HALFWAY HERBERT

Published by David C. Cook

4050 Lee Vance View

Colorado Springs, CO 80918 U.S.A.

David C. Cook Distribution Canada

55 Woodslee Avenue, Paris, Ontario, Canada N3L 3E5

David C. Cook U.K., Kingsway Communications

Eastbourne, East Sussex BN23 6NT, England

David C. Cook and the graphic circle C logo

are registered trademarks of Cook Communications Ministries.

All rights reserved. Except for brief excerpts for review purposes,

no part of this book may be reproduced or used in any form

without written permission from the publisher.

The Web site addresses recommended throughout this book are offered as a resource to you.

These Web sites are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement on the part of David C. Cook,

nor do we vouch for their content.

This story is a work of fiction. All characters and events are the product of the author’s imagination. Any

resemblance to any person, living or dead, is coincidental.

Matthew 22:37 quotation is taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®.

Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

LCCN 2010927440

ISBN 978-0-7814-0418-1

eISBN 978-0-7814-0494-5

Text © 2010 Francis Chan

Illustrations © 2010 David C. Cook

Published in association with the literary agency of

D.C. Jacobson & Associates LLC, an Author Management Company

www.dcjacobson.com

The Team: Don Pape, Kate Etue, Amy Kiechlin, Jack Campbell

Cover and Interior Illustrations: Matt Daniels

First Edition 2010

Dear Parents,

I remember when my first child was born. I must have sounded like a broken record when I prayed over her every night: “Thank You for this amazing gift. Please have her fall in love with You!” Fourteen years and three more kids later, I’m still praying basically the same prayer over all of my children. It would be the greatest thrill to watch my kids do more than just claim to be Christians—to see them truly walk like Jesus did (1 John 2:6). I’m guessing that many of you have prayed the same prayer and have a deep longing to see your kids follow Christ wholeheartedly.

One thing that has changed in my prayer life is that I used to pray my kids would love Christ like I do. Now I often pray that I would love Christ like they do. I often see in them a faith that I don’t have (Matthew 18:3). It is important that we recognize how much God can do in the life of a child. The typical American pattern is to tell our kids about the love of Christ and wait until they are older to teach them about what it means to follow Christ. Let’s not sell our kids short. Let’s not underestimate what the Holy Spirit can do in the lives of our children.

I’m praying that you can use the story of Halfway Herbert to teach them the commitment to which Christ has called us. Let’s raise a generation of children who understand what it means to truly follow Jesus.

Francis

www.DavidCCook.com