She was 13 years old. Her parents had told her: no dating. She was too young.
But Fifaliana didn’t care what her parents said — She had a secret boyfriend. And that wasn’t the only way she disobeyed her parents. She didn’t do her chores around the house — or if she did them, she made a fuss about it. She talked back and disrespected her teachers as well …
But then she was invited to a OneHope presentation in her hometown in the island nation of Madagascar, and things began to change.
She received the Book of Hope and discovered that God loves her and has a plan for her life. Fifaliana chose to dedicate her life to Christ!
Her parents soon noticed a dramatic change in her attitude and behavior — and her mother asked to read the Book of Hope, too.
“She said that the book is great, and she is starting to help me think about how we can help each other to always make the right decisions in life. Both my mom and I are exploring the Book of Hope and the Bible together.”
Thanks for sending God’s Word to help Fifaliana, and her mother, find hope in Jesus!
Young people are leaving the Church in droves. Some of the most poignant findings from our global research revealed that youth want to be heard in their homes and their faith community. They want to have a voice. When they don’t get that, they leave.
Parents don’t get why their teens can’t disconnect from their devices or the stress they feel trying to project an aggrandized image on social media. These adolescent juggling acts leave young people feeling conflicted, confused, and misunderstood.
Floundering adolescents not only struggle at home, but a large number are also leaving the Church. Because it feels too legalistic and disempowering, they unplug, tap a screen, and plug into outlets like Instagram where they feel important and popular.
Although this sounds disheartening, it also gives us insight into the incredible opportunity to leverage global trends and tools to provide the Gospel to young people around the world in exciting, innovative ways.
We must recognize the world has changed; our mission fields have morphed — and if we have any hope of purveying effective ministry — especially in reaching modern day youth — we need to re-map our strategies and calibrate them to operate using relevant and effective 21st Century methods.
Young people are crying out for more opportunities for positive social interaction and personal development. The youth have spoken. Will we listen?
The mission of OneHope is to affect destiny by providing God’s eternal Word to all the children and youth of the world.
The vision is: God’s Word. Every Child. But how can we fulfill this mission, and make this vision a reality?
On our own, it would seem impossible … but with friends like you … with church and ministry partners and volunteers all over the world … with other missions organizations also reaching out with the Good News … it is more than possible — it’s inevitable!
Every day, we receive reports from our partner churches and ministries that show God’s Word is reaching the next generation, and lives are being transformed.
From Spain:
Carolina reports that her 5-year-old daughter Paula won’t go to sleep at night without a story of Jesus from the Bible App for Kids and accompanying Book of Hope. Paula says, “I watch Jesus and His friends every night! I like to learn the stories, and I can already name all of the disciples.”
From South Africa:
“This was our second week of Lead Today. The students are enjoying it! They are enthusiastic about coming to the meetings — which means I don’t have to go get them from their classrooms. They engage with the material and answer the questions. The school and the student council are thrilled with the course.”
We are seeing God’s Word reach across boundaries and borders to connect with young people and transform lives! Thank you for being part of the vision of God’s Word. Every Child.
The scripture programs you’re delivering to 135 MILLION children and youth this year are…
One example of the Book of Hope is…
Lead Today
2021 Faith Goal: 3,157,000
2021 Active Nations: 63
Created in partnership with John Maxwell’s organization, EQUIP, Lead Today empowers teens to lead with biblical principles. Young people learn how Jesus came to change lives and give every person a divine purpose and calling.
One example of a OneHope Film is…
The GodMan film
2021 Faith Goal: 13,183,000
2021 Active Nations: 53
The GodMan is our live-action, animated re-telling of the story of Christ’s life, designed to share God’s Word with children who can’t read, or in places where Gospel literature can’t go. It is available in dozens of languages and versions.
God’s Big Story
2021 Faith Goal: 4,268,000
2021 Active Nations: 50
OneHope created the God’s Big Story program for children in oral, story-telling cultures. It’s a collection of picture-cards that depict Bible stories. Each week students learn a new story and receive the card — With all 16 cards, the pieces fit together to reveal the story of the Gospel.
One example of our digital programs is…
The Bible App for Kids
2021 Faith Goal: 20.1 million
2021 Active Nations: Not constrained by geo-political boundaries
The Bible App for Kids is able to reach children even in countries where opposition to the Gospel persists. In some contexts, a printed Book of Hope could be dangerous or life-threatening to our partners, but the digital app is a free resource that is easily used to share Truth with children.
He committed his life to Christ at church when he was 12 years old, but Angus admits he didn’t progress much further in his faith. He attended church with his mother, and went to Sunday School, and still … “I didn’t take seriously the things of God,” he says. Then his church offered the Lead Today program, and teenage Angus found himself immediately drawn into the studies.
“I saw the importance of biblical leadership, and as the greatest example of leadership, our Lord Jesus Christ,” Angus says. “Now I have a great desire to improve, be a leader in my high school, and be an example to my classmates.”
Learning about leadership by studying the great leaders of the Bible inspired Angus to walk even more closely with the Lord. “Knowing Jesus Christ and knowing His Word, I began to take more interest in searching the Holy Scriptures more and putting them into practice,” he says today.
Thank you for helping Angus build deep roots in his faith!
If you have questions or need assistance, please contact April Floria at aprilfloria@onehope.net.
Many friends find this a convenient way to accomplish their goals in providing God’s Word for children around the world that also makes tax sense.
Nadia wanted to be a leader. Her main reason for this desire…She liked to tell people what to do! She thought being a leader meant you got to delegate, that people had to do what you said.
Our Lead Today program taught her about the great leaders of the Bible — at first, she thought Moses was the best leader — despite his stutter, he relied on God to guide him in leading Israel out of slavery.
But then, in the final lessons, the class turned to studying Jesus as the greatest leader.
“He didn’t command others; He served them,” Nadia says. “I decided to take Him as an example to follow. And in the last Lead Today class, I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I made the decision to lead others by serving them.”
Many of the other girls at Rocio’s school in Paraguay were beautiful —
But Rocio felt ugly. No matter how she tried to improve her appearance, she always fell short — and it preyed on her mind! At only 15 years old, she was insecure about her looks and she felt worthless. It was becoming a crisis.
When a OneHope team from the local church made a presentation at her school, she listened attentively to their message — and when they gave her a Book of Hope of her own, she read it cover to cover.
The message she found there was amazing to her! Jesus, the Son of God, had come to earth as a man, to show Rocio how much He loved her. Physical appearances didn’t matter to Him at all — He looked at hearts and offered unconditional love.
This changed everything for Rocio! She eagerly chose to dedicate her life to Christ. Knowing that she has hope and a purpose and that God loves her just as she is … This gives Rocio courage and helps banish her insecurities.
Now, she is happily attending the local church, building upon the foundation of her new relationship with Jesus and growing in God week by week. Thank you for sending God’s Word to show her the way to a new, joyful life!
