Collaborate, by Michael Chanley, is what I’d call a family ministry conference on paper that you can attend at your leisure. Michael Chanley is a self-described “heathen to Marine to children’s pastor” who has a passion for networking those who share his passion for equipping parents to become initiators rather than responders when it comes to their children’s spiritual development. Collaborate is a collection of ministers, teachers and fresh thinkers offering their insights and reflections on what it will take to turn the tide of church-raised children leaving the Christian faith.
Chanley is raising the battle cry and inviting children’s ministry leaders to collaborate – insisting that we must collaborate if we are to reverse this trend. He doesn’t pretend there is a single solution, nor is he pushing a single idea or program or product. Rather, he suggests the solution is collaboration and the exchange of ideas itself. The message I hear is that no longer can we struggle independently, but we must rally together, sharing both our failures as well as our victories. He offers his own free website, cmconnect.org, as one option for the exchange, but regardless of how or where, he has hit the nail on the head.
I hope Collaborate is just the first of many honest collections to come out from many publishers. We need to be looking and listening to churches across all denominations. We are losing the battle for the hearts and souls of our children, and the solution is not another program or product. It is what God gave us in the beginning: the family. Let’s collaborate on how we can help the family. Michael’s book is filled with some great suggestions and ideas on how some churches are doing just that. I’m looking forward to hearing the conversation continue. For it must.
– Karl Bastian, Founder Kidology.org