Nurturing children’s spiritual growth is not a linear process, but rather cyclical, with children progressively deepening their understanding and faith. Our Christian formation program models guide children through the following key steps as they learn about God and incorporate their understanding into their own lives.
Based on this framework, projects incorporate program models that directly help children experience God and that train influential adults in their lives to guide their biblical understanding. We place a special emphasis on program models that focus on parents and caregivers, recognizing their central role in nurturing their children’s development — spiritual, physical, and emotional.
From 2010 to 2015, World Vision U.S. donors made a significant investment toward resources and programs focused on nurturing spiritual growth, reaching more than 2.2 million men, women, and children through training, discipleship, and ministry activities.
In Uganda, one of the seven focus countries, the results were inspiring:
When children feel valued for who God has created them to be, they are better able to care for others, fully contribute to the kingdom, and envision a brighter future for themselves and their community.
In a focus group discussion facilitated by World Vision, children identified that their faith is expressed primarily in the relationships they have with others. Parents and other influential adults therefore play an integral role in how children perceive and understand God’s character.
When children are nurtured, loved, and treated with equal dignity, justice, and respect regardless of their gender, they experience this as an extension of God’s love. This love becomes the driving force behind their actions, behaviors, and relationships with others.
Program highlight: Celebrating FamiliesChurches are our indispensable partners in God’s mission. World Vision has developed a global network of partnerships with tens of thousands of local churches, giving us the ability to reach deeply into communities and nurture children’s faith in Christ.
We help to strengthen local leadership and equip them with practical programs and tools for ministry, such as much-needed Bibles and training on children’s ministry, to empower them to nurture the faith of their communities and care for the most vulnerable.
Our commitment is that when World Vision leaves communities, there will be thriving, engaged churches for sustained spiritual and physical transformation.
We seek to be witnesses for Christ through our deeds of love and mercy, the character and conduct of our staff, and through words of testimony. The vast majority of World Vision’s 42,000 staff are from the region in which they work and can nurture faith in contextually appropriate ways.
Our Christian discipleship programs focus on communities in which churches and parents are anxious for their children to learn about Jesus and grow in their Christian faith. Recognizing that parents and caregivers are primarily responsible for children’s care and development, our program models equip these adults to support their children on their faith journey.
We equip churches to share the gospel in ways that allow for children’s freedom of conscience to express their faith, upholding the fundamental dignity of each individual granted by our Creator.
As children grow in their own faith convictions, they become ambassadors for Christ in their communities.
World Vision completely changes the trajectory of people's lives. ... The good deeds lead to good will, which then leads to opportunities to share the good news.
Max Lucado Pastor and author
