7 Christian Parenting Books You Need

Besides the bible, Christian parenting books are an amazing resource for trying to raise kids today.

Let’s face it, parenting is hard. And most of us have no idea what we’re doing. But we can always learn how to handle things and approach situations better.

Before I had kids I always  had a book in my hands. I could get through a book in two or three days then pick up the next one.

It’s not that I don’t absolutely love to read anymore but there are too many other important and time consuming things that need to come first. Plus by the end of the day I’m usually too exhausted to even be able to process what I’m reading.

But I’ve decided that as a Christian mom, it is my responsibility to be the best mom that I can be and that God has given me the ability to be. So I made it my mission to find the best Christian parenting books to help me raise my kids.

Parenting: 14 Gospel Principles That Can Radically Change Your Family

I really enjoyed reading this book and learned a lot more from it’s 14 short chapters than I ever could’ve on my own. Tripp points out that parenting by yourself is an impossible task that no one could ever manage without the help of God. He shows that we are more like our children than we realize which is why it is so crucial to have grace with them just as the Lord has grace with us, his children.

We cannot continually drill the law and rules into our children until they are obedient because that will do nothing to help direct their heart toward God. No one but God can change the heart of your child, it is not your job to try and do so. But we can be his tool of rescue and transformation. Our tenderness and humility becomes a workroom for God to do in the heart of our children what we can’t do.

Raising Kingdom Kids: Giving Your Child a Living Faith

Evans begins this book by describing a family trip to Disneyland when his son, Jonathan, had wandered away. He uses it as an example that in life our children will be distracted by what our world sets before them but it is our job as parents to “locate them, guide them, and bring them back.”

He uses the story of Daniel and how he stood strong in his faith even though everything around him was trying desperately to strip him of it. This is exactly how we as parents hope our children will react when we finally send them off into the world. Broken into three parts of Establishing a Kingdom Mindset, Cultivating a Kingdom Atmosphere, and Instilling Kingdom Virtues, Evans uses his experience as a parent and a ministry leader to give solid and wise advice on raising the next generation of kingdom kids.

Hands Free Mama

Hands Free Mama is a great book for the mom who is always running around, thinking about what’s next on the to-do list. Stafford was just like the rest of us moms with too much to do and too little time to do it. Until one day she decided enough was enough. She takes you through her journey and experience of going hands free.

By doing simple things like choosing what matters, recognizing the gift of today, and remembering life is precious, you have more time to focus on the most important things in life like God and all that he has given us.

Raising Grateful Kids in an Entitled World

Is this not what every mother strives for? Throughout this book Welch gives her perspective and advice for training children to be thankful in all things. On page 11 Welch writes, “…parents who want less-entitled kids have to be less entitled themselves, and parents who want to raise more grateful kids need to start by living more grateful lives.”

As a parent it’s hard to remember that there are always little eyes watching and little ears listening. The most important thing you can do as a Christian parent is to lead by example. As well as advice and her own experience raising grateful kids, Welch list ways at the end of each chapter to put into practice being more grateful and less entitled for parents and your kids.

A Mom After God’s Own Heart

This book was very different from all the other Christian parenting books I have read. It basically consists of ten easy and simple things you can do every day to be a Godly mom. This book really opened my eyes to how important small, every day tasks can be in raising your children to love the Lord!

It gives great examples of mothers from the bible like Hannah, the mother of Samuel, who spent the first three years of her sons life endlessly teaching and praying with him so he was prepared to enter the temple at Shiloh! This book is filled with wonderful ways to begin training your children to be servants of God, no matter how young they are!

Don’t Make Me Count to Three

This is an amazing book! Most of the Christian parenting books I have read are all about reaching your child’s heart instead of just correcting the behavior, which I am completely on board with. BUT this book finally gives examples and scriptures to use in those situations and shows how exactly to go about doing that.

A verse used often throughout the book is Proverbs 29:15 “The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.” This made me realize that through my two short years of being a mom I was only using the rod (discipline) to correct my child’s behavior without the reproof.

Hubbard explains how crucial it is to not only correct the wrong behavior but to reach your child’s heart in explaining why it is wrong (using God’s word) and what the right behavior is. If you are struggling at all with reaching your child’s heart I strongly suggest reading this book.

Gospel-Powered Parenting: How the Gospel Shapes and Transforms Parenting

This was another great book that also focused on reaching the heart of your children while offering new perspectives and ideas about Christian parenting. Farley starts the first few chapters by talking about God and a few important principles that will come into play later on in the book.

He then describes how crucial a strong and functioning marriage is for raising children because it is the biggest example of Christianity that they will witness day after day. He then spends a chapter talking about the effects a God-fearing father has on his children and how much greater of an impact he has then a mother alone. Farley uses the rest of the book to talk about discipline and love, and how absolutely essential both are in raising your children to grow up to love the Lord.