“Forensic Faith for Kids” by J. Warner Wallace – Review

I think that it’s really important for kids to study their Bibles – to be adults of faith, they must make faith their own.  That’s not easy to teach, though, and that’s why I was very excited to read J. Warner Wallace’s newest book Case Makers Academy book Forensic Faith for Kids, provided by David C Cook.

I found out about Wallace not long ago, when his first book for kids was released: “”Cold Case Christianity for Kids,” and I’ve read the second one, “God’s Crime Scene for Kids,” as well.  I was excited to find that Wallace’s third offering in the series is just as fantastic as the first two.

 

I love the set-up of the book:  the reader is part of a detective academy being taught by a detective at the local police precinct.  He’s a mentor to the kids in his class, and he teaches them detective techniques that they can then apply to all sorts of situations – but in the book, they solve both a real mystery and apply their skills to a faith problem.

That’s actually the exact problem from the book: a friend is questioning the Gospel, and the kids want to answer his concerns, but they don’t know how.  Throughout the story, the detective gives them tips about how to solve the real-life missing puppy problem they have, as well as giving them direction about how to search for evidence that Jesus is the son of God in the Gospels.  Forensic Faith for Kids uses this approach to apologetics and makes it very understandable for kids.

I love the things that the kids do to prove this – they go to a pastor for help, where they learn a note-taking technique to use with their Bible reading; they look to scripture for evidence; they study and pray and share their findings with each other.  I love this!  The kids in the book take practical steps to solve their problem and learn how to study their Bibles, and this is a great example for our own kids.  With each step wrapped in detective terminology, it feels professional in a fun way, but each one is legitimate, practical advice that can be used by anyone of any age.

There are great resources to accompany this book, as well.  Wallace has a fantastic website with separate pages for each book.  Within that page, each chapter has a video featuring him introducing the chapter and the skills within it, in addition to some important printables you can use with your kids:  a training activity sheet, an Academy Notebook sheet, and an adult leader’s guide.

These printables are really important.  They’ll help your students dig deeper into each chapter.  The notebook sheet is really a chapter outline, but it will make you think critically about the concepts in the chapter.  These would be great to print and assemble into a notebook so that they can all be together.  The activity sheet contains games or puzzles that use the skills within the chapter.  The leader’s guide has discussion questions and a summary of important concepts from the chapter.  There are also printable detective name badges and graduation certificates.  All of these pieces would make it very easy to teach this at Sunday School, a co-op, or within a youth group.

A few months ago, I taught Wallace’s first book, Cold Case Christianity for Kids, in the academy style that he recommends to some kids at our church.  The class went really well (in large part because Wallace provides such great resources) and the kids have asked for more.  Forensic Faith for Kids will make a great follow-up!

Forensic Faith for Kids is a must-read for kids who want more information to make the Christian faith their own.