Product Overview
A down-to-earth guide for families wanting to practice their faith at home and live out their values in the world.
Followers of Jesus know that when we serve people in need as he would, it’s as if we are serving Jesus himself. Like Jesus says in Matthew 25:40, "Just as you did it to one of the least of these . . . you did it to me.” Feeding the hungry, caring for the poor, working to make the world a better place for everyone—we know these are essential parts of living out our faith. But when we’re in the thick of raising kids, working and parenting, struggling to keep all our plates spinning, it’s hard to get the people at our own table fed, much less the people going hungry across town. How do we combat homelessness when there’s homework to be done, and how do we involve our kids in social justice when social media demands their attention?
Author Mihee Kim-Kort is a pastor and busy mom of three who understands the challenge of wanting to serve people in need and advocate for justice—and teach her kids to do the same—when a million other things are vying for her attention. Chapters on poverty, racism, gender inequality, climate change, peacemaking, and more both inform and equip grown-ups so that they and the kids in their lives can practice seeing and being Jesus in the world as they work to serve others with compassion.
Parents and caregivers will learn more about these complex issues plaguing our world, what the Bible has to say, and how to share these insights with kids in age-appropriate ways. Practical ideas throughout the book empower all ages to be the hands and feet of Jesus in the world. Each chapter follows a simple rhythm to help readers move from learning to action. First, you’ll connect the topic with Matthew 25 and other biblical texts. Then, you’ll engage its complexity through social, political, cultural, historical, and theological perspectives. Finally, you’ll be invited to witness by imagining faithful responses, considering practical guidance for action as a family, and using conversation starter questions designed for exploring as caregivers, with youth, and with children. To ground this movement, every chapter concludes with an activity for reflection, an activity for response, and a litany for spiritual practice. Together, these resources help families and communities reflect deeply, take concrete steps, and root their actions in faith.
Published in collaboration with Around the Table, an initiative of the Presbyterian Church (USA).
Reviews
"Mihee Kim-Kort offers both a primer to biblical justice in today’s world and a guide for caregivers to lead the young people in their lives toward just ways of living. With insights for talking with children and youth about poverty, racism, sexism, and more, this is the book progressive families seeking to follow Jesus’s fierce love together have been waiting for."—Jacqui Lewis, senior minister of Middle Collegiate Church, New York City, and author of Fierce Love: A Bold Path to Ferocious Courage and Rule-Breaking Kindness That Can Heal the World
"Through the social and political lens of Matthew 25, the ever-trustworthy Mihee Kim-Kort teaches us that love and justice and peace include our kids, but she doesn’t stop at theory. She guides us into practices, prayers, and postures to disciple well. This compassionate, inclusive, and clarifying book is a gift to all of us who are spiritual caregivers to teens and kids."—Sarah Bessey, author of The New York Times bestseller A Rhythm of Prayer: A Collection of Meditations for Renewal
"Kim-Kort offers the reader a disarmingly tangible way forward in the face of an often-overwhelming sociopolitical reality. Beautifully weaving together Scripture, stories, history, and practical witness, this book is a sermonic invitation toward embodying radical love and courageous justice!”—Gail Song Bantum, coauthor of Choosing Us: Marriage and Mutual Flourishing in a World of Difference
"With pastoral wisdom and prophetic clarity, Kim-Kort helps families of all shapes and stripes see how Jesus is already present among ‘the least of these’ and calls us into courageous, collective action rooted in God’s radical welcome. This book guides readers—across generations—toward the hard, holy work of confronting poverty, racism, gender injustice, climate crisis, and militarism together.”—Liz Theoharis, author of Always with Us? What Jesus Really Said about the Poor