“Raising Godly Children” is an excellent approach to raising children. While it is not filled with an exposition of Scripture or hundreds of principles or techniques and methods, it does provide essentials for establishing children as arrows into the next generation. Currently, even the church is failing to launch children into the next generation as 80-90% of children are leaving the church when they graduate from high school. Ken and Steve Ham (brothers) highlight the crucial premise for raising godly children – build relationships with your children founded upon the authority of God’s Word. Parents have the privilege to give an inheritance from God for their children to live up to for their children. Thus they must be people who rely on God for building and protecting their family from the enemy’s deception and distractions in the world with a gratefulness of being called into fulfilling the great commission.

The Ham brothers put the responsibility for raising godly children, not on the church and certainly not on the government schools, but right where the responsibility belongs, on the parents and specifically the dad (Eph. 6:4). The dad can have the most significant impact on children if he will demonstrate to his children his love for the Lord Jesus Christ by his love for Scripture. That will be seen by relying upon the authority of God’s Word. Ken weaves in the battle that evolution and “millions of years” are having on destroying the family.  Evolution attacks the authority of God’s Word, because it questions the veracity of Genesis 1-11.  When anyone questions the veracity of Genesis 1-11, then he will also begin to question everything else in Scripture, especially the authority, order and roles in the family.

The Ham brothers also do a great ministry of weaving in their family history, especially the influence of their father, Mervyn Alfred Ham.  Mervyn lost his own father when he was 16, but instead of fueling self-pity, he turned and relied upon his heavenly father and the sufficiency of Scripture to deal with every problem of life. This he passed down to his family. They have many memories of their father talking to the pastor after a sermon and questioning why the pastor would say something contrary to Scripture. Ken remembers his father and mother as far more interested in raising their five children established in God’s Word than tied or devoted to the things of this world.

In anticipation of reading many Biblical principles for raising godly children, I was left wanting after the first three chapters, until I realized Ken and Steve purposely solidify the simple importance of family relationships and involvement in a good Bible-teaching church. There are many principles that are clearly stated, but the foundation, components and building of the legacy are not nearly as important as the family environment of godliness, unity of the family and simplicity of caring for each other.

Each chapter ends with “key thoughts from the chapter” and the later chapters include “building blocks,” that are principles upon which to build the key thoughts.  Additionally there are good questions, from which a small group could use each chapter in the book as a good discussion reference for raising children. I highly encourage you to borrow or purchase this book to learn how to pass on a legacy to your children.