Why God’s Word?

At OneHope, we’re moving forward full speed ahead in 2022 to share God’s Word with 136 million children and youth. I’m thankful to lead OneHope strategically and continue the ministry created after my dad received a God-given vision years ago. The ministry’s motto – God’s Word. Every Child. – is more than a catchy phrase; it’s what the global OneHope team and church partners are working toward every day.  We are sometimes met with the question, “Why do you specifically focus on God’s Word for kids?” My response can best be illustrated through a story like Rafael’s. 

Rafael is a teenager living through Venezuela’s chaotic social and economic freefall.  He was raised by a single mother in a home with six siblings. One of his brothers was already in prison and Rafael seemed to be veering down the same path. After a friend invited him to a showing of a OneHope Youth Film that shared the story of Jesus, Rafael knew he needed Jesus to guide his life, and began attending youth group meetings at his local church. With the help of his new church family, he found the motivation to succeed in his academic life and even began bringing his family to church as well. Today, Rafael has received a scholarship to a Christian boarding school where he’ll have the opportunity to pursue his dreams. 

God’s Word brings about life-transformation. Tangible resources like food, water, and clothes are indispensable necessities for children around the world, and many of our amazing partners focus on fulfilling those needs, alongside distributing God’s Word. However, we feel called to provide children and teens with a relevant Gospel message so that they find hope for today and life-long purpose. 

We engage children with Scripture through print, digital, film, and other mediums. These resources are created to best communicate the message of God’s love to each specific culture. We want to see destinies transformed through the power of Jesus and His Word, and partner with the local church so that each community is led and served by the people they know and love. 

I recently read Simply Good News: Why the Gospel Is News and What Makes it Good by theologian N.T. Wright. This quote resonated with me because of how well it defines what God’s Word does for the children it reaches:

“What good news regularly does, then, is to put a new event into an old story, point to a wonderful future hitherto out of reach, and so introduce a new period in which, instead of living a hopeless life, people are now waiting with excitement for what they know is on the way.” 

Rafael’s story is just one example of the incredible, transformative power receiving God’s Word can have on children, their families, and their futures. There are thousands of testimonies like Rafael’s that show the same truth, and we pray we have thousands more to come!