Founder and President of Book of Hope Bob Hoskins just returned from El Salvador where the celebration was full of testimonies. "One man said, 'I was 11 years old. I was in the 4th grade at school. They brought me the Book of Hope. I took it home. I read it. I shared it with my family. All my family has accepted Christ.' Now he's a pastor."
While it was a time of rejoicing, it was also a time of preparation. "We're going to reach every child once again in El Salvador. In 1987, there were 986,000 [children]. Now there are just over 2-million. But we have a team in place, and we expect in one year to reach again every child in the school system of El Salvador."
In the last 20 years Book of Hope has been able to reach more than five million children in that Central American nation. According to Hoskins, churches grow as a result of the outreach. "The distribution is going on right now, and one pastor testified, 'I have 32 new children and youth in my church as a result of the distribution in our neighborhood.' And that's in one neighborhood."
Trained nationals go into the schools and present drama, mime, music and other entertainment, which is a precursor to their Hope Celebrations where kids invite their parents to attend. "That's where we do the really, what should I say, 'in your face' evangelism and give them an opportunity to accept Christ."
Worldwide, Book of Hope has had incredible distribution. "We passed the 430-million mark. This year alone we'll be putting the Word of God, Book of Hope, into the hands of 65-million children now in 120-some countries of the world, and God's Word never returns void."
It's also very easy for people to get involved. You can go on a distribution trip, or you can support the ministry. Hoskins says, "We still call it the 33-cent miracle. God's enabled us to reach a point of efficiency where it costs only 33-cents to put that book in the hands of the child. Now, that's not just printing costs -- that's transportation, distribution, administration, every cost. We like to say that for $1, you can touch three lives with the Word of God."
