Transforming Children Into Spiritual Champions: Why Children Should Be Your Church's #1 Priority [Hardcover]

George Barna (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 21, 2003

No one can deny that our culture is opposed to Christian values, and the influences bombarding our children’s moral development can be deadly. But few parents and church leaders realize how critical it is to start developing a child’s biblical worldview from the very earliest years of life. The problem is complex: parents who themselves did not receive early spiritual training leave their children’s training to the church. Yet the church often focuses on older children—not realizing that a child’s moral development is set by the age of nine. The answer is for churches to recognize the need to come alongside parents to provide them biblical worldview training, parenting information, counseling, etc., that will equip them to help their children become the spiritually matuare Church of tomorrow. Profiles presented of churches who are effectively ministering to children and winning the war our enemy is waging against them\.   Research orientated books on childhood spiritual development. Raising Heaven Bound Kids in a Hell Bent World by Eastman Curtis / What Your Kids Need to Know About God and When by John Trent / Introducing the Spiritual Side of Parenting by Ron Clarkson / Bringing Up Boys by James Dobson.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

In the simplest terms, cultivating a biblical worldview means learning to think and act like Jesus. But how can the Church— and parents—teach children something their own parents didn’t know to teach them? Many parents have never had early spiritual training, so they look to the church to provide it for their children. The problem is, churches usually focus on teens and adults—failing to realize that a child’s moral development is set by the age of nine. The answer? George Barna says that churches must begin now to come alongside parents and equip them to provide their children—at the earliest age possible— with biblical precepts that will protect them from a barrage of worldly ideas and teaching that is hostile to the biblical worldview. Churches must also think in terms of providing parents with information and counseling that will help them rear their children to be followers of God. It’s time to wage a spiritual war—time to equip parents to help their children become the spiritually mature Church of tomorrow, literally transforming them into spiritual champions!

About the Author

GEORGE BARNA  is the directing leader of The Barna Group, a company in Ventura, California, that provides research and resources to Christian ministries. He is the best-selling author of more than 35 books, several of which have received national awards. Books he has authored include Transforming Children into Spiritual Champions, Think Like Jesus, The Power of Vision and The Frog in the Kettle. Barna also publishes The Barna Update, a free biweekly research report available  online at www.barna.org. He and his family live in Southern California.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Regal (November 21, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0830732934
• ISBN-13: 978-0830732937
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #94,784 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

George Barna was raised and educated on the East Coast before moving to California in the early 1980s. He held executive positions in advertising, public policy, political campaigns, and media/marketing research before beginning his own company, the Barna Research Group (now The Barna Group), in 1984. The firm analyzes American culture and creates resources and experiences designed to facilitate moral and spiritual transformation. Located in Ventura, California, The Barna Group provides primary research as well as developmental resources and analytic diagnostics. The company has served several hundred parachurch ministries and thousands of Christian churches throughout the country. It has also supplied research to for-profit corporations such as Ford Motor Company, The Walt Disney Company, Visa USA, and Prudential, and has assisted the U.S. Navy and U.S. Army as well.



To date, George Barna has written more than 40 books, predominantly in the areas of leadership, trends, spiritual development, and church health. Included among them are bestsellers such as Revolution, Transforming Children into Spiritual Champions, The Frog in the Kettle, The Power of Vision, and Pagan Christianity? Several of his books have received national awards. He has also written for numerous periodicals and has published various syndicated reports on topics related to faith and lifestyle. He also writes a bimonthly research report, The Barna Update, which is accessed by hundreds of thousands of people through his firm's Web site (www.barna.org). His work is frequently cited as an authoritative source by the media. He has been hailed as "the most quoted person in the Christian church today" and is counted among its most influential leaders. In 2009, George initiated Metaformation, a new organization designed to help people maximize their potential. More information about his current projects is available from www.georgebarna.com.



Barna is a popular speaker at ministry conferences around the world and has taught at several universities and seminaries. He has served as a pastor of a large multiethnic church, has been involved in several church plants, and currently leads an organic church. He has served on the board of directors of various organizations. After graduating summa cum laude from Boston College, Barna earned two master's degrees from Rutgers University. At Rutgers, he was awarded the Eagleton Fellowship. He also received a doctorate from Dallas Baptist University. He lives with his wife and their three daughters in Southern California. He enjoys spending time with his family, writing, reading novels, playing and listening to guitar, relaxing on the beach, visiting bookstores, and eating pizza.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Works Well, October 28, 2004

By 

Joseph Valentine Dworak (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Transforming Children Into Spiritual Champions: Why Children Should Be Your Church's #1 Priority (Hardcover)

This is a good solid book. Too many churches treat children's ministry like a babysitting service and an afterthought. I work at a school that provides MA in Children's and Family ministries and the many many students we have in the program are getting a graduate education in Children's & Family ministries. They are taking this seriuosly, their churches are taking it seriously, and so is George Barna in this book.

There are many stats to back up what he is saying and it is done in plain english. I appreciate the way Barna shares his research and does not seem so profit driven as other Christian writers from big publishing companies.

This, is a good book. Every elder in any church that cares should pick this up and give it a look before the church budgets are set for the following year. I highly recommend it. Joseph Dworak

27 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thoughtful, well-reasoned challenge, May 26, 2004

By 

Thomas J (Dallas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Transforming Children Into Spiritual Champions: Why Children Should Be Your Church's #1 Priority (Hardcover)

Barna is known for writing books based on superb research - and this one is no exception. Drawing from several national studies conducted among children, as well as others among families and church pastors, this book really challenged me to re-think my own assumptions and behavior regarding the importance of ministry to children. The book was helpful to me personally, not only by giving useful insights into why focusing on substantive ministry to children is so critical - he offers some very eye-opening information in that regard - but also providing specifics on how to reach kids more effectively. The last few chapters outline what churches can do to facilitate parents being more effective and how churches can assist parents rather than replace them. A disturbing book in some ways - the spiritual state of children, as described, is frightening - but a hugely helpful, practical and needed book. Every parent and every pastor should read this one!!!

33 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars This was a serious disappointment to me..., March 2, 2006

By 

Chad Oberholtzer (Boalsburg, PA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Transforming Children Into Spiritual Champions: Why Children Should Be Your Church's #1 Priority (Hardcover)

I have never read anything by George Barna, though I have heard a great deal about him, as his statistics seem to be quoted by every Christian speaker under the sun. From that perspective, I expected great things from this book. Truthfully, I was disappointed.

To be fair, he does present a solid case that God cares deeply about children, so the church should care about children, too. But that's not something that any reasonable church leader would dispute.

His description of what effective churches are doing was compelling and caused me to consider those various strategies. However, I wish that he had been more specific through that chapter, to identity what specific churches had done in detail. Instead, he chose to speak in very general platitudes. Again, with such generalities, it is hard to disagree, but it also tends to be much less instructive to the reader.

My first primary criticism of the book is that, as mentioned in some other Amazon reviews, the statistical data seemed to be rather sparse. The book served largely as a forum for Barna to sermonize about ministering to children. Though he had some good things to say, his reputation suggests that he comes from a very objective place of analytical research. That did not seem to be the primary thrust of this book. Maybe I had unreasonable expectations, but this book is not a statistical analysis of the state of contemporary church ministries to children. A few stats are mentioned (and even repeated) throughout, but I wanted more.

I also felt like his claim that children's ministries should be THE primary focus of church ministry was a stretch, and not well-supported. That churches should make ministry to children ONE OF THE primary focal points is something worth articulating. And he raised good questions as to whether this is even the case in many churches. But to suggest, rather flippantly, that children's ministries should be elevated above all others seems to be such a dramatic charge that it ought to be extremely well-supported. Based on a lack of the unarguable factual data that I was anticipating, that case was not well made.

And as a final, if rather insignificant, complaint, one of the data charts was totally unreadable. I studied the chart for ten minutes and could not figure out what it was trying to illustrate.

I would suggest this book for anyone who thinks that children ought to be an afterthought for church leaders because Barna conclusively argues that this is far from the heart of God. But if you start with the perspective that children are important, I'm just not sure that Barna has much to offer.