Firsthand by Ryan and Josh Shook is a must read. If you are in ministry, lead a small group, a youth pastor or even a parent - this book is a great one to read. Ryan and Josh, brothers, talk about how as Pastor's kids they grew up having a faith but when they went to college and crisis of their own happened, they realized that their faith wasn't firm. How do you have firsthand faith? Faith that is not your parents, teachers, or someone else's but your own.
"It doesn't matter how real your parents' faith is, or anyone else's for that matter, if you don't develop a faith of your own. A handed-down faith that you've never owned for yourself doesn't give meaning to your life...Hand-me-down faith may work when things are going well, but when pressures and problems hit, what you thought you believed will crumble." pg. 5
8 chapters, including: Why Firsthand Matters, Sick of Secrets, Real Faith, Real Change, and First Hand Community, bring you through the process of having "hand-me-down" faith and turning it into "firsthand" faith. Each chapter has some letters and responses from real people, a Think About It, and a Might Try This section to help you apply what has been taught to your own life and pass it on to others.
As a pastor and a mom, I want my children to have a strong belief in Jesus Christ but I don't want it just to be something they put on because of me. I want them to have a firsthand faith, a faith that withstand the test of time, trials and anything that this world gives to them.
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