Author Information
The co-author of “Family to Family”, DR. Jerry Pipes “is the Director of Jerry Pipes Productions. Jerry has traveled internationally, speaking to millions of people in assemblies, crusades, and conferences. He has written four books and produced numerous booklets and training processes with more than 13 million copies in print. Jerry and his wife, Debra, have two children, Paige and Josh.” Taken from “Family to Family” Biography, (Back Page).
The co-author of “Family to Family”, Victor Lee “is the Minister of Single Adults and Evangelism at First Baptist Concord, Knoxville, TN. He has been writing professionally for 22 years. Victor entered full-time ministry in 1995. He is a regular contributor and editor of a variety of Christian publications. Victor has written sports and special event evangelism materials with worldwide distribution. He lives in Wake Forest, N.C., with his wife and partner in ministry, Judy. Taken from “Family to Family” Biography, (Back Page).
Content Summary
Family to Family is a book that outlines how to effectively disciple our children and contains a foreword that assigns the “business of home” with the responsibility of “shaping the bodies and souls of humanity”. The Foreword is followed by acknowledgements where the authors thank the various contributors to the body of work to include Steve Green who is cited as hosting the “Family to Family” video. The introduction is the next section of the book and consist of an explanation of what the gist of the book is about. The main goal of the book can be summed up in the opening lines of the introduction: “Family to Family is for hurried parents who deeply desire meaningful family time, true significance, and long to pass the baton of their faith in Christ on to their children.” (Family to Family, PG 1). The following topics are covered in Chapters 1 through 6 and are titled respectively “Healthy Families”, “Developing a Mission Statement”, “Passing the Baton”, “Out of the House, Into the Church”, and “Sharing the Message”. The two remaining chapters consist of the “Conclusion” and the “Endnotes”.
Chapter one points out some of the main characteristics of families that are not healthy and healthy and compares and contrast these characteristics. Chapter one also includes some interesting statistics on the American culture which are listed below:
- Only 34 percent of America’s families eat one meal together each day
- The average father spends only eight to 10 minutes a day with his children. This includes television and meal times.
- Only 12 percent of America’s families pray together.
- The average couple spends only four minutes of uninterrupted time together a day.
Chapter two is devoted to Developing a Mission Statement for the Family. What a mission statement is can be explained best as a blueprint for living family life. It contains all of the important values and attributes that a family holds dear. The family mission starts with the parents and they are the heartbeat of family evangelism. Chapter two outlines a four step process for developing a mission statement to include:
- Step 1: Take a family inventory:
- Step 2: Consider your goals:
- Step 3: Conceptualize the statement:
- Step 4: Fine-tune and personalize the statement:
Chapter two also places an emphasis on the entire family owning the principles outlined in the mission statement and makes provisions for those of us who got a late start at grooming our children in the faith by outlining the steps to take to rectify the situation.
Chapter three is devoted to identifying when a child is ready to receive Christ and list “Signs of Accountability”:
- A child must understand the meaning of sin
- A child must realize he or she has sinned
- A child must realize he or she has sinned against God
- A child must understand that he or she is separated from God because of sin
The rest of chapter three focuses on sharing Jesus with your teens and mentoring your children to maturity and includes seven key elements:
Modeling, Being there, Affirm them, Pray with them and pray for them, Being Transparent, Empowering your children, and making the word of God central to what you do.
Chapter four discusses ways to evangelize outside of the home and incorporates the seven concentric circles of concern which consist of: 1 Self, 2 Immediate Family, 3 Relatives, 4 Close friends, 5 Neighbors-Business Associates, 6 Acquaintances, and 7 Person X. Chapter five also communicates helpful tips for family evangelism with Special-Needs Children.
Chapter 6 discusses ways to effectively reach the community with evangelistic efforts that support growth in church attendance and stresses the importance of prayer in evangelism.
The conclusion contains an illustration that really brings home the point that if we as parents fail to evangelize our children, through them being a witness to us presenting the gospel, then they will perceive that either we as parents are not genuine in our faith or that the Gospel message is being exaggerated because if it were not the case then their parents would be active in ministering to the spiritual needs of the unsaved.
The book concludes with the Endnotes.
Evaluation
Family to Family was an outstanding book that provides a blue print for living family life and from there ministers to the needs of the community. I particularly found the step by step process that the book uses to be very helpful whether it applied to mentoring teens or building a healthy family. I will definitely recommend this book to families who are seeking to improve their family life and looking for ways in which they can best minister to their community beginning at home, with their children, and going from there.
Bibliographical Entry
Pipes Jerry and Lee Victor: “Family to Family”, Publishers Unknown.