Nearly 3.5 million children and youth participate in World Vision discipleship and values education to strengthen their faith, their relationships, and their sense of self-worth. (©2018 World Vision/photo by Jon Warren)

At Christmas, we celebrated the birth of Jesus — the Light of the World. Through all of our work and throughout the year, we follow Jesus in spreading his light, to “shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16, NIV).

Our work to reduce material poverty goes hand-in-hand with our work in Christian discipleship to overcome spiritual poverty. Children cannot truly experience fullness of life unless they have the opportunity to experience and deepen their understanding of God’s love.

In the next five years, World Vision has a plan to expand our work to engage at least 2.5 million people in activities that strengthen the Christian faith of children and youth.

There are five main areas in which we help children experience the love of God:

Fetlework with several of her Sunday school students.

Listen to Mesrach read this story.

“I know what these kids were missing because I have been in their position,” says Fetlework. “During my time as a Sunday school student, we had the smallest kid from age three to the oldest at 14. We all sat in one classroom and most of the things said, I don’t remember. Me and my friends never liked that,” Fetlework said. 

Pastor Getnet remembers too, “Full Gospel Church had a Sunday school service however it was practiced differently. Parents used to bring their children and drop them into one large classroom where all of the kids used to sit. They only had one teacher assigned and whenever the teacher missed church we let them join the congregation since we had no other option.” 

“Trial and error,” “no clear direction,” “no teaching, no nothing”—these are the words that teachers at Kaboson Primary School in Kenya used to describe how they taught the weekly Christian Religious Education class.

Although the class is required by the Kenyan government, there are no lesson plans provided. Most teachers resorted to simply singing songs, as they didn’t know how to teach Bible stories or use them to explain values by which children should live.

Bullying and other examples of poor discipline were frequent in the school, especially between the boys and girls. 

Jimmy Recodia (pictured right) knew he was leading a double life.

On Sundays, he was the obedient son of a well-respected village pastor in the Philippines and was attending college to become a teacher.

But during the week, he let his addiction to Internet gaming rule him. Invited by a friend to try out a multiplayer battle simulation game, computer gaming rapidly became his life’s focus. 

Spending all his time and money in computer shops, he was failing his classes. He argued constantly with his aunt, with whom he was living while in college. His parents’ admonishments went unheeded.

Diego’s life revolved around his gang member friends, who gave him a sense of belonging that he didn’t find with his family. Despite living on the streets and being constantly high on drugs, somehow he managed to continue in school— which is where he met Pastor Alberto, who was using the training he’d received from World Vision to teach youth in schools about values.

Something about Pastor Alberto drew him in. Although Diego (pictured right) knew that the life he was living did not reflect any of the values the pastor was teaching, he volunteered to assist with the classes. And he felt something change in his heart. 

The sun beats down on the iron sheet metal that covers Potter’s Restoration Fellowship Church in Changamwe, Kenya, creating oven-like temperatures inside.

But 12-year-old Vanessa (pictured right) leads the children’s Bible club, undeterred by the heat as she explains Bible stories, encourages the children to sing praise songs, and organizes a skit that illustrates the lesson they are learning. It might seem doubtful that many children would choose to be inside on such a hot day, but Mary Kombe, the adult leader of the Bible club, says attendance has soared to 70 children from none.

Yerosen’s earliest experiences with Sunday school left her with little understanding of Jesus’ love. But after her church participated in the Ethiopia Christian Discipleship Project, she learned to love stories from the Bible and found her voice in the church choir.

Although Yerosen’s parents faithfully brought her to church each Sunday as a child, she says that she really didn’t learn much about Jesus.

Frustrated by the challenges of managing her Sunday school class, this volunteer teacher was ready to give up. But participating in the Christian Discipleship Project’s training that mentors young adults to nurture children’s faith gave Johana Mariela the support she needed to continue.

Johana was burned out and discouraged. After four years as a Sunday school teacher in El Salvador, she felt as though her hard work wasn’t appreciated or respected by the children’s parents.

In this article for Outreach Magazine, Rich Stearns reminds us that of the fact "if we only care about souls and not the urgent realities of people’s lives, we are not embracing the second pillar of our faith, the Great Commandment—loving others because we love God. We are to preach the good news and also demonstrate it." Read about how World Vision's project to bring piped water to Kalawa Kenya has brought a dramatic increase in baptisms in addition to other community changes.  

In eastern Honduras, 9-year-old Nirvana will soon receive clean water from World Vision.

As parents, it’s much easier to talk than to listen. But listening is what our children need us to do. It’s a hallmark of World Vision’s work to involve everyone in decision making — men, women, and children.

Every year on November 20, Universal Children’s Day reminds us to listen to children around the world, children who see problems from a point of view that we adults have long forgotten.