Our families are either a source of great joy or great pain for us. Probably both. Families are the context in which we learn to trust and love and grow and where we learn to be human. Churches and family ministry are resources for families which help nurture families and help them grow. But what is the purpose of family ministry? What is the nature of family and how do churches support families and help them fulfill their calling?

Diana R. Garland, dean of the Baylor School of Social Work, wrote Family Ministry: A Comprehensive Guide to help family ministries support Christians as they live out their faith through their families. She draws on her own experience as a social work educator, researcher, family ministry consultant, congregant and family member (17). The first edition of this book won the 1999 Academy of Parish Clergy book of the year to Family Ministry. This edition substantially reorganizes the original material, integrating the biblical content with the social sciences and the theoretical with the practical (this edition also provides indexes which were missing). These changes make this book slightly longer than the first edition (656 pages). Having not read the first edition, I can't say whether this edition improves upon Garland's earlier effort. However I can tell you that this is hands down the most helpful book on ministry to families. Period.

Family Ministry is divided into four sections. In the first section Garland sketches the American concept of family in history and the current forms of family. She relates that to the history of Christian thought and biblical teaching on family. The sociological, historical and biblical data demonstrate that family is a fluid concept which has changed over time, often taking different forms. The 'traditional' family consisting of a breadwinner father, homemaker mother and dependent children has not been the reality for 'more than 5% of Christian history'(40). Within the current American context, families are increasing defined by persons choosing to be family, the purpose of family is no longer birthing and raising children and marriage is' no longer the exclusive social location for sexual partnering (48).' The Christian and Biblical understanding of family affirms monogamous marriage is the proper context for sex but also challenges the 'traditional' definition of family. Jesus relativizes commitment to families of origin and recasts family as the community of faith. In light of this, Garland proposes:

The church is community on mission , a community that attempts to embody the characteristics of Jesus Christ. With that community on mission as the context, family ministry is any activity that directly or indirectly (1) forms families in the congregational community; (2) increases the Christlikeness of the family relationships of Christians; or (3) equips and supports families for the work to which they are called together (120).

These three prongs of Family ministry provide the structure for the rest of the book.

In section two, Garland probes family formation and how the congregational community can support families. She discusses how families relate to one another, how families develop, how physical and social spaces nurture individuals and families, the impact of stress, crises and castastrophe on family life and how cultural and ethnic identity inform our understanding of 'family' and our expectations. Garland begins this section by telling the story of one group of individuals who become family for one another and discusses how the concept of Christian family both builds on cultural definitions of family while remaining distinct (15). She presses the notion that families develop in stages (linearly) and suggests that families develop cyclically (as phases of relationship). Her exploration of how culture shapes our understanding and expectations of family also reveal the way in which rituals, culture and shared stories nurture give families their identity and nurture them. This has implications for congregational life.

Section three is about interpersonal dynamics within the family and how family ministry can help families become more Christlike. Garland talks about the dynamics of communication, conflict and anger, forgiveness and repentance and intimacy. She explores the nature of power and roles, arguing for a more egalitarian approach to family relationships. She also discusses the appropriate and most effective forms of discipline and the problem of family violence and how ministers should address the issue of abuse

Section four is where Garland explores how families fit within the mission of the church and how families and churches mutually support one another in extending God's kingdom. Congregations support family life when they have hospitable worship services which welcomes and includes every member of the family, nurtures their formation, offers pastoral care and leadership. Garland also provides a template for assessing congregations, neighborhoods and evaluating family ministries. She concludes by providing a number of examples where congregations have provided programs and ministries which nurture neighbors and families and invites families into the work of ministry.

Generally I find that certain words in a book title over promise. When a book says it is a 'comprehensive guide' I wonder if it can possibly deliver on its promise to say everything that needs to be said about its topic. However Garland largely succeeds. She has written a book which is practical, theologically astute, makes good use of sociological research and addresses many of the dynamics of family life. Not everyone will agree with her conclusions (i.e. my complementarian friends would likely be unconvinced by her biblical defense of egalitarianism), but she is a great dialogue partner and she weds insights from the social sciences with a keen understanding of the mission of the church. Much of the research which this book builds on is summarized in these pages but an extensive bibliography points readers to other resources where they could dig deeper into the topic in a more focused way. If anything is left out of this 'comprehensive guide' it is the way technology is re-shaping family life. The internet, the ubiquity of smartphones and other devices have impacted our relationships with one another. Perhaps in a third edition.

I think this is hands down the best and most comprehensive book on family ministry. I highly recommend to all those who minister to families. That includes more than family ministers, children's ministers, Christian ed directors, and youth pastors. Everyone doing the work of the ministry needs to have an understanding of how families fit within the mission of the church and what the church can do to support them. I found this book to be tremendously helpful and their are sections which I plan on revisiting. It assumes basic knowledge of sociology of marriage and family relationships but is written in an engaging and accessible way. This is a great resource and I am grateful for Garland's insights and thoughtfulness.

Thank you to IVP Academic for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for this review. ( )

I enjoyed this book tremendously. Author is not an LCMS Lutheran, so there were some theological differences. Some decision theology creeped in, but not bad. Also, the book is a little dated. A revision might talk about the benefits and cautions of social media more. But this is an outstanding resource. It talks about what exactly a family is and the many different types of family. God loves families and families are important. "God sets the lonely in families" (Ps 68:6, NIV). What does a strong family look like? It talks about the role of families through history and the church's role and influence on family life through history. It talks about the Biblical foundations for families and Family Life Ministries. How can the church support families in passing faith to the next generations, help keep families strong and healthy and help families survive in times of stress and crisis. Families have always been under attack by Satan and are no less so today.
"Christians should purpose that their families become clear witnesses to the grace and love of our Lord. We aim to demonstrate the transforming power of God's love in human relationships. These relationships transform the world aorund them. The families of Christians have a mission to fulfill. Their communities should experience them as a transformative presence. God has a purpose for families; to be expressed not just in our private lives with one another but also in our relationships in the world around us."
Family is important in our church. We would not exist without strong families and we want to support families.
But it was also interesting to see the church as a family and to consider how this would impact a church's life together.
For a textbook, it wasn't tremendously difficult to read and certainly points to a lot of other areas to study. Very enjoyable and helpful!
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Diana R. Garland is currently a professor and dean of the School of Social Work at Baylor University. She received her undergraduate, masters, and Ph. D degrees at the University of Louisville. She has authored, edited, or co-authored 14 books and has been the editor for the Journal of Family Ministry for several years. She is regularly involved in consulting churches in order to help them develop family and community ministries.

The purpose of the book is “to provide church leaders with a foundation for designing and carrying out congregational ministries with and through families. Its basic premise is that ministry leadership is most effective when it calls out and builds on the strengths of families and congregations.” Garland defines family ministry as “not only the programs and services congregations target to family needs, but more broadly, the ways our entire congregational life shapes and strengthens family relationships.”

Her definition of family is important to note: “family is composed of those who choose to be followers of Jesus Christ and who are caregivers for one another – the ‘family of faith.’”
Garland divides her book into to two parts. The first part provides a comprehensive explanation of the context of families and then in the second part she describes how to practically lead ministries to minister to people in their contexts.

In part one she provides a wealth of sociological information regarding all families in society and some of the challenges they face. Section two reveals the processes of family life, how families interact and grow together in their contexts, eventually identifying characteristics of strong families. Sections three and four discuss the history of families in the church and then the biblical perspective of families.

In part two Garland discusses definitions of family ministry and the impact that can have on ministry to families. A variety of approaches to assessing the needs in the congregation and community are considered that will enable one to effectively plan family ministry for a specific context. She concludes her book by focusing on ministry with “faith-families,” marriage and divorce, parents and children, and families facing challenges. The appendices provide contacts for social justice and advocacy organizations, some resources for family ministry, and a list of all the references cited in the book.

Diana Garland’s book is a comprehensive guide containing a wealth of research and information that will provide anyone serious about family ministry a basis for gaining a full grasp of its complexity. She approaches this work out of the context of a social work background, which is noted in her references and her emphasis on advocacy. Many churches need to hear this perspective because they are often sheltered in their middle class world from the plight of a large percentage of Americans.

She appears to approach the husband-wife relationship from an egalitarian perspective that leads from companionship to partnership as compared to the complementarian view or more traditional view of roles. However, Garland admits, “that neither pattern alone is ideal, and only rare relationships would be wholly characterized by one or the other.”

One would be challenged to find a current book on family ministry that is as well researched from a variety of fields of study. She references a variety of journals and books from different periods of time that demonstrate her comprehensive grasp of family ministry. This work will expose one to several different ways to approach family ministry inside the church and outside the church that will help anyone who has a passion for ministering to families.
Violence among families is an area that Garland surfaces as an area that churches need to address. Social workers often see the affects of violence in families but many churches struggle to see this regularly. Churches can help families tremendously by equipping them to communicate effectively and deal appropriately with anger that brings conflict to a peaceable resolution.

This book is philosophical and practical. Several sections of this book also include an “implications for ministry” section, which provide some practical ideas and questions for people to consider as they develop ministries to families. Anyone wanting to develop a ministry to families will benefit from the resource and concepts presented by Diana Garland. She has been an advocate for families that will affect generations for the sake of the God’s Kingdom.