Contents
Introduction -- 7
1. How the Church Can Help the Family Face the
Future -- 11
Larry Richards
Helping the Family
2. Developing Creative Home Teaching -- 27
Wayne E. Ricker son
3. Family Cluster Education -- 43
Del and Trudy Vander Haar
4. Family Enrichment through the Church -- 60
Julie Gorman
Facing the Future
5. Aged Family Members and the Church -- 81
David O. Moberg
6. Families of the Retarded and the Church -- 97
Varina Sue Florence
7. Abortion Faces the Church -- 111
Clifford, E. Bajema
8. Developing Alternatives to Abortion -- 123
Judith Eink and Marjory Mecklenburg
9. Establishing a Daycare Center in the Local Church -- 137
Arnold Berntsen
10. The Church and Professional Family Counseling -- 151
Paul Walker
11. Developing a Church Learning Center -- 163
Morris Sheats
Study Guide -- 171
Gary Collins

The American family is in trouble! The evidence is all around. Unstable marriages, increasing divorce rates, run-away children, self- centered attitudes, breakdowns in communication, fear of intimacy, lack of discipline, confusion over parental roles, loss of moral and spiritual values—these, and a hundred other indicators, cry out that families are struggling to keep alive.
The writers of this book provide a positive approach to family life. They offer their own tried and tested solutions—proven techniques by which families can be strengthened through the outreach and ministry of the local church.
The chapters were originally prepared for the Continental Congress on the Family. They have been edited for this volume by Gary Collins, who has also provided a study guide designed both for group discussion and to help church leaders rethink their ministry to the family.
The authors were selected because of their professional expertise, their Christian faith, and their commitment to helping others make the most of their families.