December 2022 Global Report

GOD’S WORD FOR THE MUSLIM WORLD

Rabah was like any other teenager in his majority-Muslim country — he loved sports, knew a little bit about the Koran, and wanted to be successful in his future.

A stranger on the street gave him the Way of the Champion, a special-edition Book of Hope with a soccer theme — Rabah took it home and began reading the life story of Jesus.

“I had heard about the mother of the prophet Jesus, but when I read the angel’s words to her — ‘Do not fear’ — that was exactly what I wanted to hear!” Rabah recalls happily.

“As I read the book, I began to understand Jesus is more than a prophet. On page 32, I found what I needed: the prayer to receive Jesus into my life.”

Rabah prayed the prayer and invited Christ into his heart.

It’s difficult to follow Jesus publicly where he lives, but he is in an online church and is growing in his faith day by day. Thank you for sending God’s Word to show him the way to new life in Christ!

92 Days of Hope are almost over!

The $1,000,000 92 Days of Hope Matching Challenge will DOUBLE every donation made by December 31 to help reach young people like Rabah. But time is running out to make 2x impact!

THE POWER OF PARTNERSHIP

by President Rob Hoskins

As we race to complete the faith goal of providing God’s Word to 138 million children and youth this year, I’m reminded of how far He has brought us — from our ministry’s very beginnings.

OneHope was founded on the vision and direction the Holy Spirit gave to my dad, our founder, Bob Hoskins. The message he received from the Lord was, “The only thing that will rescue this generation are the truths found in My Word. I want you to take My Word to the children of the world, and you’ll do it through leaders.”

When you think about it, this is really the only way it can happen: for Christian leaders and church leaders in nation after nation to step up and take responsibility for sharing God’s Word with the young people in their own countries.

There are children in countries where political borders and social unrest prevent us from reaching. There are language barriers. There are religious wars and dangerous places. But God has made a way to go into all the world and evangelize those hard-to-reach places:

Local churches around the world answer the call to “go” and reach out to their communities — even when they’re at risk of persecution.

All they ask of us is to have Scripture programs to engage children and youth with the truth of God’s Word. This is what you’re doing as you partner with OneHope! Thanks for being part of this vision for the next generation!

Matching Challenge deadline December 31

Don’t miss this opportunity for DOUBLE impact

From October 1 to December 31, we had just 92 days to provide God’s Word for remaining 34.5 million young people to meet our 2022 faith goal of reaching 138 million with the Gospel.

We’ve made good progress toward the goal — but there’s still far to go, and time is running out!

Thankfully we’ve received a $1,000,000 92 Days of Hope Matching Challenge which will match every gift dollar for dollar — 2x the impact at a critical time!

Every $1 will be doubled by the fund to get God’s Word to 6 children and youth — even in limited access nations like the one where Bubu lives …

His nation is overwhelmingly Buddhist — the government recognizes no Christian churches, and people who leave Buddhism face ostracism and sometimes violent persecution.

Nevertheless, small local fellowships reach out to the next generation — and that’s how 5-year-old Bubu received his Book of Hope: through a Christmas in Asia outreach last year.

Bubu took the book home — and his parents read through it and did all the activities together with Bubu!

A family that might never have heard the Gospel story received the Good News through Christmas in Asia, which is one of the 3 major strategies for 92 Days of Hope:

  • Christmas in Asia
  • Outreach to Ukraine-Russia diaspora
  • And limited access nations

Remember, your donation now will be DOUBLED up to $1,000,000 — every $1 will reach 6 young people like Bubu and tell them about Jesus! But only until the challenge deadline of December 31.

LIMITED ACCESS NATIONS: GOD’S WORD FOR THE NEXT GENERATION, EVEN IN PLACES MISSIONARIES CAN’T GO

WHAT IS A LIMITED ACCESS NATION?

A limited access nation is one where sharing the Gospel with children is difficult due to political, religious, or social barriers. Often there are also varying levels of persecution of Christians, generally worse for someone who leaves the traditional faith to follow Jesus.

Limited access nations can be found in every region of the world, but many are in Asia, Eurasia, the Middle East, and Africa. Although we tend to think of Islam as one huge deterrent to the free proclamation of the Gospel in some nations, extremist Hinduism and Buddhism also hamper evangelism efforts — and in other regions, the difficulty might lie in political or social deterrents.

We never put the names of these nations in print for the security of local believers, but our partnerships with churches in these areas allow God’s Word to reach the children! Thanks for reaching out in limited access nations!

HOW YOU’RE SHARING GOD’S WORD WITH THE NEXT GENERATION IN LIMITED ACCESS NATIONS

Believers in limited access nations are anxious to reach the next generation, even if it means risking the threat of persecution to share the Good News. Particularly effective programs include:

God’s Big Story
OneHope created the God’s Big Story program, a collection of picture cards that depict Bible stories without written text, specifically for cultures that rely on aural traditions and storytelling because it can be used even among people who can’t read.

World Without Sickness
In Asia Pacific, many children lack knowledge of basic hygiene skills. World Without Sickness was developed to meet both the physical and spiritual needs of children — and it is welcomed in many schools for its practical aid in keeping kids healthy.

I am Sara Catarina from East Timor. I am 11 years old, and I am very happy because I have learned the stories of the Bible through OneHope. The 17 stories in God’s Big Story were told by the teachers, which helps us know Jesus more by listening to the stories in the Bible. I am very grateful to the ministry OneHope. God bless you!

What If It’s True?
What If It’s True? is a digital initiative that provides space for people to engage with life’s tough questions, begin on a journey through Scripture, and even meet up with a local believer in their area for further discipleship.

Bible App for Kids Book of Hope
The Bible App for Kids Book of Hope uses content from our popular app to share God’s Word using eight key Bible stories.

We provide Scripture engagement programs for an average of 33¢ per child year-round … but until the end of this month, every donation will be DOUBLED by the 92 Days of Hope Matching Challenge, so each dollar will get God’s Word to 6 young people!

DECEMBER 31 DEADLINE

NOW IS THE TIME FOR STRATEGIC YEAR-END GIVING

Your faithful partnership with OneHope has already helped get the life-transforming power of God’s Word to more than a billion children and youth worldwide! Thank you!

As you plan your year-end stewardship, you may discover you can make an even greater impact and lower your income tax burden through a rollover gift from your IRA.

  • If you are age 70½ or older, you can transfer up to $100,000 from your traditional IRA to OneHope without adding a penny to your taxable income.
  • This benefits you even if you don’t itemize deductions.
  • If you are 72 or older, this kind of gift also counts toward your required minimum distribution.

Because this kind of rollover gift may take some time to process, you will want to be sure to contact your IRA custodian soon and get the process started so it can be completed by December 31.

You may also want to consider these options for taxwise giving before year’s end: 

  • A donation of appreciated assets, stocks, bonds, and property — you may very well avoid capital gains tax
  • A distribution from your donor-advised fund
  • An outright gift of cash — give by December 31, and your gift will be doubled by the 92 Days of Hope Matching Challenge

For more information on strategic ways to maximize your impact and enhance your legacy of sharing Jesus with the next generation, please email stewardship@onehope.net or call 1.800.448.2425.

NATION BY NATION

COLOMBIA — LOVED AT LAST

Dario had never felt loved. His father abandoned him, and his mom struggled to provide for him and his sisters.

Then he received the Bible App for Kids Book of Hope from the local church. The book convinced him there’s a God who cares for Him — and the warm welcome he received at church made him feel loved for the first time he can remember!

Dario chose to dedicate his life to Christ, and now he is joyfully following Jesus. He uses his Book of Hope to share the Gospel with his mother and sisters, too. They haven’t made a decision for Jesus yet, but Dario and his new church family are praying for them.

MADAGASCAR

Jane’s grandmother founded an educational system and a radio station in Madagascar! But Jane found it very hard to try to live up to her illustrious relative. Everyone expected so much from her! The Lead Today program showed Jane she doesn’t have to try to be someone else … She can be the godly leader God intends for her to be.

LIMITED ACCESS NATION

Lerone was every teacher’s nightmare: rude, disrespectful, disobedient, aggressive … and he was no better at home where his single mom struggled with his disruptive behavior. But then he received the Book of Hope and invited Jesus into his life. Today he’s a different child: affectionate, obedient, helpful, kind. Thanks for sending God’s Word to transform Lerone’s life!

ANGOLA

Ten-year old Luisa received the Pathway to Hope Book of Hope from a friend. It’s a special edition designed for peer-to-peer evangelism with our partners at Kids’ Evangelism Explosion. She loved the book and prayed the prayer at the end to invite Jesus into her heart. Then she shared her new faith with her mother and brothers — and they’ve all chosen to follow Jesus, too!

God’s Word. Every Child.

A FAMILY TRANSFORMED BY THE POWER OF GOD’S WORD!

Worship at the Hindu temple, offerings to the gods, these were practices Hiral’s family did regularly in their majority-Hindu nation. 

Thirteen-year-old Hiral didn’t understand much about their traditional faith. It certainly didn’t help him with his emotions and behavior: he had a terrible temper and a bad habit of telling lies.

Then he received the Book of Hope.

“I learned that we all are sinners and need a Savior,” he says. “I understood that Jesus came to remove my sin and make me holy so that I can be a child of God.”

Hiral decided to make Jesus Lord of his life. And his behavior changed dramatically! He stopped lying, and found the peace and strength not to lose his temper.

And he became an evangelist to his family:

He shared the Gospel with his parents, and invited them to come to church with him, which they did. His father was intrigued, but he had many questions … the pastor gave him a Bible, and he read it, cover to cover, in four months!

“Then my dad and mom also believed in Jesus,” Hiral reports. “My elder brother didn’t believe, but he wanted to go to Lead Today classes, and that’s where he decided to believe in Jesus, too.”

The whole family has been transformed — and now Hiral uses his Book of Hope to tell his friends about Jesus, too.

“My decision is that I will keep sharing the Gospel with as many people as possible,” he says. 

Thank you for sending God’s Word to transform this family!

Donate Today

$1 shares the Gospel with 3 children. HOw many will you reach?