India (MNN) – Christmas may be over, but it’s not too late to give a year-end gift that will forever change someone’s life.
Erik* with Grand Rapids, Michigan-based Mission India shares, “We have a couple friends that have gotten together and gave us a $300,000 matching gift towards our Children’s Bible Clubs. So what that means is, for every dollar given, it will be doubled. The cost for a 10-day Bible Club is $1 per child. If you gave $30, normally you would send 30 children to a Bible Club. But with this match, 60 children will be able to attend a Bible Club in the year to come!”
Children’s Bible Club with Mission India waves hello! (Photo courtesy of Mission India)
He explains four out of five people who believe in Jesus do so because of something that influenced them by the age of 14. That makes Mission India’s Children’s Bible Clubs in India critical since they reach kids 14 and under with the Gospel.
Many of these kids have never heard of Jesus before. So when you donate to Children’s Bible Clubs, “You’re giving them the right chance to hear about Jesus, experience Jesus, and receive Jesus as their Savior.”
For kids in India, the clock is ticking. This next year, approximately 22 million Indian children will have their 15th birthday.
“That means 22 million children are going to miss the opportunity, the best window to impact their lives with the Gospel. So our goal is the more money we can raise specifically through this matching challenge, the more people can meet and hear about Jesus before they reach the age of 14.”
Every year, more kids and even their families come to Christ because of these Children’s Bible Clubs.
“There’s just so much life transformation that takes place. One of the quotes is from Chunia and she said, ‘This is the first time in my life when I felt accepted and truly loved. Although I couldn’t comprehend why God loved me so much, I have decided to follow him.’ And that was just because of a Bible Club entering that village and proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ,” says Erik.
“Time and time again, children who receive Jesus, they go home and tell their moms and dads about what they learned. Over time, those moms and dads start to come to know Christ as well.”
(Photo courtesy of Mission India via Facebook)
If you’d like to give to the Christmas Joy for India Matching Challenge, you have until December 31st. Click here to donate at Mission India’s website!
Erik also asks that you take a moment to pray for their Children’s Bible Clubs this next year, that they would be fruitful and that each and every child they minister to would enter a lifelong relationship with Jesus Christ.
And if you give to Mission India, please cover your gift in prayer. “We just ask that you just pray that God will lay on your heart the amount of kids you want to touch in 2018 and understand that a dollar, just one dollar, can change the life of one kid in India.”
*Name changed for security purposes.
