Grounded in Grace: Helping Kids Build Their Identity in Christ

Grounded in Grace gives parents a guide to understanding how a child’s identity is formed in today’s world and why it leads to insecurity and confusion.

Children and teens face a tremendous amount of pressure from their peers and culture to find their identity in their activities, feelings, or performance. This modern way of looking at identity can be challenging to navigate for parents who grew up with a traditional view of identity rooted in predetermined roles. What if they could help their children and teenagers find their identity in something that never went away and never changed based on their ability or performance—an identity grounded in God’s grace?

Jonathan Holmes explores the five core areas of identity struggles most common to teens: sports, academics, moralism, sexual orientation, and gender confusion. He provides parents with a biblical foundation to work from and practical tools to help their teen find their identity based on who God says they are.

• Encourages parents to play a crucial role in guiding their children through the challenges of identity formation, encouraging a reliance on a stable, God-given identity rather than conforming to external or internal pressures.
• Helps parents to engage in gospel-centered conversations with their children and teens, using reflection questions for self-examination.
• Readers will be guided in helping children and teens build their secure identity on the gospel of grace.

AUTHOR

Jonathan Holmes, MA, is the Founder and Executive Director of Fieldstone Counseling. He previously served for fifteen years on the pastoral teams of Parkside Church and Parkside Green. He is the author of several books, including Counsel for Couples, Rescue Skills, and Rescue Plan. Jonathan serves as a visiting faculty member and on the Board of Trustees for CCEF (Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation), as well as an instructor at Westminster Theological Seminary.  He and his wife, Jennifer, have four daughters.