There is one significant reason to purchase and study this book; our student’s future. I’m a full-time pastor and apologist at our local church and for the better part of six years, I’ve been equipping students (and adults) to grow stronger in their faith and learn how to defend it. I’ve also read more books on this particular subject than I care to remember. With the publication of So the Next Generation Shall Know, I could probably replace all of them with this one volume.

I’ve not read anything that so succinctly identifies the crisis of faith confronting our young people today and charts a way to have a meaningful, successful solution to the problem.

To enumerate the many highpoints of this book would take quite a few pages. It’s easy to say, “here is a problem”; it’s quite another thing to say, “here is a solution.” Thankfully, Sean and Jim do both with crystal clarity. I’ll share two highpoints that I found very informative.

The first is a section on “Ten Strategies for Connecting with Generation Z.” They state that one does not need to do all ten, but you should seriously consider doing as many as possible. First on my list would be to “mentor a young person.” This is not to establish a formal mentoring process, but to grow in relationship with a young person. As Sean writes in this section, bringing students to special events goes a long way toward establishing a lasting relationship.

Second on my list is Chapter Six – Love Trains: Resisting the Desire to Entertain Rather than Train. Jim’s insight in this chapter confirms what we’ve all expected; pizza, games and superficial messages are not getting it done for our youth. This might draw them in, but it will not grow them in a way that will equip them to remain strong in their faith post high school.

I have been teaching students outside of their regular Wednesday night youth service now for four years. I’ve done much of what Sean and Jim outline in this book and will be doing more, based on what I’ve read here.

In short; if you care at all about this next generation, purchase this book now. It will not only change student’s lives, it will change yours!