Christian Role Models That Will Skyrocket Your Teen’s Faith

Lately, it has become increasingly popular to see advice about how to raise a world changer. We see social media, videos and blog posts all geared towards raising children that will change the world. We hear that if we grow them to be compassionate, generous, and to love others, they can change the world. Is it that easy?

I should share with you now that I do not know the recipe to grow a world-changing child. But what I do know is that if I teach my children to follow Jesus ultimately and love others, they can impact the world in the way that God has planned for them. That may not be easy, but it does excite me to think about how God might use them one day.

Hearing stories of how God uses the lives of others is hugely inspirational for parents and children alike. As a fellow Christian homeschool family, we try to incorporate great stories of role models who gave their lives to missions, individuals who served in the name of the Lord, and accounts of our Lord’s miraculous work into our homeschool.

I recently got the opportunity to read Eternity Through The Rearview Mirror: How Simple Faith Changes Everything – Seventeen Extraordinary Lives by Annette Hubbell. I am so excited to add this treasure of a book to our family library. It fits perfectly into our homeschool curriculum for my teenager, and I can’t wait to share a little bit about it with you.

Annette Hubbell’s book contains the true stories of seventeen authentic world changers and Christian role models.

My daughter and I walk away struck by every one of the stories in the book. Some of which we have heard or read before, but not told the way Annette tells the story.

She shows the reader how simple faith changes lives and circumstances by recounting the story and detailing the points at which God was at work in the lives of these people.

For teenagers, we need to show them how faith works and provide true stories where God shows up. Proof if you will.

They need to hear the retelling of real stories in history where a situation seems beyond hope and full of despair. But Jesus.

Stories that under “normal” circumstances should very well be over and done, with no way out. But Jesus.

Not only are the biographies of each person’s life beautifully retold, but each chapter or story is also complete with applicable scriptures. Matching relevant scripture to real life events helps our children to see how the Bible is essential to our current every day lives.

The Seventeen Extraordinary People (Christian Role Models) Included in the Book:

Galileo Galilei
Johann Sebastian Bach
John Newton
Elizabeth Fry
Sojourner Truth
Abraham Lincoln
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Harriet Tubman
George Washington Carver
Amy Wilson Carmichael
Mary McLeod Bethune
Aimee Semple McPherson
Corrie ten Boom
C.S. Lewis
Gladys May Alyward
Louie Zamperini
Johnny Cash

What did they all have in common? They publicly acknowledge God as the source of their accomplishments. They knew without him their fate and the outcome of their story could have been dramatically different from what we read about them today.

We are using Eternity Through The Rearview Mirror in our family and homeschool to read through these stories and have productive conversations about faith and life.

This book is not just a fantastic read but a functioning resource to our homeschool. You will find history, scripture, and character training examples in this book that pair perfectly with a Christian homeschool. I can see this working for an entire semester or more in your homeschool if you wanted to plan out additional ideas to drive these stories home.

Practical Ideas for Using Eternity Through The Rearview Mirror in Your Homeschool:

• Unit Studies – Create a unit study around the life of each one of the extraordinary people covered in the book.
• Notes and Resources– The notes section in the back of the book has a wealth of extra information you can dive into. In addition to the end of each chapter has more resources that you can look up about the person. Most of which are websites you can go to for additional studies.
• Scripture – Use the scripture in each chapter as copy or memory work.
• Create a Journal – Have your student journal all of the quotes, scripture, and stand out moments in a notebook as they read through each chapter. This exercise will not only be motivational but help to reframe their perspectives about life.
• Movies and Books – Allow your student to read a book about or authored by one of the seventeen people from Eternity Through The Rearview Mirror. Or allow them to watch a movie or documentary about one of the seventeen people from the book.
• History – Enjoy researching the time-period in any of these stories for a better understanding of the cultural or political climate at the time.

The last chapter of the book happens to be my favorite of them all. Once you go through and read stories about people like Corrie ten Boom, C.S. Lewis, Harriet Tubman, Johann Sebastian Bach, and Abraham Lincoln; then you can chat with your teen about the unique work that God has planned for them! The question is, will they be number eighteen? I love that! The opportunity to finish up the book with such big thoughts and leave to ponder your future with this new perspective.

Annette Hubbell’s book Eternity Through The Rearview Mirror would be a fantastic addition to any homeschool family’s library. The book would make a fantastic graduation gift too. I highly recommend allowing your teens to read this one, or better yet read it along with them!

GRAB THE BOOK HERE