International (MNN) — Anniversaries don’t just count years; they mark periods of growth, maturation, and movement. Keys For Kids Executive Director Greg Yoder says, “Keys for Kids Ministries is celebrating 75 years of ministry,” said Yoder, “and yet there is still a huge need to reach kids and their families.”
(Photo courtesy of Keys for Kids)
In light of the fact there are 1.8 billion kids in the world, and 1.2 billion of those still need an introduction to Christ, there’s still a lot of work to do. Plus, says Yoder, “Just three percent of the Church’s budget is going to reach kids, and when you think that 70 percent of any Christian comes to Christ between the fourth or 14th birthday, I think we’re shirking our duties as the Body of Christ.”
Vehicles for the future
Though times and technology have changed, Yoder said the mission of Keys for Kids is still the same: Igniting a passion for Christ in kids and their families. “We’ve always been about reaching kids for Christ…. We have a great history and great foundation, but we can’t keep looking back at our foundation without building anything.”
Vehicles change along with technology. The ministry team has been exploring a lot of new ways to keep their message fresh and exciting. It’s about more than staying relevant; it’s about reaching kids where they are. Kids are “listening to radio sometimes, but only because mom and dad are,” Yoder explains. “They’re mostly playing around with cell phones or mobile devices of some kind.”
Transforming a Generation
(Photo courtesy of Keys for Kids)
That’s where the Keys for Kids app comes in. It allows kids to listen to devotions on-the-go from any device at any time.
And that’s not the only new addition to the Keys for Kids technology toolbox. A new radio network has programs — from Key60, one-minute devotionals that encourage kids to dig into God’s Word; to Parent Minute, a short segment speaking to parents about how to bring up their kids in Christ’s love. In Yoder’s words, “If they’re not reading God’s Word they’re not learning about God’s Word,” and many of the programs encourage children to do just that.
Yoder said the problem is, there can be too much listening and not enough action. “We live in a culture where ‘everybody else is going to do something about it and I don’t really need to.’” However, “we have to reach our kids for Christ right now! Look at our culture in which we live today and the divide we have.”
Yoder said the best way to breach that divide is to change the youngest generation. “It’s one thing to say we’re going to go out with a mission and do something, but when you reach kids you’re transforming literally a generation.”
Learn More!
You can join in on the celebration of their 75th Anniversary by RSVP’ing for the special dinner on October 12. Or, if you want to find out more about how you can listen to Keys for Kids or even contribute to the cause, we’ll connect you right here.
