Missionary Parenting

Missionary Parenting

Cultivating the 6 Key Relationships Essential to Your Domestic Church

by Bob and Nannet Horton


About the Book


Missionary Parenting is About Relationships...

Christian parents sincerely desire to raise their children in the Faith. Desire alone, however, is not enough. Parents must have a vision for their family, with a clear picture of what it can become or ought to be. The domestic church, which is the family as the first faith community, is such a vision. At its core are relationships into which married couples deliberately integrate faith, hope, and love.

Missionary Parenting presents six essential relationships centered on Jesus Christ that, when developed and cultivated, actualize a domestic church. More than a how-to or self-help book, this book provides parents with a clear description of God's design for their family. It provides parents with genuine hope and confidence to pass the Faith to their children. Although the book is written from a Catholic perspective, the vision is applicable to Christian parenting in general.


Praises for Missionary Parenting


“Bob and Nannet Horton have followed the Lord as a couple for a long time. I am delighted to see that they are making the wisdom gained from many years of marriage and family life available to all of us. An inspiring couple and an inspiring book.”

—Ralph Martin, S.T.D.
President, Renewal Ministries
Director of Graduate Theology Programs in the New Evangelization
Sacred Heart Major Seminary
Archdiocese of Detroit

"Bob and Nannet have provided an inspiring vision of Catholic parenting. As a spouse, a parent, and one who works in marriage and family life ministry, I found this book to be a tremendous guide and resource for fostering missionary discipleship within the family."

—Matt Selby
Director of Marriage and Family Life
Archdiocese of Dubuque



"As a father of 6, I have longed to see more parenting resources in the Catholic Church solidly and practically grounded in discipleship. Bob and Nannet are passionate and inspiring about fostering a deep love for Jesus in family life. They hang everything they outline on helpful illustrations and stories. Catholic parents will be on surer footing in raising solid disciples of Jesus if they read this book."

—Jason Simon
President, Evangelical Catholic

“The main challenge for Catholic parents in the 21st Century toxic culture is raising children to persevere in the Faith throughout the teen years and young adulthood. Missionary Parenting presents the six key relationships vital for passing on an enduring faith-life. St. John Paul II said, “The future of the world and of the Church passes through the family.” This valuable book shows parents how passing on the Faith is done.

—Steve Wood
President, Family Life Center International


“Over the years Bob and Nannet Horton have helped many, many people come to know and love Christ and his Church and grow in their life of faith. They are true missionary disciples. Above all they have striven to live their married vocation as faithful and fruitful missionary parents for their children. They have written this book to help other married couples do the same. In Missionary Parenting, Bob and Nannet have assembled a treasury of wisdom from Scripture, Church teaching, liturgical prayer and the lived experience of everyday disciples to cast a vision for married couples to intentionally form their families as the domestic church. Each chapter focuses on one of six Christ-centered relationships that are essential for the family to fulfill its vocation. Readers will find in these pages a rich and encouraging road map to respond with greater generosity and confidence to God’s plan of love for their family’s life.”

—Father Scott Traynor
Vicar for Lay and Clergy Formation
Diocese of Sioux Falls

“A must-read primer for every Catholic family. Once you read it, put it back on top of the list and read it again!”

—Jon Leonetti
Catholic speaker and best-selling author



About the Authors


Bob and Nannet Horton

Bob is a Distinguished Professor of Soil Science at Iowa State University. Nannet is a homeschool teacher, a Family of the Americas Natural Family Planning teacher, and a Catechesis of the Good Shepherd catechist. There are 7 children and 11 grandchildren (so far) in their family. They are members of St. Thomas Aquinas Church and Catholic Student Center in Ames, Iowa.

Listen to Bob Horton's Interview on Iowa Catholic Radio with Jon Leonetti in the Morning!


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