Believe for It: Passing on Faith to the Next Generation

In this melodious manual, Grammy Award–winning gospel singer Winans (Throne Room) aims to foster intergenerational conversations about faith. “The rising generation is meant to follow the faithful example of the generations who have gone before,” Winans contends, and to that end she offers personal anecdotes and advice on how to pass on Christianity to younger generations. She emphasizes prioritizing church, recounting the community it provided for her while growing up and warning that making church “optional” risks signaling that it’s not important. “Planting seeds of faith” in the next generation requires close relationships characterized by fun, longevity, meekness, and warmth, Winans posits, telling how her parents modeled meekness by asking her for forgiveness if they erred. Encouraging readers to remember to tend to their own faith, Winans shares how her brother’s death at age 48 devastated her and how she kept her faith even as she struggled to understand God’s intentions. She quotes from Ephesians and the Gospel of John to argue that the Holy Spirit “guides the believer into truth” and helps Christians act in accordance with God. Winans’s fans will appreciate the bounty of autobiographical material, and the advice benefits from her optimistic tone. This hits the right notes. (Nov.)