It's Personal: Five Questions You Should Answer to Give Every Kid Hope

What if knowing the answers to five simple questions could give a kid hope?

In a world where kids are known by a number on a jersey, digits on a car pool tag, and random usernames, we need more adults who will stop and take the time to know them personally.

It's Personal is for volunteers and other leaders who work with children and teenagers. A practical guide for a personal (and more effective and fulfilling) approach to leading kids, It's Personal revisits the story of Zacchaeus and explores Jesus' simple model for how to be personal. Jesus' encounter with Zacchaeus shows us how to engage kids and teenagers personally to give them a renewed sense of identity, belonging, and purpose.

Something remarkable can happen when you start seeing people the way Jesus sees them.

Taking the time to answer the five questions in this book for a kid or teenager could radically change someone's faith, maybe even yours.

REGGIE JOINER

Reggie Joiner is the founder and CEO of Orange, a non-profit organization whose purpose is to influence those who influence the next generation. Orange provides resources and training for churches and organizations that create environments for parents, kids, and teenagers. Prior to his work with Orange, Reggie co-founded North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, Georgia, with Andy Stanley. During his 11 years as the executive director of family ministry at North Point, he developed a new concept for relevant ministry for children, teenagers, and married adults. Reggie and his wife, Debbie, live near Atlanta. They have four adult children.

KRISTEN IVY

Kristen Ivy is the executive director of messaging at Orange. A former high school teacher, she received her master of divinity in 2009 and has played an integral role in the evolution of Orange's preschool, middle school, and high school curriculum. Kristen lives near Atlanta with her husband, Matt, and their three young children.

VIRGINIA WARD

Virginia Ward is the associate pastor at Abundant Life Church in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and director of leadership and mentored ministries at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Boston Campus, where she teaches classes in urban youth ministry and leadership and directs mentored ministries. She is a keynote and workshop speaker for the Orange Conference and National Youth Worker Convention. Virginia and her husband, Bishop Lawrence Ward, live in Boston and have two grown sons.