Winning children to Christ

Transcription

1 Winning children to Christ

2 A Word from the Executive Director Dear Friend, We know that Satan strategically goes after children. His evil plans include the recruitment of children in the Middle East to become ISIS cubbies to carry out unthinkable atrocities. Closer to home, the enemy s assault on children is seen today in the breakdown of families, through secular humanism being taught in our schools, and the effects of the internet with rampant pornography. The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy always. In stark contrast, Jesus Christ offers abundant life! The Mailbox Club is dedicated to reaching children & young people for Christ for MANY reasons: 1. Jesus commanded us to reach boys and girls! In Mark 10:14-15, Jesus said, Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it. 2. Children are the greatest harvest field in the world. Children simply take God at His Word. Adults have great difficulty bending the knee and coming to Christ in simple, child-like faith. 3. Children are the largest, most unreached people group in the world. While the surging population of children in the world is approaching 2 billion, sadly, only 20-40% of the church s resources go to children s ministries. 5. Children make great missionaries NOW! Children overflow with excitement as they eagerly share the Good News with their family members and friends. 6. Children are our future. Over and over again we hear and read about graduates of The Mailbox Club serving Jesus as adults pastors, deacons, elders, missionaries, Sunday School teachers, business and government leaders. As you prayerfully read these pages, please ask God to show you what role He would have you play in helping reach the children of the world for Christ! 4. Children, if won to Christ and properly discipled, can lead long, fruitful lives for the Lord. Many great Christian leaders were saved as For the children, children, and served the Lord for decades such as Charles H. Spurgeon, Jonathan Edwards, Corrie ten Boom, Jim Elliot, Ruth Bell Graham, James Dobson, to name a few! John Mark Eager

3 Mission Statement To win the children and young people of the world to Christ and help nurture them into spiritual maturity through Bible courses and into local churches. This is accomplished through direct ministry and by multiplying our efforts through key partnerships and the Body of Christ around the world. Vision Statement The Mailbox Club produces Christ-centered Bible courses and facilitates their translation and distribution around the world for people of all ages, with emphasis on children and young people. We also support our ministry partners by training them in the best practices we have learned in almost 52 years of follow-up ministry. 1

4 Executive Summary The Mailbox Club challenges indigenous churches and national leaders to wake up to the spiritual needs of children and youth. It then partners with indigenous volunteers from ministries and churches who are dedicated to reaching children, yet lack resources. It trains them to evangelize children and provides them with Christ-centered children s Bible lessons. TMC Bible lessons are translated into many languages and written in a way that children can easily understand. Distributing the lessons by hand allows for an interactive learning process that connects the students to godly mentors who actively participate in the children s learning. Each child is encouraged to come to saving faith in Christ. Subsequent lessons help disciple children into deeper spiritual maturity and involvement in a local church. TMC leaders remain in contact with partner ministries over the course of a year and are available to assist, offering ongoing training and encouragement to better equip volunteers to evangelize and disciple children. At the end of the year, one-page summary reports from partners and testimonies from children are collected to review the program s success. Children are one of the most unreached people groups in the world. TMC believes every child should have the opportunity to learn about Jesus and be discipled in His Word. TMC s recent improvements include: full color lessons, improved training materials, increased 2 flexibility with partners, and a digital platform for distributing TMC materials and providing virtual training. Long-term, we want to have TMC lessons for illiterate children and build partnerships with orality ministries. TMC has received countless testimonies of students coming to faith in Christ and gaining a clear understanding of the Bible (see pages 6, 7 and 8). Furthermore, a recurring trend among the students is that once they are saved, their families and friends come to Christ as well. The results of our global outreach in 2016 were as follows: 4 Over 1.97 million students, mostly children, were enrolled in TMC lessons million students completed a course of TMC lessons! 4 Over 238,000 volunteers and 30,746 churches participated in this discipleship process! The return generated by this program is expressed in terms of children discipled, which is counted as those who complete a series of TMC Bible lessons over a time period of 4-12 months. The Return on Investment (ROI) calculation on the following page refers to this outcome. TMC also tracks the number of children saved which is counted by an indication in one of the lessons of coming to faith in Jesus. In 2016, a total of 574,223 students indicated a decision to receive Christ as their Savior! We give God all the glory for the incredible results! Source: Calvin Edwards & Company and ROI Ministry

5 Return on Investment Calculation ROI Ministry has rated the The Mailbox Club as one of its top 10 ministries which reap significant outcomes with the finances entrusted to them. The calculations below illustrate their assessment of our 2016 ministry: EVANGELISM & DISCIPLESHIP We praise God for the following extraordinary impact of the Gospel! SALVATIONS REPORTED 574,223 PROGRAM COST $2,808,858 CHILDREN DISCIPLED 1,564,976 By completing a course COST PER CHILD DISCIPLED $1.79 If a friend were to invest $1,000 into this program, he or she could expect the following result: DONATION $1,000 COST PER CHILD DISCIPLED $1.79 CHILDREN DISCIPLED 559 Source: Calvin Edwards & Company and ROI Ministry roiministry.org 3

6 Ministry Results 2016 GLOBAL SUMMARY OF BIBLE CLUBS Photo of group of children here Typically 12 lessons. Estimated 4 12 months to complete. Engages churches and volunteers in discipleship process. Evangelism Results by Region Lessons Printed Lessons by % Students Taking Lessons Salvations Certificates Awarded Volunteer Mentors Churches Involved AFRICA 14,160, % 719, , ,377 10,951 3,839 ASIA 10,699, % 839, , , ,004 14,801 CENTRAL ASIA 347, % 27,638 5,629 14,554 7,305 8,506 EASTERN EUROPE 4, % 3, LATIN AMERICA 1,187, % 105,667 27,171 67,476 5,078 2,257 MIDDLE EAST 3,570, % 237,203 50, ,014 7, NORTH AMERICA 1,598, % 38,999 2,014 25, GRAND TOTALS 31,568, % 1,971, ,223 1,564, ,108 30,746 Total Countries 66 79% Students Taking Lessons 1,971,352 Graduation rate Certificates Awarded 1,564,976 More details at 4

7 Ministry Highlights Lessons Printed in 2016 Central Asia 1.10% Eastern Europe 0.01% Latin America 3.76% North America 5.06% Middle East 11.31% Asia 33.89% Africa 44.86% Africa Asia Central Asia Eastern Europe Latin America Middle East North America Lessons Printed in 2016 The above sample lesson is for children in the heart of the Muslim world! We are now working with Muslim Background Believers (MBB). MBB s are first generation Christians, many of whom have come to faith in the Lord Jesus out of radical Islam, even while in jihad training camps. Now, they want their children evangelized and discipled! We have opportunities before us to reach one million MBB children in the heart of the Muslim world. Please PRAY for this outreach! million 52.6% All other Countries million 47.4% 10/40 Window At left, you will notice that nearly half of the lessons printed in 2016 were for the people in the 10/40 Window, which includes North Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. These regions are populated by over two-thirds of the world s people. Within the 10/40 Window are the most unreached people of the world, bound by Islam, Hinduism or Buddhism. We must tell them that Jesus loves them, and died in their place to offer them eternal life through faith in Him! God has opened HUGE DOORS there for us, and we need your prayers and financial support. THANK YOU! 5

8 Testimonies Rachel Thank you so much for telling me how to get Jesus as my SAVIOR! It feels so awesome to know he s my Savior!! Age 9, IU, USA Neoma You asked if I have taken the Lord Jesus as my Savior. Yes I have! It was WONDERFUL! The most important things I learned are: God can forgive my sins, so that I am free of them. And: God can live in me. I am Amish-old school. Age 12, PA, USA Arleen Taking this course, has made me understand some question I had about the Bible. It has made me want to give my all to God and keep him in my daily life. It has helped me in my spiritual life. Age 19, WI, USA Raja The Mailbox Club courses changed my life and I really learned many things from them. I realize God s deep love for me. God gave us His only Son for my sin. Thanks to Mailbox Club for showing the truth in these courses. I really enjoyed the courses and complete the course with a great joy. So please pray for me. I love Jesus so much. I know that He also loves me. Bangladesh Esmeralda I thank God for the opportunity to study and complete this Mailbox Club course. It was 6 a great blessing for me, because I learned many things that I didn't know. When I was studying lesson 8 I trusted Christ as my only true Savior, this has helped me a lot. Now I have decided to take another step of obedience and will get baptized. I would like to receive more of your lessons and continue growing spiritually. Age12, Nicaragua Tunde I thank the Jesus Film Project team for coming to our village with discipleship materials. Many of us have given our lives to the Lord but did not have discipleship materials to learn. We then find ourselves going back to the world. The lessons have helped build our faith in the Lord and there is no turning back. Age 14, Ivory Coast (Cote D`Ivoire) Mariana In these lessons I learned that God is true and living, that his Spirit is with me, that God is holy and that he wants me to be holy as he is holy. I also learned that God is love and that he loves me and he gave his Son to die on the cross for my sins. That he is just and faithful and that he corrects me to show me what is right and that he never lies. I learned that he created us and all the animals in nature, and that the devil is our enemy and enemy of God and that God is my savior and he lives in heaven. Age 9, Colombia

9 Testimonies Jiana I love God more and got to know Him more and I know now what happens in heaven. I became stronger in my faith. I learned to pray always. Israel Richard I will always thank God for saving me through Explorer lessons. I wanted my girlfriend to abort her pregnancy. This would have been the third in two years. My life was horrible until i found Jesus. May the Lord bless TMC. Age15, Benin Aduana I was blessed to have studied the lessons. They provided hope for me. My life has changed and I have overcome drug addiction. Age 13, Burkina Faso Niyomwungere and Ntirandekura Our names are Niyomwungere (Adventist Church) and Ntirandekura (Muslim). We came to know the Mailbox Club from our neighbor Iriho. We already took Explorers 1&2 but have been careful to hide it from our parents. We praise Lord for the lessons. Pray for us because our parents will not approve. Walter Burundi These lessons have really changed my life and made me become a new creature. Without The Mailbox Club, I do not know where my life would have been at this moment. May I tell you that after discovering the truth about God, His Son Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, Angels, creation, etc. I decided to accept Jesus Christ as my Saviour since then. I believe in Him, His 7

10 Testimonies resurrection and all the teachings being found in the Holy book The Bible. I decided to introduce my family to register for the studies. I wanted to start my witnessing from my house before continuing outside. I am now leading people to study the Word of God through these Bible correspondence courses. I am also thanking the Source Of Light /TMC volunteers at the Kericho Office for taking their time to pray for the students and carrying out the work of marking answer sheets and giving assistance where necessary. Kenya God to them. I pray with them and lead them to Christ. Age 13, Ghana Fetira I am living with my grandparents. I am a 2nd grade student in vision school. I am learning God s word every Saturday. The stories that are told make me very happy. We have been learning various lessons about sin, salvation etc from Mailbox material Explorers. I was really moved by the lessons and wept, confessed my sin and received Jesus Christ as my Savior. Age 10, Ethiopia Mumuni I am an orphan who struggles to find food to eat. I joined TMC Bible class because of help but Jesus saved my soul. Age 14, Burkina Faso Shama We do not have any Bible lesson materials in our village. Many people are thirsty for the Word of God. I was one of the beneficiaries who gave his life to the Lord. Age 15, Burkina Faso Suzzy I am now called Osofo Maame meaning a lady pastor because I have been winning a lot of friends in my community. I will send TMC materials and explain the love of 8

11 2016 Financials 4% Income: $2,818,837 11% Income 96% Contributions Sales Expenses: $2,808,858 Net Income: $9,979 11% 13% 8% 3% Expenses Assets: $2,265,201 Liabilities: $197,774 76% Net Assets: $2,067,427 Portion Restricted: $1,345,505 International Ministry USA Ministry Fund Raising Administrative Financials shown here audited by the CPA firm Goldsmith Molis & Gray, PLLC. 9

12 Evangelism Explosion Child Evangelism Fellowship Source of Light Ministry RUN Ministries (Reaching Unreached Nations) The Jesus Film Project Gospel Mission India Compassion International Our Partners Prison Fellowship Breath of Life Africa Torch Ministries Operation Christmas Child ( ) "If you don t reach your child by their 12th birthday, you ll probably not reach them." Josh McDowell Please visit Eager Rd Valdosta GA Facebook: The Mailbox Club Int l