October 2023 Book Club Recommendations

October 02, 2023

Our goal in the Foundation Worldview Book Club is to provide resources for you to have meaningful, literature-based worldview discussions with the children God has placed in your care. We work hard to choose books with insightful, truth-based themes. However, we know that our subscribers will have different convictions about the content they allow in their homes, churches, and classrooms. We encourage you to read the recommended books ahead of time, to ensure that the content fits within the framework you have already established in your ministry context. Please also note that by recommending a certain book, Foundation Worldview is not endorsing every work published by a particular author. Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, Foundation Worldview will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.

Book for Adults

iGen: Why Today's Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy--and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood--and What That Means for the Rest of Us

Jean M. Twenge

Have you noticed that many teens today are experts at social media and video gameing, yet they show little desire to get their license, work a summer job, or even hang out with friends in person? The teenage years look very different from those in previous decades, which can be both positive and negative. In her book, Jean M. Twenge looks at multiple decades of data to uncover trends with modern-day teens and the cultural realities pushing such trends. While the book does not come from a Christian perspective, and we do not agree with all of the underlying worldview assumptions, the information presented is important for us to understand as we seek to faithfully raise disciples in this current cultural context.

Book for Children Ages 8-12

Gladys Aylward: The Adventure of a Lifetime

Janet and Geoff Benge

When Gladys Aylward set out from England to be a missionary in China, no one expected her to succeed. Having failed Bible college, worked as a housemaid for her professional career, and with only a cardboard suitcase and a fur coat, the road ahead would prove to be the opposite of easy. But when war strikes and the children of Yangchen turn to her for help, Gladys will learn that God does not call the qualified but qualifies the called.

Question 1 - Mrs. Lawson, despite needing Gladys’s help to run the Inn of Eight Happinesses, is not always the easiest person to get along with. How should we deal with conflict between fellow Christians, according to the Bible?

Discussion Guide - Read Matthew 18:15-18 together. Discuss the process Jesus outlined for confrontation and reconciliation. Read Ephesians 4:17-32 together. Discuss what we must do to walk in unity and love with others.

Question 2 - Gladys is made a foot inspector by the Mandarin for seemingly unforeseeable reasons. How did God use this in her life for good?

Discussion Guide - Discuss how Gladys had the opportunity to save many girls physically by unbinding their feet. God also used Gladys’ position to provide many more opportunities to share the gospel with others.

Question 3 - When the children of Yangcheng are orphaned, Gladys willingly helps them and risks her life to bring them to safety. What does this reveal about Gladys’s worldview, what she believes is true about humans?

Discussion Guide - Discuss how Gladys’ actions reveal that she had a biblical understanding of humans, that we are all made in the image of God, and that God loves us and desires that we turn from our sin and be reconciled to Him.

Book for Children Ages 4-7

Betsy Stockton

Laura Caputo-Wickham

As a single, recently freed former slave, Betsey Sotcken was not the typical candidate for a missionary. Yet her love for God and her desire for others to know Him led her to leave her home in Pennsylvania and head to the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii). Betsy’s life is the story of the amazing things an extraordinary God can accomplish through a an ordinary life devoted to Him.

Question 1 - Why did it surprise others that Betsy wanted to be a missionary?

Discussion Guide - Discuss how Betsy was born a slave and she did not have a husband, but that did not stop her from wanting to share the good news of Jesus with others.

Question 2 - As a missionary, what kind of things to Betsy do?

Discussion Guide - Discuss how she shared Jesus with others, taught children, and did many ordinary yet important things such as cleaning, mending, and cooking.

Question 3 - When Betsy had hard, scary, or lonely days, what did she do?

Discussion Guide - Discuss how Betsy remembered God’s Word and the promises He had made.

Bonus Question - If your child has gone through the Foundation Attributes of God Curriculum, ask your child what attributes of God could have comforted Betsy during her times of difficulty as a missionary.

Discussion Guide - Discuss different attributes covered in the curriculum, what they mean, and how they apply. Some examples are God is immutable, omnipotent, omnipresent, faithful, love, etc.


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