The Proclamation of the Gospel is the Only Way
Evangelism Explosion Inc., OneHope, The Mailbox Club – White Paper 2
The Proclamation of the Gospel is the Only Way
There’s an assault taking place today on our children. Satan is seeking to destroy these young lives by any means he can such as secular humanism, the
breakdown of the family and internet pornography just to name a few. Do we care enough to be part of the solution? Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” —Matthew 19:14
There is a solution to pave the way as we recall Jesus’ words in the Book of Matthew:
The Answer is in the Gospel of Jesus ChristThe Gospel allows us to:
• groundchildrenintheirfaithinChrist
• preparechildrentosharethatfaith
• helpchildrentakeastandforwhatispure,holyandtrue
• impactmillionsofotherchildrenthroughtheGospel
ByGod’sgrace,childrenifwontoChristandproperlydiscipled,canleadlong,fruitfullivesfortheLord.
Tonameafew,CharlesH.Spurgeon,BiblecommentatorMatthewHenry,teacherJohnCalvin,preacherJonathanEdwards,songwriterIsaacWatts,missionaryRobertMoffett,evangelistPaulRader,writerCorrietenBoom,pastorOswaldChambers,missionaryJimElliot,evangelistLeightonFord,
“Truly, I tell you whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” —Matthew 25:40
The Hope for Kids Explorers Club Project (HFK/EC)—a ministry of Evangelism Explosion International in partnership with OneHope and The Mailbox Club
Evangelism Explosion Inc., OneHope, The Mailbox Club – White Paper 3
The Proclamation of the Gospel is the Only Way
evangelist’swifeandwriterRuthBellGraham,teacherStephenOlfordandmedicaldoctorJamesDobsonallacceptedChristaschildrenandeachservedtheLordfordecades!
Acenturyago,thegreatevangelist,D.L.Moody,wasaskedashewasleavinganevangelisticmeeting,“Howmanyweresavedtonight?”Moodyreplied,“Twoandahalf.”Thefriendsaid,“Youmeantwoadultsandonechild?”Moodywiselysaid,“No,twochildrenandoneadult!”D.L.MoodyunderstoodthevalueofhavingalonglifetolivefortheLordJesus!
Wecannotwaitanylonger.
A Relevant, Legitimate Answer for Worldwide Change
ThroughauniquepartnershipamongthreenotedChristianorganizations,threekeyobjectiveswillbeaccomplishedthatcansignificantlyimpactourworldforChrist:
1—Reach God’schildren,whoarethefutureleadersofthe church.
2—Teach themGod’struthswellandgivethemafirmfoundationonwhichtostand.
3—Engagetheminbeingpartofthesolution.
EE International, OneHope, and the Mailbox Club Pool Resources for RevivalThebattletosavethenextgenerationisagreatone.Theefforttocombatthedamagingeffectsofhumanismandinternetpornographyrequiresthestrengthsofseveralestablishedinstitutions.WiththankstothegraceofGod,EvangelismExplosionInternational,OneHope,andTheMailboxClubhavejoinedhandstoreach,teachandmakedisciplesofthenextgeneration.
Evangelism Explosion Internationalhas52yearsofreachingyoungandoldwiththeGospelofJesusChristandalsoprovidestheworldwideinfrastructureandstafftotrainandequipindigenousstafftoworkintheculturesandlanguagestheyalreadyknow.
Evangelism Explosion Inc., OneHope, The Mailbox Club – White Paper 4
The Proclamation of the Gospel is the Only Way
OneHopebringstheinfrastructuretoprint,shipandstorediscipleshipandtrainingmaterialsthroughouttheworldand,alongwithEEInternational,hasalreadyequippedalmosttwomillionchildrenwiththeGospelinonlyafewyearsthroughtheinnovativeHopeforKids(HFK)ministry.
The Mailbox Clubhas,for49years,beenfullyengagedinreachingthechildrenofourworldwiththeGospeloftheLordJesusChristthroughchildren’sBiblelessonsandyouthBiblestudylessons.
These three ministries will multiply efforts to win and disciple this world for Christ.
Children Are Most Receptive to the GospelBetween Ages 5-13Inhisbook,TransformingChildrenintoSpiritualChampions,GeorgeBarnawrote,“MinistrytochildrenisthesinglemoststrategicministryinGod’skingdom.Byagenine,mostchildrenhavetheirspiritualmooringsinplace.Itisfareasiertohaveinfluencebeforethefoundationsarefirm.”1Hereinforceshisresearchfindingthatthesefoundationsdevelopearly,writing,“Itseemsthatbythetimeheorsheisnine,thechildshiftsmentalgearsandbeginstousethecuesheorshereceivesfromthatpointforwardtoeitherconfirmorchallengeanexistingperspective.Bythetimethechildhasreachedthisage,itismuchmoredifficulttochangeanexistingviewthantoformanewview.”2
TheBarnaResearchGroupwasalsothefirsttodeterminewhenpeoplecometoChrist,andtheirprobabilityofacceptingChristatdifferentlifestages.Itconcludedthat85percentofallthosewhoacceptChristintheU.S.,dosobetween4-14yearsofage.ThisisacompellingstatisticthatspeakstotheopennessandvulnerabilityofchildrentotheGospelandthetremendousopportunitytowinthemtoChristintheirdevelopingyears.TheyalsoconcludedthatAmericanchildren5-13yearsoldareeighttimesmorelikelythanteenagerstoacceptChristandmorethanfivetimesmorelikelythanadults.3What’slikelyfortheU.S.isveryunlikelyoutsideoftheU.S.
Itisauniquedynamic—onethatdoesn’tcomealongveryoften.Threeorganizationshavejoinedforcestoaccomplishonevision,onegoal,onepurpose: Save Our Children—Save our WorldbyreachingchildrenwitharelevantGospelmessageanddisciplingthemtosolidifytheirfaithinChristandtobecomereproducingdisciples.
“Ministry to children is the single most strategic ministry in God’s Kingdom . . .”
1 Transforming Children into Spiritual Champions, George Barna; p. 472 Ibid; p. 143 Barna Research Group, “Teens and Adults Have Little Chance of
Accepting Christ as Their Saviour”, November, 1999
Evangelism Explosion Inc., OneHope, The Mailbox Club – White Paper 5
The Proclamation of the Gospel is the Only Way
Proven Leadership, Longevity, Track RecordSince2010,EEhaspartneredwithOneHopethroughtheHopeforKidsministry(HFK)to:
• equipchildrenaroundtheworldwiththeGospelofJesusChrist
• developandstrengthenchildren’sleadersaroundtheworldtotrainmultitudesofchildrentosharetheirfaith
• offeron-siteassistancetotrainupindigenousleadersand provideFREEbiblically-basedmaterials
Theresultshavesurpassedallexpectations:
• almost4,000,000childrentrainedtosharetheirfaith (withthepotentialtoreachcloseto40,000,000otherchildrenwiththeGospel!)
• 108,045children’sleaderstrainedtoequipchildrenwith the Gospel
• 16,029churchescurrentlyinvolved
(resultstakenfromthestartoftheprograminJanuary,2010throughJanuary,2014)
Initial Explorers Club Results Show Great Promise
ThenewpartnershipbetweenEE,OneHopeandTheMailboxClubprovidesuswiththeabilitytofurtherexpandonthenumbersaboveandprovidequalityHFK/ECdiscipleshipmaterialstochurcheswhoareparticipatingtobettergroundchildrenintheirfaith.
Throughthispartnershipthelivesofmillionsofchildrenwillbeshapedforall eternity:
• morethan334,000childrencurrentlyintheExplorersClubdiscipleship
• ExplorersClubmaterialshavebeenprintedformorethan 400,000additionalchildrenin2014,withplansfor750,000 newchildrenin2015!
• Biblelessonsin18countriessincesummerof2012
EE International, OneHope, and The Mailbox Club are already seeing the impact of Ecclesiastes 4:9-12:
Evangelism Explosion Inc., OneHope, The Mailbox Club – White Paper 6
The Proclamation of the Gospel is the Only Way
• inIndiaalone,atleast200,000Indianchildrenin28provinces willbediscipledthroughExplorersClubbyJuly2014 (resultssinceJuly2012)
Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.—Ecclesiastes4:9-12
Ministry into Public Schools—Unheard of— but Happening
TheHFK/ECcurriculumisbeingintroducedintopublicschoolsinmanynations.WeareseizingthisopportunitytodaytogettheGospelofJesusChristintothepublicschoolclassroomthroughtheHFK/ECproject.
Childrenarefearless.Theyarenotafraidtosharewhattheylearnwiththeirfamilies,friendsandclassmates.Wehaveagreatopportunitytoreachnotonlypre-Christianchildren,butthoseofotherreligiousbackgroundsaswell.PublicschoolsaregivingteacherstheopportunitytoshareJesuswithchildrenaspartofastandardcurriculum.ThisincludeschildrenoftheIslamicfaith.WiththreeprovenworldwideChristianorganizationscomingtogether,therehasneverbeenanopportunityonsuchagrandscaletoseemillionsofchildrenreachingchildrenforChrist—manytimesinplaceswhereitisillegalforadultstoevangelizechildren!
• MillionsofchildrenreachedforChristanddiscipled
• HundredsofthousandsofteachershearingtheGospel forthefirsttimeandbecomingequipped
Teaching Biblical Truth—Sowing Seeds ofCorrect DoctrineTheHFK/ECprojectreacheschildrenwiththetruth—thateternallifeisthroughChristalone.Bycementingthistruthintheirhearts,andgroundingtheminthetruthsaboutHeaven,man,God,Christandfaith,theywillbearmedastheyentertheirdailyroutinesandarebombardedwiththeworld’slies.
“Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” —Proverbs22:6
Evangelism Explosion Inc., OneHope, The Mailbox Club – White Paper 7
The Proclamation of the Gospel is the Only Way
Children CAN Share the Gospel with Incredible Results!Children’sministriesutilizingtheHFK/ECministryareexperiencinggreatgrowth.PeoplewitnesstheimpactthatchildrenCANmakeforChristnotonlywithpeersbutalsowithadults—evenparents!
Daughters Reach Their Dad for Christ
Victorandhiswifearetheparentsoftwobeautifuldaughters,buthisrelationshipwiththemwashinderedbyhisexcessivedrinkingandcursing.
Inspiteofhisdrawbacks,hisgirlsattendedchurchandbecameinvolvedintheHFK/ECministry.
Heimmediatelynoticedthatthegirlswerecominghomehappy.Theytoldhimwhattheywerelearningandbeggedhimtocometochurchwiththem.Herefused,buttheirpersistenceworehimdown.Onhisfirstvisittochurchheheardthegreatestnewshecouldeverhear,aboutaSaviorwhodiedforHimandhissins,andhemadeaprofessionoffaithinChrist.
Thegirlsnoticedtheimmediatechangeinhislife.Hisdrinkingandcursingstopped,andattendingchurchwithhisgirlsbecameaweeklyevent.“I’msogladthatmydaughterstaughtmeaboutGodwhenitshouldhavebeenmeteachingthem,”hesaid.
Victor was led to the Lord by his daughters.
Evangelism Explosion Inc., OneHope, The Mailbox Club – White Paper 8
The Proclamation of the Gospel is the Only Way
Built-in AccountabilityThecommitmentamongEE,OneHopeandTheMailboxClubisgroundedinASSISTANCE.
1 — Throughourcombinedinfrastructure,wearecommittedtotrainandequipteachers,childrenandthelocalchurchwithon-sight training,neverfromadistance.
2 — Thescopeofourministriesallowsustofollow-up churchesbyphonecallsandpersonalvisitsandassisttheminimplementing theministry.
3 — Annual reports from the field help us to know how well the programisprogressingandifsubsequenttrainingisnecessary.
We’ve Already Reached Millions of Children for Christ. But Hundreds of Millions Still Have Not Heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ.Wehavetheopportunitytofurtherexpandthisministryandimpactmillionsuponmillionsofchildrenaroundtheworldwithastorybiggerthanourselves,spreadingtheGoodNewsofJesusChristlikeneverbefore.Ifweplantthatseed,Godwillgivetheincrease.Thereareevilforceskidnappingchildrenandtakingthemhostage.Plantingscripturaltruthsintheheartsofchildrenwillbecometheirfoundationforlife.
Asweponderhowtoinvestourpersonalresourcesofalltypes–time,money,assets,experience,ability,facilities,andexpertise–keepinmindthatthereisnobetterinvestmentthannurturingyoungstersforaneternalpayback.Theresearchreinforcesonesimplebutprofoundtruthoverandoveragain:Ifwewanttohavealastinginfluenceupontheworld,wemustinvestinpeople’slives;andifwewanttomaximizethatinvestment,thenwemustinvestinthosepeoplewhiletheyareyoung...Inotherwords,ifweconnectwithchildrentoday,effectivelyteachingthembiblicalprinciples
“Children are a heritage from the LORD, offspring a reward from him.” —Psalm127:3
Evangelism Explosion Inc., OneHope, The Mailbox Club – White Paper 9
The Proclamation of the Gospel is the Only Way
andfoundationsfromthestart,thenwewillseethefruitofthateffortblossomfordecadestocome...Thechoiceisours.4
Here’s How You Can Partner With Us!
1 — PraydailyforGod’sblessinguponHFK/EC.
2 — Stayinformedbygoingtowww.evangelismexplosion.org/hfkecforregularupdatesandstories.
3 — GetinvolvedbyrequestingthatHFK/ECbeimplementedinyourhomechurch.
4 — GivegenerouslysoothersmayheartheGoodNewsandbediscipledintheWordofGod.
4 Transforming Children into Spiritual Champions, George Barna; p. 42
Evangelism Explosion Inc., OneHope, The Mailbox Club – White Paper 10
The Proclamation of the Gospel is the Only Way
Evangelism Explosion InternationalOneHope
The Mailbox ClubDETAILEDBUDGET
Summary 2015 2016 2017 2018
Number of Workshops 250 400 640 1,000 Students Trained in Sharing the Gospel 250,000 400,000 640,000 1,000,000Students Who Received Pathway to Hope 2,500,000 4,000,000 6,400,000 10,000,000 Students to Continue Explorers Club Training 750,000 1,200,000 1,920,000 3,000,000
OneHope Costs $825,000 $1,320,000 $2,112,000 $3,300,000 Evangelism Explosion Costs $1,092,475 $1,715,300 $2,728,150 $4,247,425 The Mailbox Club Costs $1,454,971 $2,035,916 $2,952,925 $4,555,650 Joint Fund Raising $244,950 $326,600 $489,900 $734,850 Joint Promotion $183,072 $244,096 $366,144 $549,216 Total Funds Needed $3,800,468 $5,641,912 $8,649,119 $13,387,141 Funds Already Committed $825,000 $1,320,000 $2,112,000 $3,300,000 Funds Needed to Raise $2,975,000 $4,330,000 $6,538,000 $10,100,000