Hope for the Prodigal - (Paperback)

About the Book

Pastor and discipleship expert draws from his personal experience as a parent and wanderer in the faith to encourage parents that there is hope for their wayward children and equip churches with practical tools to reach and retain young people.

Book Synopsis

The statistics are sobering: between 80 and 90 percent of kids who have grown up in the church are leaving the church after age eighteen. Children slipping away into a culture that tells them the Bible isn't true, sin is no big deal, God isn't real, or there are many ways to get into heaven. Whether parents may blame themselves or the culture, the result is the same: lost souls.

But our God specializes in lost souls and the gospel is as powerful as it ever was. With wisdom that comes from personal experience, Jim Putman and his father, Bill Putman, offer brokenhearted parents and loved ones hope for their prodigals. A prodigal son himself, Jim has also found himself in the role of the prodigal's father when his own son rejected the faith. This family's powerful story of restoration, along with solid biblical truths and practical advice, will inspire, motivate, and equip readers to go after their lost sheep with acts of love and service.

From the Back Cover

Our God specializes in lost souls

The statistics are sobering: between 80 and 90 percent of kids who have grown up in the church are leaving the church after age eighteen. Children slipping away into a culture that tells them the Bible isn't true, sin is no big deal, God isn't real, or there are many ways to get into heaven.

With wisdom that comes from personal experience, Jim Putman and his father, Bill Putman, offer brokenhearted parents and loved ones hope for their prodigals. A prodigal in his younger days, Jim has also found himself in the role of the prodigal's father when his own son rejected the faith. This family's powerful story of restoration, along with solid biblical truths and practical advice, will inspire, motivate, and equip you to go after your lost sheep with acts of love and service.


"This book is helpful for individual parents and for churches that experience the loss of those they helped to raise in the faith. It will give you hope as well as clear steps to do your part as a parent and church member."--Josh McDowell, bestselling author, Evidence That Demands a Verdict

"Hope for the Prodigal is raw, vulnerable, and incredibly helpful. It's a practical and powerful look into the heart and response that God has toward His own prodigals--and the kind of heart and response He calls us to have toward the prodigals in our own lives."--Larry Osborne, pastor, North Coast Church, Vista, CA; author, Thriving in Babylon

"Many of us have strayed or know someone who has strayed into a dark and dangerous place and we want to know if there is a way back. Jim reminds us that the story isn't over yet."--Randy Frazee, senior minister, Oak Hills Church, San Antonio, TX; author, The Heart of the Story

Jim Putman is the senior pastor of Real Life Ministries in Post Falls, Idaho, and the author of Church Is a Team Sport and The Power of Together, as well as the widely adopted Real-Life Discipleship program.

Bill Putman has served in ministry for more than fifty years as a pastor, a church planter, or an executive. He currently serves at Real Life Ministries. He and his wife, Bobbi, have five grown children and fourteen grandchildren. They live in Idaho.

About the Author

Jim Putman is the senior pastor of Real Life Ministries in Post Falls, Idaho, one of the most influential churches in America. A pastor's-kid-turned-prodigal who was won back by his father and mother, Jim also had a prodigal of his own--his oldest son. With God's help, Jim won him back and he is now a pastor as well. A three-time all-American wrestler in college as well as a successful wrestling coach, Putman holds degrees from Boise State University and Boise Bible College. He is the author of Church Is a Team Sport and The Power of Together, as well as the widely adopted Real-Life Discipleship program.

Bill Putman has served in ministry for more than fifty years as a pastor, a church planter, or an executive. He currently serves at Real Life Ministries as a servant leader over Team One and as part of the Legacy Team ministry. He and his wife, Bobbi, have five grown children, including Jim, and fourteen grandchildren. They live in Post Falls, Idaho.