OneHope partnered with the Barna Group to conduct research that showed the #1 predictor of spiritual health in a child is regular Bible reading!
Yet as children grow up, they tend to engage with Scripture less and less … and spiritual vibrancy diminishes.
To keep them engaged with God’s Word, we envisioned a digital program well beyond the Bible App for Kids that would keep older children engaged —
When the pandemic and stay-at-home orders came, we knew we had to get into action and complete this new program ASAP! So, we’re thrilled to announce the launch of the
Kids Bible Experience
We are praising God for allowing us to make this great leap forward in the digital space! This is something we’ve been praying about and working on — and now is the time.
It’s part of the YouVersion Bible App — the next level in a child’s Scripture engagement journey, as pre-teens begin to grow out of the Bible App for Kids. (Many children around the world continue to use the Bible App for Kids even after they leave the target age for it.)
It’s perfect for your children and grandchildren who have already been using the Bible App for Kids for years, or who are pre-teens and need to get engaged with God’s Word.
Update your YouVersion Bible app today to enable the new feature.
As the scope of the pandemic became apparent, people began asking: how will this change things?
My answer to this question is shaped by my perspective as a ministry leader, but it’s my prayer that the five attitudes I hope to foster within OneHope going forward after this crisis may also resonate with you:
By God’s grace, from the first quarter of 2020 compared to last year, the numbers are showing an increase in digital outreaches across the world! Your generosity is also making a difference, sharing God’s Word digitally, in many limited access regions where there is opposition to sharing the Gospel!
MAJORITY HINDU NATION
Church partners in a majority Hindu nation began livestreaming their services during the lockdown — and they also began producing online services for Sunday School and youth group meetings, using OneHope Scripture engagement programs and materials. Now young people can access the Good News, even in a nation where Christians are persecuted and it’s difficult to conduct evangelical meetings — children and youth in lockdown are looking for things to do online. Your gift of God’s Word is life-changing for them!
TOGO
Several churches in Togo also moved their services online, but they had no online offerings for children. Our local team went into action, producing YouTube videos based on God’s Big Story. They offered the program to local churches, which put them to use as their online Sunday School!
JAPAN
Our OneHope Japan leadership reports, “The COVID-19 situation really slowed down some parts of the ministry, but it has definitely opened doors to new outreaches online!” One great new outreach: online Sunday School. The team has created videos children can access online and even take a quiz to gauge what they’ve learned — the quiz results go to the Sunday school teachers whose classes are using the program … helping kids engage with God’s Word and stay connected to their church, too.
LIMITED ACCESS EURASIA
Limited access nations in Eurasia adapted the Bible App for Kids into a Sunday School curriculum that’s now being used throughout the region. More than 1,000 churches in four limited access nations are using the digital curriculum, which includes videos, stories, and graphics from the app plus a craft for children to do at home as they’re watching their online Sunday School. Thank you for the prayers and generosity that make it possible for OneHope to adapt to the changing situation in the world and keep reaching the next generation with the Good News!
Daniela from Bolivia started using the Bible App for Kids when she was just 9 years old. She loved it! Today, she is 12 years old. She’s following Jesus as her Savior, and she still loves the Bible App for Kids. She is using it to share God’s Word with her 8-year-old brother and other friends.
The Kids Bible Experience is a perfect illustration of how God used what the enemy intended for evil and turned it for good.
In the Kids Bible Experience children will find …
You can enable the brand new feature by updating your YouVersion Bible app today.
It was too much to bear! Naitee worked long, hard hours alongside her husband just to keep food on the table for their three children — including their son, Manan, who was nine years old.
As soon as she’d arrive home, the neighbors were complaining again: Manan had gotten into another fight; Manan had disrespected the elders; Manan was out of control!
They were Muslims in a majority Muslim region, but when Naitee happened to meet a visiting pastor, she invited him to come and speak to her boy. It was unorthodox to have a Christian in her home, but … maybe it would help?
Pastor Ethan gave Manan the Book of Hope and talked with him — and soon received an encouraging report: Manan’s behavior had undergone a radical change!
The little boy was now praying in the name of Jesus for the strength he needed to do the right things. Although it’s perilous for anyone — let alone a child so young — to declare he is changing his religion in this country, all indications are that Manan is following Christ as his Savior!
The pandemic locked down Angola’s capital city of Luanda, and the police department found themselves wondering how to help young people, who would normally be socializing together, to stay home and be safe.
Thankfully, one of the officers is also a OneHope volunteer, and he introduced the department to the Book of Hope. They presented the book to their leadership and received authorization to deliver God’s Word to 18,000 young people.
They are distributing the teen edition of the Book of Hope to youth, along with hygiene kits to help stop the spread of the coronavirus!
Nigeria is #12 on Open Doors’ World Watch List for the worst places to be a Christian. Loss of life, horrendous injuries, loss of homes and property … Nigeria’s Christians can be subject to all this at the hands of Boko Haram, the Fulani herdsmen, and other Islamist extremist groups.
While our partners may face persecution, they were also seeing a wonderful response to the Book of Hope, The GodMan film, and other Scripture engagement programs …
Until the pandemic caused sickness, deaths, and shutdowns. Lagos and the city of Kano (a trade hub for Northern Nigeria and the Sahel region) have both been hit hard. One reason for Kano’s virulent COVID-19 outbreak: the local government was reluctant to close down mosques in the majority Muslim city.
But it’s far from all bad news in Nigeria, as we see in the story of 7-year-old Adaolisa from the city of Enugu. A few months before anyone had ever heard of the coronavirus, she attended a Children’s Bible Club — anxious to collect all 16 cards in the God’s Big Story program.
“I didn’t know there were important stories about them,” she recalls. “I thought they were just pictures, and we could do activities with them.” But as she began learning the stories, she was presented with the whole Gospel message …
And today she is following Christ as Savior! Thank you for sending God’s Word to bring hope to Adaolisa in these dark days.
