Book Club Questions for Heaven Is for Real

1.Todd Burpo is introduced not just as a pastor, but as a man who works multiple jobs — garage-door installer, volunteer firefighter, wrestling coach — to support his family. How does this portrait of an ordinary, hardworking father shape the way you receive the story he's about to tell?

2.Before reading this book, what was your working picture of heaven? Where did that picture come from — the Bible, hymns, movies, funerals, or somewhere else?

3.The Burpo family endures a string of painful events in 2003 — Todd's broken leg, kidney stones, a hyperplastic breast mass — all before Colton's crisis. Todd reflects that this season felt like a spiritual assault. Have you ever experienced a season where hardships seemed to pile on? What did that do to your faith?

1.Colton's appendix had been ruptured for at least five days before surgery. The Burpos had taken him to doctors who initially misdiagnosed him. Have you ever felt that God seemed absent or slow during a crisis? How do you reconcile that feeling with belief in a caring God?

2.While Colton is in surgery, Todd finds an empty hospital chapel and erupts at God — angry, raw, and demanding. He writes that he felt he had given his life to God's service and now God seemed to be taking his son. What do you think of Todd's honesty with God in that moment? Is that kind of prayer faithful or faithless — or both?

3.At the same time Todd is yelling at God in the chapel, Sonja is in another part of the hospital sending prayer requests by email to hundreds of people. Two very different responses to the same crisis. Which response feels more natural to you, and what does that reveal about your own spiritual temperament?

1.Colton's first disclosure — telling his parents that angels had sung to him while he sat in Jesus' lap — came months after surgery, casually, during a family car ride. Why do you think significant spiritual experiences often surface in ordinary, unguarded moments rather than in formal settings?

2.Todd, as a pastor, is uniquely positioned to both embrace and interrogate what Colton is saying. He describes the delicate tension of trying to draw Colton out without leading him. Have you ever been in a situation where you had to listen carefully without contaminating what someone was sharing? What made that difficult?

3.Colton describes Jesus as having 'markers' — wounds in his hands — and having 'really, really blue eyes' and a white garment with a purple sash. Todd notes that Colton rejected every artistic rendering of Jesus he was shown except one painted by young Lithuanian-born artist Akiane Kramarik, who also claims a supernatural vision. What do you make of the convergence of these two children's descriptions? Does it strengthen or complicate your response to the story?

1.Colton tells his parents he met 'Pop' — Todd's grandfather — in heaven, describing him as a young man with no glasses, though Colton had only ever seen photos of an elderly Pop. Todd's father visibly weeps when shown an old photo and Colton identifies him. What emotional weight does this detail carry, and why do you think the detail of *age* (Pop being young) particularly struck Todd?

2.The book introduces the stunning revelation that Colton met a sister in heaven — a baby his mother had miscarried before Colton was born, whom Colton had never been told about. Sonja breaks down, and Colton assures her, 'She's okay. God adopted her.' How does this moment speak to the grief many people carry silently around pregnancy loss? What theological comfort — or questions — does it raise for you?

3.Colton says the miscarried sister 'doesn't have a name because you didn't name her.' This detail — that the family had not named the baby — was accurate. Why do you think this particular verification carried such weight for the Burpos compared to other details Colton shared?

1.Colton describes heaven as having gates made of gold and pearl, streets of gold, and colors more vivid than anything on earth. These images echo Revelation 21. How do you personally interpret those images — literally, symbolically, or somewhere in between? Does Colton's account push you more in one direction?

2.Todd reflects that many people — including church people — picture heaven as clouds and harps, a vague and boring eternal waiting room. Where do you think that picture comes from, and why has it been so persistent in Western culture even though it has little biblical support?

3.Colton says that in heaven there is always light and it is never dark or scary. John's vision in Revelation 21:23-25 says the city has no need of sun or moon because God's glory is its light. How does the idea of unending light — and the complete absence of fear — affect how you imagine eternity?

1.Colton describes God the Father as 'really big' — so big He can hold the earth in His hands, in contrast to Jesus who is 'bigger than us but not as big as Dad.' This echoes the kind of vivid, concrete language children use for things they cannot fully articulate. How do you hold together the transcendence of God (incomprehensibly vast) with the intimacy of God (a Father who knows us by name)?

2.Colton says the Holy Spirit is 'kind of blue' and that the Holy Spirit is what God uses to send power down to Daddy when he's preaching. Todd, a pastor, finds this deeply moving. How does your tradition or background talk about the Holy Spirit? Is Colton's concrete, child-like description a helpful corrective, an oversimplification, or something else?

3.Colton describes sitting on Jesus' lap — an image of profound intimacy and tenderness. Contrast this with Isaiah's vision (Isaiah 6) and John's vision (Revelation 4), where the response to being near the throne is overwhelming awe and a sense of unworthiness. How do both intimacy and awe belong together in an encounter with God? Which comes more naturally to you?

1.Colton describes angels as having swords to keep Satan out of heaven, and he mentions with surprising confidence that there is going to be a war and Jesus wins. How does this picture of a combative, militant heaven sit with you? Does it fit with the Jesus you know from the Gospels?

2.Colton says he was assigned his own angel in heaven who watched over him, echoing Matthew 18:10 where Jesus speaks of children's angels always beholding the Father's face. Do you believe in guardian angels? How does your belief (or skepticism) about angels affect your day-to-day sense of spiritual reality?

3.Ephesians 6:10-18 describes the Christian life as a battle requiring full armor. In everyday suburban or churchgoing life, how real does that spiritual battle feel to you? What does it do to your sense of urgency if you take seriously that the conflict Colton described is not metaphorical?

1.Todd admits that even as Colton's father — even having heard detail after detail he cannot explain — he still has moments of wondering, 'Did this really happen?' What does his continued honesty about doubt tell you about the nature of faith? Is doubt a sign of weak faith, or can it coexist with genuine belief?

2.John 20:24-29 tells the story of Thomas, who refused to believe the resurrection without physical evidence and then received it. Jesus says, 'Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.' Where does Colton's story sit on the spectrum between Thomas's demand for evidence and Jesus' call to faith without it?

3.Todd describes sharing Colton's story with skeptics — some move from cynicism to tears in a single conversation, while others remain unmoved. Why do you think the same story lands so differently for different people? What is the difference between an open mind and a credulous one?

1.Colton describes Jesus as still having 'markers' — nail holes in his hands and feet — in heaven. Revelation 5:6 describes the Lamb appearing 'as if it had been slain' at the center of heaven's throne room. Why does it matter that the glorified, risen Jesus still bears the marks of crucifixion? What does that tell us about the cross's permanent significance?

2.Todd reflects that when Colton described Jesus' wounds, it reoriented all the other beautiful descriptions of heaven. Heaven is not just a nice place — it is a purchased place. How does keeping the cross at the center of our vision of heaven prevent heaven from becoming just a self-centered fantasy about comfort and reunion?

3.Colton says Jesus was sad when he talked about the cross. A four-year-old used the word 'sad' — not 'triumphant,' not 'victorious,' but sad. What do you make of that? Can the cross be simultaneously the greatest victory in history and something that cost Jesus something so profound it still carries sorrow?

1.Todd writes that Colton's experience did not just give him a story to tell — it gave him a confidence that reshaped his whole ministry, especially how he comforts grieving families. Has this book changed the way you would approach comforting someone who is dying or grieving? If so, how?

2.2 Corinthians 4:17-18 calls present suffering 'light and momentary' compared to 'an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.' Paul was writing from prison when he penned that assessment. How does a confident, vivid hope in heaven actually change what you are willing to endure or sacrifice now?

3.The epilogue reflects on how the Burpo family continues to live with Colton's experience as part of their story — not a past event to close a chapter on, but an ongoing lens. How do you carry significant spiritual experiences forward without either over-inflating them or letting them fade completely?

1.Which week or chapter of this study had the greatest impact on you — and what specifically did it stir up? Was it a moment of comfort, conviction, challenge, or wonder?

2.At the very beginning of this study you described your 'working picture of heaven.' How has that picture changed, deepened, or been corrected by working through this book and these discussions?

3.Todd Burpo says the single most important question about heaven is not 'What is it like?' but 'Are you going?' How would you answer that question for yourself right now — and how confident are you in that answer?