Gospel Family: A Practical Theology of the Gospel’s Impact on the Home

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Abstract: The Gospel message woven throughout the Scriptures proclaims the reconstitution of God’s family into a Kingdom of sons and daughters who share a common Spirit and serve a common King. The Gospel is about the movement of God—from before the beginning of time to the culmination of His eternal plan—to establish a Kingdom and create a family to live and flourish in His Kingdom. The Gospel is about the fall of God’s children into sin and rebellion as they rejected His authority and walked away from the protection and sufficiency of His Kingdom. The Gospel is a message of God’s forgiveness for His wayward children if they would only repent, believe, and follow the One God established as supreme ruler of His Kingdom: Jesus the Son, Jesus the King. The Gospel proclaims the reconstitution of God’s family into a Kingdom of sons and daughters who share a common Spirit and serve a common King. Within this Gospel framework is a message about family and relationships. This article seeks to understand the biblical and theological message of the Gospel and its transformational impact on the family and the home, granting specific focus to family worship as a means to bring the Gospel into the home today.

Chris Shirley, Ph.D., is the dean of the Terry School of Educational Ministries at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Dr. Shirley, author of Family Ministry and the Church: A Leader’s Guide to Ministry through the Family (2018, Randall House) also teaches in the areas of discipleship and family ministry.

Jonathan Williams, Ph.D., is the executive director of Gospel Family Ministries and the author of the books A Practical Theology of Family Worship (2021) and Gospel Family (2015). He also teaches as an adjunct professor at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and is the managing editor of the Southwestern D6 Family Ministry Journal.