Gentle, compassionate and honest insights for parents whose grown-up children have turned away from faith.
You did your best to raise your child to follow Jesus, but they walked away from him.
Perhaps like the younger prodigal son in the Bible story, they embrace a rebellious lifestyle. Maybe, like the older son, they try to live a moral life apart from Jesus. In either case, they seem hopelessly far from God.
Drawing on over four decades of pastoral experience, Paul Mallard shares practical wisdom and biblical truths that will give you comfort, courage and hope in the gospel.
You will be helped to…
Gentle, practical and honest, When Children Walk Away from Jesus offers renewal and support as you continue to point your grown-up child to the one who is mighty to save.
Each chapter is followed by reflection questions that can also be discussed with a spouse or in a support group for parents of prodigals.
Introduction
Epilogue
| Contributors | Paul Mallard |
|---|---|
| ISBN | 9781802543773 |
| Format | eBook |
| First published | December 2025 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | The Good Book Company |
"Is there any area of our lives in which we need comfort and hope more than in our parenting? Paul Mallard gives us sound biblical guidance, practical wisdom, and enough hope to keep praying for our children, whether they are walking with Jesus or not."
"Paul Mallard has drawn on decades of pastoral experience to provide practical wisdom for parents in pain. Writing with biblical conviction and compassionate understanding, Paul addresses the problems parents of prodigals face and the questions they ask. Highlights for me include Paul’s application of 1 Corinthians 13 to loving rebellious children; his ten ways to pray for unconverted loved ones; his exhortation that ‘we must not let our unsaved children drive a wedge between ourselves and our spouses’; his counsel on relating to loved ones who experience same-sex attraction and gender confusion; and his affirmation that the strong bond of parental love is a reflection of the love of God, which never lets his people go. I was helped by reading this book and quickly thought of others to whom I’d like to pass it on. I expect you will find the same."
"As a redeemed prodigal and now a parent myself, I found Paul’s words to be grace-filled, practically helpful and full of hope. Regardless of the stage of life, When Children Walk Away will spur on and encourage every Christian parent longing to see their child’s life redeemed by the power of Jesus."
Excellent book on a tough topic. Author goes beyond surface-level insights.
* "There is a kind of gravity about parental love which you only discover when you become a parent. Of course our children love us, but the love that we have for them is usually more profound and sacrificial ... the pull towards them is like gravity."
* " ... we must avoid the idea that our child's salvation depends on what we do. Some children are saved in the absence of good Christian parenting, while in many a believing family, some children are saved but their brother or sister is not."
* "Allow yourself to enjoy all God's gifts, including the gift of your children, and don't be weighed down by a burden of guilt that Christ died to remove."
* "There is a great mystery about the way in which God chooses to save people. Without denying human responsibility, every conversion involves a miracle. And only God can work this miracle. Although we are accustomed to riding in to rescue our children when they are in trouble, in this area we are powerless."
* "When children are small, it's normal for them to echo the faith of their parents. This is not necessarily an indication of saving faith. It might be. But it might not be. If they are not currently 'walking with the Lord,' it might be because their faith was not genuine in the first place. Or it might be that they are in a backslidden condition. We just don't know. And because we don't know, it is not enough to rest our hope on a mere profession of faith at any age."
* "We sometimes imagine that some people, because of their temperament or life circumstances, are naturally closer to accepting the gospel than others ... God can overcome any barrier."
Little book that packs a big punch. Definitely recommend.
What is a parents greatest pain? A child walking away from the Christian life. I have seen my sister walk awake from the Christian faith in recent years and have seen the pain it has given my father and mother. They long for her to come back into the fold. I have got this book for my dad for to help him in praying for my sister. It is all to God to bring anyone to him and continue to pray that God will.
There are practical thought provoking questions at the end of every chapter to help think about the chapter.
Some of the chapter titles will prove very helpful:
What Is My Child's Greatest Need?
Where Did We Go Wrong?
Does God Promise to Save Our Children?
Can I Grow Through the Pain?
