How Kids Can Change The World

We all want our kids to grow up and be world changers in the positive sense of the word, don’t we? We want them to be lights of the world who love Jesus and encourage others to do the same. We want them to be a voice of hope to a hurting world. We want them to be people who aren’t afraid to speak out the name of Jesus.

We want them to change the world.

Nearly twenty years ago, I was leading a Youth With A Mission outreach. A group of us loaded up in a 15 passenger van and drove around the USA for six weeks. Our goal was simple: be the light of Jesus.

Two of our team members were a single mom and her six-year-old son. I’ll never forget him and his love for Jesus.

My most vivid memory of him was one night at the laundromat in a not-so-great part of town near Atlanta, Georgia. We were all there washing our clothes and chatting about nothing in particular. Suddenly, we all stopped as we overheard his conversation with another young man there.

Do you know Jesus?

It was a simple question and not one he was afraid to ask. He went on to talk about a relationship with Jesus in the most beautiful and simple way. It lacked the religious kind of talk that can drive people away and was strong on the very real talk of what it meant, personally to him, to love Jesus.

The guy listened intently with a heartfelt “I want to know more.” I believe that six-year-old boy brought him one step closer to Jesus that night because fear didn’t hold him back from talking about a very real part of his life.

Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him. Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you. – Mark 11:23-24

Kids can change the world. They can move mountains with their sweet, simple faith in God. They don’t have to wait until adulthood to be a bright shining light that brings people to Jesus, just like that six-year-old boy.

As parents, what can we do to encourage a world changer lifestyle beginning now?

• Teach them what it means to hear the voice of God.
• Encourage them to act on what they feel God is saying.
• Ask them to pray about something and see what God says about it.
• Talk about faith in a real way so they feel totally natural talking to anyone about what Jesus means to them.

Andy Andrews illustrates concepts like these and more in his book, The Kid Who Changed the World. This engaging story reveals the incredible truth that everything we do matters! Andy’s timeless tale shows children that even the smallest of our actions can make a difference in someone’s life. In turn, that person makes a difference in someone else’s life, and the blessing is passed from person to person.

Here’s to a generation of world changers!

Your Turn

How do you encourage your children to change the world and be a bright, shining light for Jesus?