April 2023 Global Report
What If It’s True?
YOU SHARED THE TRUTH WITH A MUSLIM BOY … AND EVERYTHING CHANGED
His Muslim faith had never given him hope or peace.
Then his father died, and Omer was plunged into three years of bitterness and grief.
“I thought about suicide after my father died, but I always remembered my mother and my sister, so I couldn’t kill myself,” he recalls.
Then he saw an ad online for our website What If It’s True?
“I liked the site, I liked the name of the site, and online it’s easier to ask questions, there’s no danger,” Omer recalls.
Through the website he met local Christians, connected with a pastor … and soon chose to dedicate his life to Jesus!
It hasn’t been easy for Omer. He lost a lot of his Muslim friends, and his family is disappointed that he became a believer.
But Omer never looked back — his plan is to become an evangelist himself — he’s already helping to share the Good News with others who ask questions through What If It’s True?
Your gift of God’s Word gave him hope for today and tomorrow! Thank you!
Program highlights:
How you’re reaching limited access nations in the Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist worlds
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.
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 a journey through Scripture, and even meet up with a local believer in their area for further discipleship.
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.
OneHope programs are going even where missionaries can’t go!
Fast Facts
Islam is the world’s second-largest religion with more than 2 billion adherents — the majority of the world’s Muslims live in central and northern Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.1
There are 1.1 billion Hindus in the world — the majority in Asia. Hindus living in Europe and the U.S. are among the best educated religious groups with nearly three years more education than the average American.2
Half a billion people around the world practice Buddhism. The majority live in Asia, and it’s estimated half the world’s Buddhists live in China.3
1“Muslim Population by Country 2023,” World Population Review, accessed February 27, 2023, https://worldpopulationreview.com/ country-rankings/muslim-population-by-country.
2Jonathan Evans, “7 Facts About Hindus Around the World,” Pew Research Center, October 26, 2022, https://www.pewresearch.org/ fact-tank/2022/10/26/7-facts-about-hindus-around-the-world/.
3Kelsey Jo Starr, “5 Facts About Buddhists Around the World,” Pew Research Center, April 5, 2019, https://www.pewresearch.org/fact- tank/2019/04/05/5-facts-about-buddhists-around-the-world/.
Sukhleen’s Story of Hope!
His religion was older and better than Christianity — of this Sukhleen had no doubt.
His family was so devoutly Hindu that they even had a temple in their home, where they worshipped many different gods and performed all the required rituals.
Because there are so many gods in his traditional faith, Sukhleen felt it would be OK to visit our What If It’s True? website and learn about one more god: the one the Christians call Jesus, the Christ. But what he found there surprised him! Jesus isn’t just one among many gods; He’s the one true God.
Sukhleen wanted to know more, and the website connected him with a OneHope partner in his city.
Today he has committed his life to Christ and is growing in God through studying the Bible and interacting with other believers online. Thank you for showing him the truth, even in a majority Hindu nation!
“I stopped reading the Bhagavad Gita — now I read the Bible on my phone.”
A life transformed—
BECAUSE YOU SHARED GOD’S WORD!
Yefri’s mother told him she was going to look for work in another city in their home nation of the Dominican Republic … but she didn’t come back.
Yefri felt alone and abandoned — especially because his father mistreated him.
But you reached out to him with God’s love through the Superbook program — soon Yefri learned the story of Jesus and chose to follow Christ as Savior!
His friends at church began to pray with him for peace in his family, and today Yefri says:
“My mother visits me now, and my family is restored. I sincerely forgive my parents, and now my relationship with my father has improved, too.”
We’re praying for Yefri’s whole family to find new life in Jesus. And in the meantime, Yefri is growing in God, thanks to the Good News you shared with him!
You’re reaching a generation of digital natives with God’s Word
Together with OneHope, you’re sharing God’s Word through innovative digital programs such as …
Bible App for Kids and the Kids Bible Experience
We partnered with YouVersion to create these popular Bible apps for children as young as 2 and 3 on up to preteens. They’re reaching millions!
What If It’s True?
What If It’s True? is the online program reaching young people in limited access nations. It has already reached more than 9 million young people around the world.
The Bridge
The Bridge is a webcomic for youth available in English, Bahasa Indonesian, Bahasa Melayu, and Tagalog (Philippines). As teens read through the adventure, they can dig deeper into Scripture and connect with an online missionary.
Unfinished Story
This program begins with an ad on a web search page or social media and engages young people to click through to the rest of the story — available across the Middle East and North Africa, India, Ukraine, Malaysia and Brunei, Pakistan, and Indonesia.
“I LOVE THE BIBLE APP!”
“I really like Kids Bible Experience because it shows really fun videos to explain verses in the Bible, and I can respond with how it is helping me personally. The Bible App has really helped grow my relationship with Jesus and God.”
— Amber, USA
NATION BY NATION
SENSITIVE NATION
SENSITIVE NATION
MEXICO
You’ve reached 2 BILLION children and youth with God’s Word!
OneHope’s vision of reaching every child with God’s Word began in 1987 when the minister of education for the nation of El Salvador asked for the Scriptures for every child in the country …
Fittingly it was in El Salvador on February 28, 2023, that we placed God’s Word into the hands of the 2 BILLIONTH child to receive the Good News through OneHope! Praise the Lord!
The 2 billionth child is 11-year-old Marcos Alexander Andoza Mejia.
He represents the third generation of El Salvadoran young people to receive the Book of Hope and other Scripture programs from OneHope.
Thank you for sending the life-transforming power of God’s Word to children all over the world.
Please join us in praising God for this amazing milestone … and preparing to reach the next billion with the Good News!
Hope for Syria and Turkey in aftermath of deadly earthquake
By OneHope President Rob Hoskins
My heart was broken to see the destruction and devastation after the February earthquake in Turkey and Syria. The loss of life, homes, and communities has left countless people in need of help and support.
I’m so grateful for believers like you and sister ministries of OneHope that have stepped up to provide immediate aid and are committed to bringing hope to the victims and survivors.
Immediate Response: Boots on the Ground
OneHope has partnerships with local churches and organizations, as well as our own OneHope teams in neighboring countries, that are in critical need of cash donations during this crisis, as cash allows them to purchase the supplies and resources that are needed right away. If you’d like to support those in Turkey and Syria by donating, you can go to https://oneh.pe/jer.
Mid-Term Response: Monitoring the Response
The Church is marginalized in Turkey and Syria, so it’s critical to provide direct support to church leaders and local, vetted, and trusted ministry leaders in these regions going forward. This will allow us to have real-time knowledge and insights into the real needs of the affected communities.
Long-Term Response: Ensure Funding for Rebuilding
Throughout all these steps, funding must be reserved in order for the Church to support the long-term needs of the impacted regions. In many cases, government and international aid agencies will have gone, but the Church will continue to be on the front lines.
There are also many opportunities found in the fact that we live in a digital age. Now that we can reach those in Turkey and Syria straight through their phones, the Church can use social media, videos, podcasts, and other digital programs to bring hope and encouragement to those who are struggling in the aftermath of the earthquake.
We may not always understand why natural disasters happen, but we can trust that God is always with us and is always working for our good. As His Church, we can come together to offer a comprehensive response that addresses the immediate, mid-term, and long-term needs of the affected communities. Thanks for being part of this!
God’s Word. Every Child.
How you helped plant a church in the DRC —
STARTING WITH A MOVIE ABOUT JESUS
Your gift of The GodMan film helped launch a new church that is transforming lives and whole families!
The GodMan is the computer-generated animation life of Christ story being used in hundreds of nations around the world in versions that are contextualized to the local audience. Children (and adults) are drawn into the story through live-action wraps at the beginning and the end that show how the Gospel message relates to them personally and speaks to their deepest needs.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, Pastor Blaise and his church felt called to plant a new faith community in a nearby village, but they had few resources and no materials to connect with the other villagers.
“Thanks to the materials and books from OneHope, we went door to door inviting young people to attend The GodMan film screening that the OneHope team had organized,” Pastor Blaise reports.
“We were amazed at the number of people who were reached — and that was the start; today the church is 3 years old, and we continue to see its growth every day.”
The GodMan film connects with children and youth, even if they can’t read the Scriptures, which makes it a practical program for reaching young people with the Good News and launching new churches.
