April 2021 Global Report
Every $1 shares Jesus with SIX children and youth — Matching Challenge DOUBLES your gift!
The $1,000,000 No Limits Matching Challenge fund doubles your gift — every $1 you give will share God’s Word with six children and youth!
You’ll be reaching children like Paola and Patricia, two sisters in Venezuela. Their nation has been experiencing social, political, and economic chaos for several years — church leaders who spoke up about the humanitarian crisis in the nation faced severe backlash … whole congregations came under attack.1
This is why Venezuela is considered a limited access nation for our ministry … and yet, you are helping to reach the next generation here with God’s life-transforming Word!
Paola and Patricia live in extreme poverty with an alcoholic father — but then they were invited to a Vacation Bible School where they received the Book of Hope and learned about Jesus. They decided to accept Christ as Savior!
Today, both sisters and their little brother are always the first ones to arrive at church each Sunday. They’re learning and growing in God, and for the first time, they have real hope for the future!
Thank you for sending God’s Word to rescue these siblings. For a limited time, when you donate to OneHope, your gift will be doubled by the matching challenge fund and reach twice as many children like these with the life-changing power of God’s Word.
1 2019 Report on International Religious Freedom: Venezuela,” Office of International Religious Freedom, last modified in 2019, https://www.state.gov/reports/ 2019-report-on-international-religious-freedom/venezuela/
“Your Word, Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens…”
by President Rob Hoskins
Psalm 119:89 makes it clear that God’s Word will never pass away. And we’ve seen that the Bible remains a perennial bestseller, an ancient book still informing life today. Why such staying power for this book?
The Bible is the only book through which God speaks. This book is important to God because without it, we would be ignorant of His plan of salvation — a plan in which He invested the life of His only Son!
Many throughout history have tried to destroy God’s Word. Jehoiakim took a penknife to Jeremiah’s inspired scroll, then cast the shredded pages into the fire. But he could not blot out God’s message.
Voltaire boasted, “Another century and there will not be a Bible on earth.” Voltaire is gone, and his books are found mostly in libraries and second-hand bookstores. Not only does the Bible continue to gain popularity…but Voltaire’s own house is now the home of a Bible society!
This Word exists eternally. And wherever the Bible goes, it lives, and it changes lives miraculously. As my dear friend Mart Green says, “This Book is alive!”
The Scriptures continue to transform lives to this day — no matter how they are delivered.
This is why we are committed to providing the Scriptures to every youth, boy and girl, worldwide. Our vision: God’s Word. Every Child.
Russia: pandemic ministry opens doors
Naida had no use for her brother’s new friends, their religion, or their church. She was 13, and she had her own friends and her own life! She equated church with the icons of old babushkas kissed in dimly lit buildings with gothic crosses and lots of candles. She didn’t have time for that.
Yes, times were difficult for them in their town in Russia. Naida and her brother Nishant live in a single-parent home, where their mother struggles to provide for them. Then the pandemic hit — the lockdown began — their mother lost her job … and things became so much worse!
Naida felt angry, bitter, hopeless. But Nishant didn’t lose hope. He seemed to think that somehow, they would be okay … then, his friends from church helped make that happen. They sent food to help the family survive, and they sent a special gift for Naida: the Book of Hope.
It not only told her about Jesus, but it also gave her something to read while stuck at home, showed her that people cared about her — and told her that God cared about her, too! This compassion from Nishant’s church family touched Naida’s heart.
Today, she’s more willing to consider faith in Jesus because she has seen how His love is displayed through His followers.
Thanks for sending the Book of Hope for Naida. You can reach more children like her with the Good News, and your gift today will be doubled by the matching challenge to share God’s Word with the next generation in limited access nations.
Every $1 you give will become $2 and reach SIX children and youth with the power of God’s Word!
40 million children and youth receive God’s Word – in Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist worlds!
Limited Access Nations can still be reached — by local believers!
No nation is off-limits to the move of the Holy Spirit — and even in regions where religious or political barriers are raised against the Gospel, we’re still reaching the next generation with God’s Word!
These are nations from every region of the world. They have varying levels of sensitivity. Reaching children is difficult due to limited access to schools and the inability to do widespread public outreaches.
Sometimes the difficulty is due to political restraints on our partners to be able to share the Gospel with children. In other nations, there is heightened persecution due to the role that religion plays in the local culture.
In 2021, our partners in 43 limited access nations believe they can they can reach more than 40 million young people with God’s Word! All they ask is that we provide the Scripture engagement programs.
For security reasons, we cannot list the names of our partners or the regions where they serve. Please pray for them and the young people they’re reaching!
Program highlights for Limited Access Nations
Several specific programs will be reaching millions of young people in limited access nations this year, including …
What If It’s True?
This digital initiative lets young people engage with life’s tough questions and connect with a real-life believer in the process — this is critical for regions where there just aren’t very many Christians or churches. Young people can engage with a social media post, continue a journey through Scripture, and even meet up with a local believer in their area for further discipleship.
2021 Faith Goal: 5.8 million
The Bridge: The Muslim Teen Book of Hope
Designed to share a message of hope with young people from a Muslim background, this book shares how salvation is a free gift through grace, provided by Jesus Christ and that the love of God is unconditional and personal.
2021 Faith Goal: 520,000
The Light of the World: The Buddhist Teen Book of Hope
This book focuses on the heartfelt needs of Buddhist teens: a lack of purpose and love, strong feelings of rejection, a poor understanding of love, and overall sense of hopelessness because all of life is suffering. The content points them to the Scriptures for the hope and love found in God through his Son Jesus.
2021 Faith Goal: 448,000
God’s Word brings hope in the darkest times
Life is hard in the Asian nation where Mele lives.
The population is one of the most youthful in Asia — because of high birth rates and low life expectancy. The traditional Eastern religion’s influence is everywhere — even endorsed by the restrictive government.
But the tiny minority of Christians is bold enough to share the Good News with the next generation … and this is how Mele came to know Jesus Christ. She was invited to a Christmas party and received a special-edition Christmas Book of Hope.
The joy this brought to her life can’t be overstated!
Both of her parents are drug addicts. They’re enslaved to addiction … and to their traditional faith. They beat Mele and told her she couldn’t go to church, but she remains faithful to her new friend, Jesus.
“My Sunday School teacher told me, when you are having any problems or trouble, call on Jesus Christ for help,” she says. “I do pray to Jesus … Praise the Lord! He is the only one to help me.”
Mele received a Christmas Book of Hope that introduced her to Jesus! You can reach twice as many children, like her, in limited access nations — the $1,000,000 matching challenge will double your gift!
NATION BY NATION
VENEZUELA — A boy finds faith, and his whole family is transformed!
Michel’s family had once been nominally Christian … but he couldn’t remember a time they went to church or prayed. The struggle for mere survival in economically-devastated Venezuela consumed all their time and energy.
By the time Michel was 15, he went his own way — he lived in his parents’ house, but he showed no respect for them, was distant and rebellious. He always felt angry and bitter. He had no hope for the future.
Then he received the Book of Hope during a sports camp at the local church. He joined a youth group studying the book together …
And soon Michel chose to follow Jesus! For the first time in years, he felt joy and hope! His demeanor and behavior changed so much, his parents wanted to know what had happened to him … and soon, they began attending church with him.
Today, by His grace, the whole family has reconciled with God, and they’re worshiping together.
SOUTHERN ASIA —
SÃO TOMÉ AND PRÍNCIPE —
BOLIVIA —
God’s Word. Every Child.
Hope renewed! A lost boy finds new life
When his half-brother was born, his mother forgot about him.
That’s how Debshlock felt. It was bad enough when his parents broke up and he couldn’t live with his father anymore … then his mother remarried … his new brother was born … he felt forgotten, rejected, pushed away.
He became rebellious, disrespectful, and disobedient. He started spending his time on the streets rather than at home. And the streets of his village aren’t too friendly. Drunkenness and opium abuse plague the impoverished town. Although Debshlock hadn’t started down that road, he was already involved in stealing from the neighbors.
He lives in a limited access region of Southern Asia, in a town made up mostly of Hindus and Muslims, very few Christians. But his friend at school, Akbar, shared the Book of Hope with Debshlock and invited him to church.
Debshlock loved the Book of Hope! And he was excited to learn about a deity who loved him, knew him by name, and considered him a beloved son. Soon he was attending Sunday School with Akbar and their friend Rohn —
And he committed his life to Christ!
His behavior changed dramatically, and today he has joy in his life. Thank you for showing Debshlock how to find hope in Jesus Christ. You made an eternal difference for him.
