In my humble opinion, there has long been a dearth of quality books, if any at all, aimed at the youth of the church as well as their parents, in particular efforts that assist both in obtaining and providing respectively a firm foundation in Scripture. Given the troubling statistics concerning the departure of youth from the church once they reach college age never to return more often than not to church, it is essential to address this problem. One way to address this mass departure is to ground kids in biblical truth. Starr Meade, in her book Give Them Truth: Teaching Eternal Truths to Young Minds, sets out to do just that.

When I saw this book I have to admit I was very excited. It is not often I come across a book with this subject matter and with this particular cross-section of individuals as the focus of discussion. Furthermore, I have a 13 year old daughter who is in that group being targeted by the barrage of carnality in our world today, the allure if you will that attempts to draw so many of our youth away from truth. After reading this book and the plethora of helpful information provided by Meade, let’s just say my excitement has only served to increase as I have been provided with a great many tools to use in my own home regarding teaching these eternal truths of Scripture to the young mind that resides in my home.

Meade notes in the preface this book “is not a book on parenting. It is a book on teaching, and it is directed to anyone – parent, grandparent, teacher, or pastor – who teaches children.” She divides her effort into three sections wit part one addressing the unfortunate reality that far too many children are biblically illiterate, part two discusses the basic doctrines of the faith children should be taught, and part three gets into some specific concepts and ideas to drive home those basic doctrines. Additionally, Meade provides an excellent list of resources for children, parents, and all those who will even remotely be involved in teaching children biblical truth. Since all in some way or another will at some point in their life engage with children, this book and the recommended resources should be part of our collective toolkits.

If there was one portion in this book that struck me the most and was a veritable and need punch in the gut it was the following: “Make the time to give your children (or students) rigorous, diligent instruction in the Bible and in Christian doctrine. You don’t have to teach it all overnight; you can take years to teach, and then go back through and reteach. But find or create a plan, and then work your plan. Purposefully teach the whole Bible, in its broad overview and in its details, to your children. Choose a method for making sure they are learning the doctrines of the Christian faith well enough that they will be able to articulate them back to someone.”

While many books on this subject matter only provide lip service and frightening statistics while falling short on sound methodology to address the issue at hand, Meade’s effort avoids these pitfalls. This book is overflowing with sound methodology and helpful tools to assist parents and teachers in their effort to invest in their children with the message of Scripture. In an age where many youth programs seem to be more entertainment minded, Meade saliently reminds the reader of the need to teach our children issues such as the importance of God’s law and the high standards set forth in Scripture. Why? She rightly notes, “A correct understanding of our holy God will give our children a sense of right and wrong, sin and guilt. A right knowledge of God’s grace and of the gospel will give them the power and boldness to go out each new day, regardless of yesterday’s failures, and begin anew to live faithfully for God’s glory.”

If you are a parent who has been struggling with how to teach your children the truth of Scripture then this book is for you. If you are involved in children’s or youth ministry and understand there needs to be more to what you offer than funny videos and games, this book is for you. The time is now to get serious about training the next generation in the foundational truths of God’s Word. Meade’s book is a valuable tool for engaging our youth in a way that will have a lasting impact on their lives and I highly recommend it.

This book is available for purchase from P&R Publishing by clicking here.

I received this book for free from P&R Publishing for this review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”