Crying Hearts Around the World Are Being Heard

Why Children Should Be Your Church’s #1 Priority

George Barna’s 2003 book, Transforming Children Into Spiritual Champions, has the tagline “Why Children Should Be Your Church’s #1 Priority.” The rhetorical question Barna posed to the North American Church is being answered literally from the other side of the world.

Barna’s compelling manifesto may have fallen on deaf ears for most Western church leaders, but the mission fields of Africa, India, China, Latin America and other underdeveloped nations cry out confirmation without even knowing what he wrote. What Barna proffered convincingly in Transforming Children Into Spiritual Champions is now being proven every day.

According to the International Children’s Ministry Institute, Child Evangelism Fellowship and other respected sources, somewhere between 83 – 86% of Christians worldwide are saved before reaching 15 years of age. Yet meaningful ministry to children is just beginning to attract international attention.

Although other ministries may have had the spotlight elsewhere, Gospel Light has been working with laser-focus to put the best possible Bible teaching tools into the hands of teachers and learners around the world for over 70 years.

Gospel Light founder Henrietta Mears and her associates started the journey in 1933 to find the best ways to bring God’s Word to the children, youth and families of the nations of the world. They took many trips throughout the world to affirm and support missionaries and organizations, particularly in the area of children’s Bible curriculum development. This was the true genesis of the Gospel Light Worldwide ministry.

Almost 10 years ago, World Vision started partnering with us to help children enter and grow in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ through culturally relevant and age-appropriate Bible study and curriculum in the former Soviet Union. Today, we are working together in Albania, Armenia, Bosnia, Georgia and Romania and with local publishers in Lebanon to develop relationships and curriculum.

Recently, the Lord has introduced many other potential collaborative opportunities. One of the most promising is rolling out in 11 cities in and around Chennai, India in February 2007 with Luis Palau’s Next Generation Alliance, which trains and encourages emerging evangelists. Next Generation Alliance Director Tim Robnett said, “Of the 30,000–40,000 people we expect to come to the Lord through our evangelistic outreach in February, we expect at least 15,000–20,000 to be children, and we want to be able to plug them into local churches with ongoing children’s Bible study.”

The Gospel Light Worldwide perspective is that when we are invited into the middle of where the Lord is already at work (as, for example, in India), we always assume that the He wants us to join Him. We have also been introduced into similar ongoing efforts in Cameroon, Ethiopia and Kenya. Please pray with us as the Lord rolls out His perfect plan.

Two other impressive organizations that have heard the call are Wycliffe Bible Translators and the Bible League. Like others, they are getting reports from churches, pastors and others in the mission field citing ministry to children as one of their top priorities.

We are a praying ministry and covet your prayers for the Lord’s will to be done. We want so much to be where He is doing His work. Join us and together we can help children around the world enter and grow in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.