By Aaron E. Ziebarth, Executive Director
Each one reach one. That is our desire. We are praying that God will double the amount of children who are attending Released Time. Some have wondered, “Why”? Others have suggested, “That is a lot of extra work.”
There are three main reasons for wanting to reach more children:
First, the Lord Jesus Christ himself came to this earth to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10). It is His desire in 2 Peter 3:9 that no one should perish but every one should come to repentance.
Secondly, He has given us the great commission. He has told us to GO and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19-20). We have the opportunity to reach almost 30,000 children in our region. We want to make the most of the opportunities he has given us for the days are evil (Ephesians 5:15).
And the faces of the children show how much they benefit. I am gratified every time I see the looks of anticipation on the faces of boys and girls coming into the Released Time Bible Program. I have written several previous blogs about this:
http://www.joyelcamps.org/pennsylvania_christian_retreat_center/god-amazes
http://www.joyelcamps.org/pennsylvania_christian_retreat_center/may-you-be-delighted
Already, five Released Time classes have doubled this year: Forge, South Mountain, Spring Grove, JB CIA and Waynesboro CIA. Two more are within 20% of doubling. And there are many others that are showing significant growth. We know this won’t happen on our own power, but we know our God wants children to meet him and He loves to answer prayer.
Thirdly, significant life-change occurs again and again. We know of 701 children (some adults) who began a relationship with Jesus this past ministry year. God uses people to reach people, and many children are responding to the gospel this year.
Will you please join with us and pray that God will bring more children to released time? New children are always welcome.
Can you imagine what would happen if each one would reach one? Many children, our communities and our nation would be affected.
Let’s pray that God will remove obstacles so that each one can reach one!
