarkable families, Growing With equips parents to take steps toward their teenagers and young adults in a mutual journey of intentional growth that trusts God to transform them all.
By highlighting three groundbreaking family strategies, authors Kara Powell and Steven Argue show parents that it's never too early or too late to

accept the child you have, not the child you wish you had
work toward solutions rather than only identifying problems
develop empathy that nudges rather than judges
fight for your child, not against them
connect your children with a faith and church big enough to handle their doubts and struggles
dive into tough discussions about dating, career, and finances
and unleash your child's passions and talents to change our world

For any parent who longs for their kids to keep their roots even as they spread their wings, Growing With offers practical help and hope for the daysand yearsahead.
I have loved the “Sticky Faith” concept since I first heard it, and read anything by Kara Powell that I can get my hands on, The importance of passing our faith on to our kids is not something Colby and I take lightly, But we are alao preparing for the day that our kids step out on their own and make a life for themselves, and we understand the importance and responsibility we have to prepare them for that day.
So when I saw this book I knew I had to read it,

The authors tackle the idea of not just raising your kids but actually growing with them, What does it look like to parent a teenager into young adulthood Does your responsibility as a parent end the day they turnHow can you transition into this new role in their life and at the same time set them up for their best success What does encouraging them in their faith in this stage of their life look like These and soooo many more questions were answered in such an incredible way!

If you have kids, or will in the future, or if you work with teenagers or young adults in any way, you need to read this book.
Honestly, its written gold and will help you so much through the transition phases youll face with your kiddos,
This book is filled with insights for parents at all stages of the process of growing with our children, As the mom of two young adults and grandmother of two toddlers, I can relate to the joys and struggles reflected in the book and love how the authors honest and sometimes humorous examples from their own experience illustrate the principles they present.
Another great book from Kara Powell! As a parent of teens, I felt this book was informative and full of ideas to use with my family, I like how the research is woven throughout the book, I also like that this research sheds light on the young adult group sometimes backing up my beliefs of this group while at other times offering a different perspective that helps me to understand them better.
It provides encouragement for parents in the midst of the teen/young adult stage by offering ideas on how to be a better parent but it's not preachy either.
Both Kara and Steven share personal stories where they have succeeded and also where they have failed, It provides hope for parents, We are all on a journey with our children and we need to be growing alongside of them! I really liked the ideas of "withing", "faithing" and "adulting" opening my eyes to seeing things in a new way.
I While designed more for parents than youth ministers, I really enjoyed this book, It is packed full of good and practical advice and tips about parenting children between the ages ofand, I would recommend this book for any parent, grandparent, youth worker, or any adult that interacts with kids/teenagers in any capacity, As a parent, I'm really grateful for this book,
As a pastor, I'm relieved that parents can have this book in their arsenal,

Here's what I love:
, The book is incredibly informative,
Backed by Fuller Theological Seminary, the book is full of original and published research, It's not "fluffy" what they write is what the best data would tell you, It can get stuffy, sometimes, so if you don't care about the research, skip it the authors give you permission in the book,

. It's incredibly practical.
The authors Kara amp Steven give incredible examples, both personal and learned, that are really easily implemented into family life, Every chapter has applications. Some of them are revolutionary, But, I imagine, if you're reading a parenting book, some of the tips won't be that surprising, And honestly, that was okay with me, because it made me realize I wasn't alone!

, It's the perfect combination of depth, length, and levity,
I've readother books for parents this year leave me alone, it's for research, This book said more, more clearly and with more detail, And it was a good time, It's a nobrainer. Kara Powell and Steven Argue begin Growing With by pinpointing the dilemma our kids face in the crucial season betweenandyears of age: “On the one hand, our kids sophistication has accelerated and it seems like they are getting older earlier but on the other hand, they feel less mature as the typical markers of adulthood are now delayed.
” In other words, the transition to adulthood begins earlier and lasts longer in this generation than in previous generations,

How we parent our children changes as they age, Powell and Argue define “Growing With parenting” as “a mutual journey of intentional growth for both ourselves and our children that trusts God to transform us all, ” Growing With helps Christian parents navigate those changes by describing three stages of development our kids go through,

In the “learner” stage ages, our kids enter “a season of rapid physical, emotional, relational, intellectual, and spiritual growth and change, ” As parents, our primary role in this stage is as “teachers,” not in the sense of telling them what to do, but in the sense of “learnercentered teaching, ”

In the “explorer” stage ages, our kids “often venture for the first time away from home or homeoriented routines to pursue their goals, relationships, and beliefs, ” During this stage, parents primary role is as “guides,” shifting “our parenting focus away from setting goals for our kids and toward guiding them on the journey of setting their own goals.
”

Finally, in the “focusers” stage ages, our kids “begin to gain a clearer sense of who they are and have likely made educational, vocational, and relational choices that set them on particular trajectories.
” Our primary role is as “resourcers, ” Our kids come to us for advice because “we have lived through the life events they now anticipate, including career advancement, marriage, parenthood, renting or buying a home, and financial investments.
”

As these changes occur, Powell and Argue urge parents to pay “special attention to three keys areas of our childs exploration: family, faith, and freedom” emphasis in original.
Parents who do so engage in what the authors call the three “dynamic verbs” of “withing,” “faithing,” and “adulting, ”

Withing: “a familys growth in supporting each other as children grow more independent”
Faithing: “a childs growth in owning and embodying their own journey with God as they encounter new experiences and information”
Adulting: “a childs growth in agency as they embrace opportunities to shape the world around them”

The unique contribution Growing With makes to the literature of Christian parenting is its detailed advice about what shapes withing, faithing, and adulting take in the learner, explorer, and focuser stages of our kids lives, and how we should parent as a result.
This advice takes up the bulk of the book chapters, In this review, Im only focusing on the organizing framework, Youll have to read the book to get Powell and Argues detailed advice,

Growing With is a valuable read for parents of adolescents and young adults, It describes the changes our kids are going through, and what kinds of major life choices they are beginning to make using a memorable vocabulary to describe both the changes and the choices.
Throughout, the authors urge parents to keep the lines of relationship with our kids open, even when perhaps especially when they begin to make choices we disagree with.
In that vein, I wish the authors had provided clearer direction to Christian parents about kids and LGBT issues, which are a much bigger deal today than when most of us were growing up.


I close by quoting three mantras the authors encourage parents to tell themselves:

, “Today I will attempt to be in the right place at the right time, ” This means knowing what stage your kids are in and what role your parenting should take as a result,
. “Today I will allow grace to give me courage to take a next faithful step, ”
. “Today I have what it takes to be the best parent for my kid, ”

Its never too late to be a better parent, and Growing With offers valuable advice for better parenting our kids as they emerge into young adulthood.


Book ed
Kara Powell and Steven Argue, Growing With: Every Parents Guide to Helping Teenagers and Young Adults Thrive in Their Faith, Family, and Future Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books,.


P. S. If you found my review helpful, sitelinkplease click “Helpful” on my Amazon review page,

P. P. S. This review is crossposted from sitelinkInfluenceMagazine, com with permission. A helpful guidebook for parents or youth workers needing a game plan for parenting and leading teens, Provides super helpful research info and ideas for practically doing what they suggest, It is a systematic approach and is very detailed and exhaustive, If bought into, I imagine its very helpful for families and groups to have shared language and vision, One of the most reliable and respected voices in youth ministry over the past couple of decades has been the work of Fuller Seminary and its most recent iteration as the Fuller Youth Institute FYI.
Anyone seriously involved in youth ministry particularly in congregational settings would do well to keep a watchful eye on their work, After undertaking some major research initiatives aimed at learning more about young people, the churchs ministry to young people, and the overall trends shaping faith development in young people, FYI and their staff have been hard at work examining and interpreting their findings.
Kara Powell made a big splash in the youth ministry world coauthoring the book Sticky Faith inalongside youth ministry pioneer Chap Clark a widely respected book, More recently in thebook, Growing Young, the authors all FYI staff presented trends within churches they identified as successfully engaging young people,

Next week available Marcha subsequent volume focuses on parents and their roles in “helping teenagers and young adults in their faith, family, and future” as the subtitle reads.
While I found Growing Young a solid resource for helping spur honest discussions among fellow church leaders about how we can effectively engage young people in our ministry, Growing With hit me more between the eyes in its practicality and directness.
I have read few books that had a more direct bearing on my stage of life and the realities of everyday life, It isnt often that I read something and find myself referring to it or recommending it so often and so quickly after I have been reading it, but the stuff that Kara Powell and Steven Argue talk about are the lifeshaping, faithforming issues of the every day life of young people.


The first part of the book presents a highly readable and entirely accessible description of the nuances at play in the broadening category known as “young people” including the broad spectrum of teenagers, adolescents, emerging adults, and young adults On the surface, it seems a bit of a stretch to address parenting insights of children fromto, but the first section sets the course for how it makes perfect sense.
They adeptly highlight the paradox of todays youth culture that faces mounting pressure and expectations at younger ages leading to a “growing up earlier” dynamic, while at the same time prolonging life choices that once were looked at as initiating a person into adulthood marriage, having children, and determining careers.
As these broader sociological realities have elicited a great deal of attention in recent years, Powell and Argue tackle the dramatically important topic of the dynamics of faith development throughout this changing stage of life.


They present three “dynamic verbs” which provide the backbone for the book: withing, faithing, and adulting, They explore the evolution of these verbs through the young adult development from “learners”toyear olds, “explorers” mid teens to, and “focusers” most of thes, While I found the language a tad clunky at times, the picture they draw of what it is like to navigate through this time of life from both sides as a young adult and as a parent really brings to life the issues at hand in faith development.
They emphasize an often neglected point for parents that parents and their relationship and role is changing just as the child is experiencing dramatic changes,

The authors dedicate one section to each of the verbs withing, faithing, and adulting, and do a wonderful job of integrating statisticallyvalidated insights, parenting stories from their own families, wisdom from others, and practical suggestions for implementing the ideas they propose.
At the end of of the each of these chapters there are several suggestions for experimenting with “withing” philosophies see what I mean about the clunky play of the words!

I found myself nodding my head often as they talked about the unique challenges and needs of the “learners” currently where my own children are.
Powell and Argue come across as transparent and authentic as they discuss their own challenges as parents sometimes looking back at mistakes theyve made in the past while at other times confessing the challenges of their current life setting.
There is nothing trite about their proposals, They tackle head on many of the complexities facing families today including: economic challenges facing young adults starting out on their own, increasing complexities in romantic relationships online relationships, having a gay or transgendered child, and the call for parents to say something about their faith.
Christianity Today ran an article adapted from this book highlighting this very point, I especially appreciated their acknowledging that faith discussions can seem forced, awkward, and challenging even for ministers talking to their own children but they remind the readers how essential it is to have these intentional conversations.
This discussion alone is worth the time and money of the book,

There are few voices within youth ministry that speak with the authority and respect of FYI, and this book will do nothing but further their reputation, I cant recommend this book enough to any parent of young people or to anyone who cares about the faith we are passing on to young people in the church today.
Each chapter ends with a series of questions that will help facilitate deep and meaningful conversations about a very important topic, and I hope to lead a class at our church using them very soon.
Do yourself a favor and pick this book up soon! Find a group of parents that you can read and discuss this book with you wont regret it!,