When I was growing up, my dad filled our house with Bible reference books, concordances, and maps. He was fascinated with the historical background for Jesus. We watched videos about the places Jesus walked and learned about Jewish customs that help the Gospels make sense. So when I saw Cold-Case Christianity for Kids, I was excited to share that same evidence with my daughters.
Cold-Case Christianity for Kids: Investigate Jesus with a Real Detective helps kids learn detective skills and apply them to the Bible. Author J. Warner Wallace is a detective who specializes in cold cases. He’s a former atheist who used his detective skills to examine the Gospels and “decided the evidence was overwhelming.” Now, he shares the evidence for why “the Bible accounts are true, and Jesus is the Son of God.”
Packages in the mail around here are always exciting, and this one was no exception. As soon as I told Sunshine the book was for her, she sat down to read it. She devoured Cold-Case Christianity for Kids in two days. Not only did she read it, she also created a notebook (as recommended in the book) and copied out all the Bible verses referenced. Sunshine usually dislikes writing, so I was amazed at her dedication to this.
At the crucial age between 8 and 12, many kids begin to wonder if Christianity and the Bible are true. Sunshine is 8 now, so this seemed like a great time to introduce the topic with her. She’s also a big fan of detective books. Your kids can also become detectives searching for the truth with Cold-Case Christianity for Kids. Detective Wallace gets kids excited about testing witnesses, examining the evidence, and investigating the case for Christianity. The book includes author illustrations and links to a website where kids can download activities, fill in case notes, and earn a certificate of merit.
Sunshine says, “It was really good. I liked the assignments. I’ll show you my favourite verse.”
J. Warner Wallace involves the reader in the book as a kid who has joined a detective class. Mr. Jeffries is the detective teaching kids how to solve mysteries. They start by trying to solve a mystery about a skateboard left in the school shed. Nobody knows who the skateboard belongs to or why it was leftthere. One of the kids also has questions about the Bible, so Mr. Jeffries uses what they are learning about the skateboard to talk about the facts in the Bible.
Sunshine says, “I liked the cases. They were fun and interesting. I liked Chapter 7: Separate Artifacts from Evidence because they were examining the skateboard and found some stuff that explained whose it might be. And I got a certificate at the end.”
Cold-Case Christianity for Kids has short chapters and tons of illustrations. Each chapter ends with a question or something to think about, to encourage kids to keep reading and find out more. The verses Sunshine copied out were for the “CSI Assignments,” extra questions within the pages that kids can look up in their Bibles. There are also “Detective Definitions” to help kids understand what Mr. Jeffries teaches.
I read most of the book in one evening. While much of it was review for me, I enjoyed seeing how Detective Jeffries built his case. The book is fun and engaging (it was easy to see why Sunshine couldn’t put it down!). Sunshine was more interested in the skateboard mystery than the Bible mystery, but I was happy that the story drew her in. I’m sure she’ll come back to this book again someday.
If you’re looking for a way to engage your kids in the truths of Scripture, I highly recommend Cold-Case Christianity for Kids. It’s a fun, solid book about the story of Jesus and why the Gospels tell, well, the Gospel truth (pun intended).
I received this book for review courtesy of the publisher; all opinions expressed are my own.
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