Most Popular Books by Kevin Johnson

A compilation of life stories about Kevin Johnson, a man who was diagnosed with renal kidney disease when he was ten years old. Kevin has survived four kidney transplants and many years of dialysis including at-home dialysis among other serious health problems. Even though Kevin''s doctors told him he would die before the age of nineteen, with God''s help, Kevin is now sixty-seven years old and has a wonderful family (his wife Peggy, their two children and five grandchildren). Kevin has experienced many life lessons during his chronic illness that he would like to share with those who read this book.

A young child learns that even superheroes hurt too in this heartrending story about loss and love, written by debut author Kevin Johnson and illustrated by #1 New York Times bestselling illustrator Kitt Thomas. When a child loses the person in his life that he loves more than anything, he uses his cape as protection from his grief. On the day of the funeral, he uses it to block out the pictures and stories people share, refusing to acknowledge the memories that keep bubbling up. He won''t think about them. He doesn''t want to. He avoids the memories, until he no longer can. He remembers then. Their laugh, their smile, the moment they gave him the cape. The cape transforms, becoming a source of comfort and strength as the child navigates the sadness and joy that these memories bring up. In Cape, Kevin Johnson has crafted an achingly beautiful and honest story about processing and redefining grief after the loss of a loved one. With evocative illustrations by New York Times bestselling artist Kitt Thomas (Stacey’s Extraordinary Words), Cape is a powerful, unforgettable, and necessary story.

Bestselling author Kevin Johnson connects with youth like no other! He''s selected some of his best devotions, written some new ones, and packed them into one handy, 365-day guide for today''s young teens. Tackling difficult issues such as school blues, parental relationships, and future fears, these quick-witted and humorous devotions each include an attention-grabbing opener, an explanation with application of Scripture, and a take-away Bible verse. Parents and youth alike agree that these fun, fresh devotions will keep teens reading. Kevin Johnson''s one-of-a-kind devotionals are never preachy--but always punchy.

Find Hope Through Praying the Scriptures What do you do when prayer feels futile, an endless rehashing of your problems? If one of the most practical reasons we pray is to obtain strength from God, then we need to understand how that happens. Prayer is about more than making requests. In addition to our agony and questioning, Scripture teaches us to also offer up our surrender. We can voice not only loneliness, resentment, and frustration but also peace, hope, and worship. When we let Scripture teach us a breadth of prayers, we begin to be filled with God''s fresh life. Interweaving his own story of inner anguish and physical illness, Kevin Johnson takes you through nine key Scripture passages that will help you find peace. Each passage is broken down into smaller portions, paired with short phrases to prompt you to pray Scripture back to God. Learn how to talk to God in your pain.

"Sadly, studies show that there are few differences in the attitudes and actions between people who claim to be Christians and those who don’t choose that label. But everything we read in the Bible says we should be transformed; we should be different than the rest of the world.What would it look like if you lived the life God desires for you? How would your life be different if you abandoned your typical routine and refused to settle for anything less than the best God has in store for you?In Thrive, you’ll find 20 life-impacting studies that will draw you into the Bible and help you understand who you are and who God wants to help you become. You’ll discover what the Bible says about how God made you, what kind of life he has planned for you, and how you can survive the tough times of your life. Even if you struggle to keep your faith alive at times, God wants to help you thrive. The reality is, God loves us just the way we are—but he also loves us too much to leave us that way."

This new series from Youth Specialties will help you take your junior highers through the basics of life, from Jesus to friends to prayer. Discipleship books for junior highers that aren''t deadly!

God might not be asking you to build an ark, but he is asking you to help him change the world. So don’t worry...you won’t have to grow out a beard or spend 40 days in a rainstorm. Believe it or not, changing the world can be as simple as everyday acts of kindness. Whether you do something good for someone in your family, or that new kid at your lunch table, or the neighbor around the corner, you can make a difference and help change the world—or at least, their world, for now. Inspired by the Universal Pictures movie, Evan Almighty, starring Steve Carell, Do Good will show you how you can help change the world by doing good every chance you get, right where you are, right now. You’ll discover:• how you can live every moment with God• what to do when life (or God) interrupts your plans• where to look for opportunities to do good• what to do when people around you think you’re crazy• how you can make a difference in the world within your reachMost of all, you’ll begin to see why you’re the perfect person to help God change the world—starting right now!

The Missions Trip Prep Kit is an easy-to-use resource--including a leader''s guide and 5 student books that offers several options designed for training and preparing either middle schoolers or high schoolers for short-or long-term missions projects.

During an interview for a faculty position, a senior professor asked Kevin Johnson bluntly, "How did you get to be a Mexican?" And, a young woman at a Harvard Law School dinner party inquired, "Are you one of those people whose high school friends are all dead from gangs and stuff?" The son of a Mexican American mother and an Anglo father, Professor Johnson has spent his life in the borderlands between racial identities. In this insightful book, he uses his experiences as a mixed Latino Anglo to examine issues of diversity, assimilation, race relations, and affirmative action in the contemporary United States. Johnson also grew up in the borderlands between classes. He spent his childhood with his mother, first on welfare and then with a racist working-class stepfather. As an adolescent, he moved to his father''s home in a predominantly upper-middle-class suburb. His educational experiences too extend from a racially mixed elementary school to an all-white high school, and from Berkeley to Harvard Law School. From this vantage point, he analyzes the intersection of race and class in the United States. This book looks not just at the question "Who is a Latino?" but also at the question of where persons of mixed Anglo-Latino heritage fit into the racial dynamics of the United States. Professor Johnson''s mother was an ardent assimilationist who classified herself as "Spanish"; her failure to become a part o f middle America led her into depression and eventually mental illness. Her son has woven not just her experiences and his own, but also those of friends and relatives, into a complex and moving story of one white/brown man''s search for identity.

So God’s asking you to change the world...but how? It’s not as hard as you think, really; just some everyday acts of kindness can really make a difference in the world around you. Inside the pages of this devotional, you’ll be challenged to think about how you can do good in your world, and you’ll get great ideas that you can do right now! Read this along with Do Good, or work through this book separately. Either way, you’ll discover that you really do have the power to change the world by doing good every chance you get.The journal includes:• Quotes, thoughts, and questions to jolt you to think and move you to act• Random acts that you can do almost anywhere and anytime• Truth and Dare challenges that get you thinking and help you do something radically different• Random Act Notes for you to construct your own amazing story as you do good in the world around youGod made you to do good, and you have the power to change the world one kind deed at a time. So, what are you waiting for?

HELPING TEENS FIND THEIR WAY TO AN INCREDIBLE FUTURE AS THEY USE THEIR TALENTS, SPIRITUAL GIFTS, PERSONALITY, VALUES, AND PASSIONS TO DO WHAT GOD DESIGNED THEM TO DO. Teens are gifted in ways they''ve probably never thought of. The Find Your Fit Leader''s Guide will equip leaders to: -- HELP TEENS KNOW THEMSELVES BETTER. -- PRIME TEENS'' THOUGHTS ABOUT CAREERS. -- SHOW TEENS AREAS WHERE THEY MIGHT SERVE OTHERS. -- EMBOLDEN TEENS TO TRY NEW THINGS AND SPOT SPECIAL INTERESTS. -- ENCOURAGE TEENS TO FEEL FREE TO BE WHO THEY ARE. -- DIRECT TEENS IN HOW INTERESTS AND PERSONALITY MATCH POSSIBLE OCCUPATIONS.

The Power of Legacy and Planned Gifts provides practical knowledge and tools nonprofits need to connect with loyal donors, resulting in a stream of future income that will sustain and advance their mission. Filled with illustrative real-world examples and cases, as well as worksheets to guide the reader, the book details a simple, multi-stage process for nonprofits to build a pipeline of future bequest income and offers donors perspective on making their gifts in a way that will best accomplish their goals. Praise for The Power of Legacy and Planned Gifts "Kevin Johnson has done a great job making clear the process and the implications of a bequest to a charity. A nonprofit''s workers and its donors will be well served in reading this book." —Bill Gates, Sr., author, Showing Up for Life "Regardless of the size, vintage, or mission of your organization, you can use this book. If this is the part of fundraising you have been avoiding, Kevin''s sensible advice can get your team started and get results sooner than you think." —Joan Flanagan, fundraiser, Center for New Community, and author, Successful Fundraising "Bequests are the key for small and medium-sized charities to survive and thrive. Kevin clearly shows how board and staff can easily develop the comfort and confidence to build effective relations with donors, and help them tell their stories and express their deepest values through bequests. Oh, that we all had this book years ago!" —Roger Ellison, vice president for planned giving, West Texas Rehabilitation Center Foundation "Kevin''s insights into donor motivation and the richness of our story have resulted in a substantial increase in planned gifts to our organization." —Karlene McCabe, executive director, Greenbelt Land Trust Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file.

Are you tired of the hustle and bustle of everyday life? Are you consumed with a never-ending pursuit of traditional success or the quest for wealth? Has your health suffered because you can''t stop or slow down to enjoy what''s in front of you? In The Success Makeover, author Kevin Johnson challenges you to re-evaluate your idea of success and encourages you to refocus on what matters most. He introduces the Xente lifestyle, explaining the concept and describing how he developed the idea. With assessment tools and exercises included, Johnson shares that the Xente lifestyle is a shift by everyday people to connect, activate, and reconnect with their whole lives, recapturing what is truly important through a balanced approach to living. By following the principles outlined in the Success Makeover, Johnson helps you to create an existence enabling you to experience deeper relationships that include increased excitement, intimacy, spontaneity, joy, integrity, belonging, security, faithfulness, connectedness, achievement, and relative balance supporting a more fulfilling life.

You work hard planning mission trips. Now make mission trips work for you and your group.Headed to inner-city America? Appalachia? A border shantytown? Overseas? Wherever your destination, the MISSION TRIP PREP KIT contains all you need to prepare your students for an unforgettable cross-cultural experience—and tools to debrief them after they’ve returned to their worlds.Use this kit—To get on-site impact as well as long-term spiritual change in your kids.Whether you’re a mission-trip novice or a savvy traveler outside your comfort zones.Whether your group’s trip is geared toward reaching others with the gospel or to disciple your young missionaries.In several sessions spread over a month or two—or in an intensive, two-day training session or retreat.IN THIS LEADER’S GUIDE: You’ll receive not only the rationale, the how, and the logistics of planning and pulling off a missions trip, but—and this is the genius of the leader’s guide—4 PRE-TRIP TEACHING SESSIONS that will help your students—·Assess their EXPECTATIONS, their fears, their motivations.·Adjust their PERCEPTIONS of the culture they’ll be working in.·Improve their emotional and spiritual STAMINA for living for a week or a month in a very different world from their own.·Practice the skills and ATTITUDES (teamwork, servanthood, Christ-centeredness) they’ll need for a missions trip.And to make sure your trip’s goals are accomplished and the benefits stick around for the long haul, you’ll also receive 2 POST-TRIP SESSIONS that will help you DEBRIEF your students, ease them back into their own worlds, CELEBRATE with them, and make missions and ministry part of their EVERYDAY LIVES WITH JESUS.What’s more, in these pre- and post-trip teaching sessions are a variety of ACTIVITIES...processing points...creative PRAYER IDEAS...take-home applications...BIBLE STUDIES relevant to mission tripping...TALK OUTLINES that both instruct and inspire...and lots of sessions options you can tailor to your own HIGH SCHOOLERS OR MIDDLE SCHOOLERS.

In The Great Bible Search for Kids, Josh McDowell, bestselling author of The Unshakable Truth, joins pastor and bestselling author Kevin Johnson to map out a quest that will lead children ages 7-11 to the discovery that God is truth, and real happiness comes from knowing God as revealed in His Word. With fun facts, questions, and laugh-out-loud stories, McDowell and Johnson simplify the tough concepts for boys and girls, answering the questions that even church kids have: How do we know the Bible is true? Why does the Bible still matter today? How can Jesus live in my heart? Who''s this Holy Spirit everyone keeps talking about? With solid research, Biblical grounding, and accessible writing, Josh and Kevin lead readers to the most amazing treasure of all!

Embark on a captivating journey through the remarkable life and achievements of Felipe Vasquez, the teenage visionary behind The Phone Up Studios. This compelling invites you into the world of a young entrepreneur who defied expectations, overcame challenges, and left an indelible mark on the music and fashion industries. In "Young Entrepreneur Success," witness Felipe''s humble beginnings as a curious child exploring the realms of business, technology, and music. Follow his evolution from running online stores as an 10-year-old to founding The Phone Up Studios, a multifaceted entertainment company and record label. Each chapter delves into the intricate details of Felipe''s life, unveiling the motivations, triumphs, and obstacles that shaped his extraordinary journey. Explore Felipe''s deep-rooted love for music, fueled by a profound emotional connection to his late grandmother. Discover how he turned adversity and self-doubt into powerful motivators, proving skeptics wrong and drawing inspiration from entrepreneurial role models. The narrative unfolds as Felipe launches his first business ventures, navigates the challenges of managing a business remotely as a teenager, and envisions the future of The Phone Up Studios. The ebook provides insights into Felipe''s commitment to personal growth, academic pursuits, and social responsibility, showcasing a young entrepreneur who goes beyond business success to make a positive impact on the community. Dive into the chapters detailing Felipe''s transition from an online department store to a record label and clothing brand powerhouse. Learn about his strategic decision-making, innovative approaches to digital marketing, and the global impact of The Phone Up Studios. "Young Entrepreneur Success" isn''t just a biography; it''s a roadmap for aspiring entrepreneurs. Felipe''s story is a testament to the power of passion, determination, and innovation. With each chapter, readers gain valuable lessons on adapting to change, leading with vision, and creating a brand that resonates globally. This ebook is a source of inspiration for anyone dreaming of turning their passion into a successful venture. Felipe Vasquez''s story is a beacon of hope, reminding us all that age is no barrier to achieving greatness. Join us in exploring the transformative journey of a young entrepreneur who defied norms and built a legacy that transcends industries.

Kids are curious about Jesus and God and yet, by the time they are teens, the majority stop asking questions about faith and starting questioning faith altogether. Respected Christian apologist Josh McDowell encourages children to stand on the foundation of truth with this contemporary gathering of concise, welcoming answers for kids ages 8 to 12. A fun format includes key Bible verses and pre-teen friendly explorations of topics that matter most to kids: God’s love and forgiveness Right and wrong and making choices Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and God’s Word Different beliefs and religions Church, prayer, and sharing faith The next time a child asks “Who is God?” parents, grandparents, and church leaders will want this practical and engaging volume handy. Helpful tips and conversation ideas for adults will help them connect with kids hungering for straight talk about faith in Jesus.