I was on the launch team for this book in 2018 and can not figure out where my review went! So I'm back -- six years later -- because this book was that good. 2018 was, of course, the pre-Covid days, but I think this book is even more important now. Covid seems to have shrunk our world even more, leading us to self-isolate and fear that which is different. Kristen's book is a call to action, to raise our kids to embrace the world rather than to fear it. Looking back on my social media posts from launching the book that spring, I heralded it as "thought-provoking" and "the one title I would gift all my mom friends." My two kids were younger then, but they had already had the gift of a family service trip to a tiny village in Nicaragua. While the adults distributed water filters and led health & hygiene classes, my two enjoyed playing with all the local kids. The joy of that week altered their worldview, teaching them that there is much more to life than the typical trappings of an American upbringing. It is that kind of lens that Kristen shares with parents -- we can't all take our kids on service trips, but we can raise them to see the world beyond their own daily lives.

Welch has always challenged me with her words but WHOA! This book has so many hard truths spoken right alongside examples her family has lived out. We live in such a selfish world. It's easy to get wrapped up in the world and forget what we are here for..."We have a choice: we can let the world change us, or we can change the world." I want to be a world changer. I want my kids to see me being a world changer. My favorite parts of this book are the probing questions she asks at the end of each chapter. They have been great conversation starters with my kids.

Great tips from a real family to help navigate raising kids in today's world where life so often is self focused!

If you don’t know Kristen Welch from We Are That Family, you should. I have been reading her blog for years. I love her honesty, she doesn’t portray herself as perfect or have it all together, but she is the real deal, sharing her struggles and what she has learned from them. She isn’t one to tell us what to do or give you some guilt trip, but points to Jesus. She has written a new book titled Raising World Changers in a Changing World. This book is so much more than what I thought it would be. She writes about parenting struggles, ministry struggles, culture problems, and her own issues. This is a book I will go back to time and time again, because of the great message but also the easy to do action steps she provides to do with your family to start making a difference. You do not need to go across the ocean to change the world, so if you are not called to do that, there is no guilt there. These are actions steps you do from your home, in your community, and local areas. She reminds us to change the world, we don’t have to do some grand act, but she discovered that small acts of kindness and compassion to change the world. In addition, when we do these acts they change us too. “We find we are helped when we stop to help others. There is a deep, abiding, secret joy in sharing the kingdom of heaven.”

True Joy = giving is receiving
Throughout this book you will find quotes from many other world changers such as: Francis Chan, John Piper, David Platt, A.W. Tozer, Martin Luther King Jr., etc… Also quotes from her kids and people she has done ministry work with. She shares her experience and struggles in starting a non-profit, about her trips to Africa, and what she has learned. You will find this book encouraging, a blessing to read, and challenging (though it is a good challenge)! After each chapter in addition to some simple actions steps, she asks World Changing Questions to her children, husband, or close friends to let them share what they have learned and/or their thoughts, which can serve as conversations starters with our own families.

I always enjoy reading books by Kristen Welch, and Raising World Changers was no exception. Raising World Changers is about serving others instead of living for ourselves. It's about seeing the needs around us and doing what we can to meet them.

One of my favorite parts of this book was at the end of each chapter when Kristen asked questions of her children, and they shared their answers. It was good to read their perspective on being world changers and to hear from them about being raised in such a counter-cultural way.

Raising World Changers has been helpful for me as I think through how I can teach my children to be servant hearted and generous. After reading this book I have begun to notice more possibilities for my family to serve others. We are limited because of my disability, but even with our limitations, I found this book to be encouraging and helpful. It has challenged me to do what I can to reach out and change the world.

One of the things I love most about Kristen's writing is she doesn't shy away from sharing about the struggles that exist in situations - she is real. Authentic.

Something I struggle with (and many other families do as well) is finding that balance in protecting/sheltering our kids and preparing our kids to do GREAT things - and be in situations that are tough. At times that means going against the "norm" in making a difference.

Throughout the book, Welch offers practical advice and activities for family members to get started serving (and get out of your comfort zone) to make changes in the world around you. The books doesn't leave you with an overwhelming feeling of judgement, but rather inspiration.

Raising World Changers is a book that will leave you mulling thoughts, revisiting passages, underlining a lot, but most importantly - raising world changers.

I loved this book so much that I bought two to give away and am now having my husband read too! So much wisdom, so many tears, and all the praise hands, this book is well worth the read!!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/review/R53HS9IUGLGMK?ref=pf_ov_at_pdctrvw_srp

Raising World Changer in a Changing World by Kristen Welch is a phenomenal guide for families trying to raise children in today's world. I can't say enough good things about this book! Ms Welch sets out a plan for families to teach their children the value of giving and sacrifice. This is a book to read and try and read again. I promise that you'll keep getting more out of it. I highly recommend this book to parents of children of all ages. I received a digital copy of this book. These opinions are entirely my own.

I am still reeling by the enormous wisdom and truth to this book. Kristen’s book is countercultural and there are parts of it that are hard to read— because I’m guilty of trying to protect my kids, to hunker down and ignore anything that seems too difficult. But when I daydream about who I want my kids to be in a decade, I know that I want them to be bold and courageous, to look out for those who have suffered injustice and poverty. And kids don’t just magically grow up to be world changers. Families have to take intentional steps to cultivate it in everyday life, doing everyday things.

Kristen writes about living sacrificially. She questions our blessings and if they’re actually for us to give away, instead of keeping them to ourselves. And she writes at length about the ways her family has found deep satisfaction and purpose as they’ve surrendered their abundance to help others in uncountable ways. She doesn’t shy away from the hard parts of her family's journey. In fact, she says, “God’s divine will is for us to be generous and for us to raise givers. But sometimes the space between his sovereign plan for our lives on the one hand and the redemption of our problems, our pain, and the wayward path we choose on the other hand is difficult to comprehend. It’s much easier to trace the redemptive thread he weaves through the seasons of our lives once we’ve lived them. In the uncertain times living with joy is often discovered not in our gains but in what we give away. We find we are helped when we stop to help others. there is a deep, abiding, secret joy in sharing the kingdom of heaven.”

This is a book that I will read over and over. It won’t collect dust on the shelf. As humans, we don’t drift toward generous living and raising world changers… it has to be an intentional decision we make day after day after day. If you’re looking for a book that will inspire you to raise kids who change their generation, then this is the book you must buy.

Kristen Welch's book was exactly what I needed to read during this season of my life. Her eloquent words and transparency about living a life that is different than much of our world's was both encouraging and challenging. The way Kristen unpacked her work at Mercy House, her family's involvement, and both the small and big things her family does to change the world were practical, heartwrenching at times, and convicting.
One of my favourite features of Kristen's book was the way she interviewed one of her kids at the end of each chapter. It provided a real look into the life of her family, and encouraged me as a parent to see that this way of living life can actually work! Kids can actually get it! I also appreciated her challenges at the end of each chapter - and I'll definitely be implementing them.

This book by Kristen is one I recommend to any parent who's looking for a different way to live life .It will motivate you to look to Jesus, ask Him what He has planned for your family, and reach out to minister to the world around you. It will move you from raising self-centered kids to ones centered on changing the world. A must-read!

You may recognize author Kristen Welch from her blog We Are That Family. I started reading Kristen's blog years ago because the title is hilarious and her posts are truthful, thought-provoking and relatable. When Kristen released her first book Raising Grateful Kids in An Entitled World, I was really excited to read it and even had the privilege of being on the launch team. Not too long ago, I received an email inviting me to participate on the launch team for Kristen's latest book Raising World Changers in A Changing World and I decided to accept the invite. Raising World Changers is a bit of a prequel to Raising Grateful Kids with Kristen detailing how she and her family founded Mercy House Global, a nonprofit that provides jobs for women to care for themselves and their families through the selling of fair trade items in an online store.

In Raising World Changers, Kristen also includes quotes from other sources including John Piper and Randy Alcorn which were very poignant. Kristen is faithful to remind readers that as Christians, we don't give to be saved rather, we give because we are saved. This is such an important distinction to make and I'm thankful for its inclusion in the book. While a large emphasis of Raising World Changers is giving, it is not explicitly referring to financial donations. On page 55 of the book, Kristen invites parents to do the following 4 actions: 1. See the people around you. 2. Spot the needs in others' lives. 3. Scatter Kindness. 4. Start over with number one. She lets readers know that meeting a need can be as simple as building a relationship with the single mom on your child's soccer team and seeing how you can care for her.

Often books of this type can make readers feel guilty for not being able to give more or do more financially but I really liked that Raising World Changers was different because it does quite the opposite. This book encourages readers to look at what they do have that they can give and to start small. Kristen also reminded readers that they don't have to be wealthy to start giving.

"While I respect the work of Dave Ramsey, who encourages people to get out of debt and live debt free, I have always taken issue with the principle that we should live in such a way that later we can give like no one else. He encourages people to 'give like no one else' after they have saved and accumulated wealth. There is no later in terms of the gospel. There is only now. How else can we cultivate a life of giving?" (pg. 115).

Since my husband and I live on a limited budget and are in a season in which we are working toward debt elimination, I appreciated this challenge from Kristen and fully agree with her.

Raising World Changers is a unique and necessary book in the Christian parenting conversation and I'm glad to have read it. Each chapter concludes with members of Kristen's family answering questions regarding the content of the chapter and includes practical actions parents can take with their kids to help them cultivate hearts of generosity.

I didn't have any major concerns with this book but I would like to note that Kristen includes quotes from her personal friend and author, Ann Voskamp. Personally, I'm not a fan of Ann's writing style. I didn't understand why the first quote from her on page 56 was included in the book. To me, it didn't fit well with the rest of the content in the chapter. Also, I've been concerned with Ann's theology since she wrote in her first book, One Thousand Gifts, that she traveled to Paris to, ". . . discover how to make love to God." With this in mind, I urge readers to exercise discernment where Ann's quotes are included.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed Raising World Changers and highly recommend all parents read it.

I received Raising World Changers compliments of Baker Books in exchange for my honest review.

I really appreciated Kristen sharing her family's processes for shifting their worldview and actions they took to make lifestyle changes. The expectations of living that we have in our society is terribly slanted. We value things that have little-to-no eternal value; stuff over people, hoarding riches over helping the poor, and celebrity over practicality. I did expect a little more "day-to-day application," but it's not an issue that it's not included in this writing, because if we live by the principle's Kristen lays out in this book, we will live differently than the "norm" of the US. The questions and answers from the Welch children at the end of each chapter are helpful, to hear things from a young person's standpoint is powerful especially if you have older kiddos. I can recommend this book for anyone who is seeking to have a more powerful worldview and eternal perspective.

I received a complimentary copy of this book to review in exchange for my honest review. (Copied from Amazon review, post pending.)

Most of us want our kids to be happy, and so we make them the center of family life. This just teaches them to believe that they are the center of the world as they grow.
But what if we do something different?
What if, instead of trying to give them happiness (translation: stuff and more stuff), we help them find joy?
Author Kristen Welch shares how being sacrificially generous has changed the way that she parents – and has shaped her children’s personalities. She asks tough questions in this book that are born out of her own world-changing experiences in Kenya, and because she’s an ‘ordinary mom’ like most of us, she shows how possible it is for each of us to change the lives of others.
And changing their lives will change our own.
I read this book just a chapter a day – not because I didn’t want to keep reading, but because Welch asks really hard questions, and I needed time to process them. They are questions about how you spend your money, your time, what your parenting style is, and what your purpose is in life. Those are doozies – but they’re big for a reason.
Those big issues can make big changes.
I finished Raising World Changers a few days ago, but Welch’s words are still swirling around in my head. My Big Helper has been so interested in hearing what I’ve been reading that she’s asked to read it next, and so I’ll be passing it around.
It’s that kind of book. You’ll read it and hit a mind-boggling state and want to talk it over with someone.
Big ideas spark big conversation.
I think the big ideas in Raising World Changers in a Changing World will spark big actions, too, because you won’t be able to hold your same course after reading it.
It’ll change your life.
And then you’ll go change someone else’s.
If you want to find more meaning, more joy, and more purpose in your life, read Raising World Changers in a Changing World. You’ll be so glad you did.
I received a free copy of this book from the author. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this book. I do want to raise kids who are compassionate and generous and loving toward others. I know that part of the way this will happen is for me to demonstrate these qualities myself as their parent. This book spoke to where I am at in my life right now, desiring to live a life that actively loves and serves others in Jesus' name. This book offers encouragement in this area and provides good questions to discuss with kids to help us all consider what our resources are and how we can use them to help others right where we are.

This book is so many things: inspiring, encouraging, convicting, enlightening, honest, and intriguing. Kristen Welch is a talented writer and takes us on a sometimes emotional journey through examples of the people they minister to through their non-profit ministry. She’s also honest about the struggles and rewards which their family sometimes experience as they fulfill God’s call on their lives.

However, the heart of this book is exactly what the title proclaims: “Raising World Changers in a Changing World”. Even though we are no longer in the child-raising phase of our lives, I was personally challenged to reevaluate again my motives for giving and serving those who most need the help or resources I could provide. I’m so glad I read this book and plan to re-read it again.

I highly recommend this book for those parents who still have children at home. This would be a great book for a book study with a group of parents, and maybe even a study that parents and teens could do together.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher. I was not required to give a positive review. This is my honest opinion about this book.