At Grace Church, a Grace Brethren congregation in Orange, Calif., parents were asking Pastor Mike Sciarra how to teach their children to live a life of faith beyond bringing them to church weekly.
So he taught a class that provided tips for encouraging spiritual growth at home, worshipping together as a family, and helping parents minister to their children.
That class has developed into a book that is being released this month by Grovewood Publishing, Sciarra’s own imprint.
The Family Together: Worshipping God at Church and Home is a practical resource for parents who want to help their children worship God not only at church but at home.
“God intended for kids to hear the Bible with their parent’s voice,” he says, noting that there is a vocal and relational aspect to teaching the faith to children. He’s also watched during more than 20 years of ministry as young people have left the faith because they haven’t felt they were a part of the body of Christ.
“I see in the Bible a multigenerational household discipleship model that has the Bible and prayer as the basis for a life lived in honest, transparent, dependence on God,” he says.
The 96-page, five-chapter book can be used in a group Bible study and includes discussion questions at the end of each chapter. It is available online for $7.99 at amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com. To order in quantity, contact Sciarra directly at mwsciarra@gmail.com.