A Look Back On Our First 10 Years
Sunday, January 9, 2011 at 4:14PM 
Sarah, 10 years ago, but a Sr. this yearOn January 3, 2001 after several weeks of planning, I walked into my son’s school to
Sarah Now set up for our very first Kids for Christ meeting. I’ve told the story many times how I would have been thrilled if 45 kids had shown up that morning. After all, I already knew this was not just going to be the first meeting of Kids for Christ at that school, but the first meeting of the big dream God have given me just days before: The first meeting of Kids for Christ USA. (Whatever that meant.)
To my surprise, seventy-seven children came that morning as we met for the first time in the corner of the school library. My friend, Chris Yenni, spoke to the kids. At the end when the altar call was given, twelve children responded and committed to serve Jesus with their lives! We outgrew the space we were given in the library, and the following week we were moved to the Art Room. Four weeks later we outgrew that room, and we were ultimately moved to the gym. By this time we were averaging well over 100 kids a week. By the end of that semester, 256 kiddos had made some form of decision to serve Jesus in that school of 650 plus kids! In just a few short weeks, my friend Jennifer and I were working with kids in four schools and had begun to plan for the fall.
One of the children who responded to that very first altar call was a first grader by the name of Sasha. She was so excited that she shared with her mom, and her mom came to our meeting with her the next week. At the end of that second meeting, that little girl’s mom gave her life to Jesus. The following week her family went to church together and Dad also made a commitment to Jesus! To this date that girl, now a junior in high school serves Jesus with the same enthusiasm she did as a first grader. Both of her parents are teachers in different schools, and both are teacher sponsors of Fellowship of Christian Athletes at their respective schools.
Prayer time one Wed. 10 years agoKids from that first school 10 years agoWe always make it available for children to get prayer for whatever needs they have, whether it is them, a family member, or even a friend. Through the years we’ve had multiple testimonies of family members healed as the children asked for prayer at Kids for Christ.
I remember one morning a little girl came to the back of the room and asked me to pray for her mom who had cancer. This little girl couldn’t have been more than third grade and as she told me, I was instantly ticked off at the enemy for trying to steal this little girl’s mom from her. I asked her if she would mind if I had the whole group form a prayer circle around her and pray for her mom. After she said yes we had the group pray. It was one of those moments that I can’t explain other than to say, “You just knew something happened”. The following week she ran up to me as she came in and said to me “Mr. Bob, my grandmother went to the doctor and he said the cancer is gone”!! I responded, “That’s great, but what about your mom”? She said, “I told you my grandmother.” “You mean I heard you wrong and you didn’t say anything?” “Yes,” she said. She told me that she didn’t want to embarrass me in front of all those kids so she didn’t correct me. How about that one? We prayed for the wrong family member and God still healed her!
That first year we grew from one school to 18 and saw 2500 hands go up as some form of decision for Jesus was made. Please understand, only God knows the heart of those kids and I am well aware that many of those kids did as kids do. What that means is I am certain that some of those hands went up more than once, but you can’t argue with tender hearts. I quit counting after about five years for a number of reasons -- mostly because I think far too much hype has been made over “salvation decisions” and my heart is and always has been about reaching kids, not impressing people with our numbers. Yet in an article, some numbers are needed to tell the story. When we quit keeping a regular tally of decisions, we had seen over 10,000 in our first five years. There had been over 4,000 kids from the clubs who prayed “The Ticket to Heaven Prayer.” Entire families have been led in the Ticket to Heaven Prayer over the Thanksgiving table by children on many occasions.
When we began, the intent was to focus solely on elementary schools, but as the kids grew they took us with them. When I agreed to do that, the plan for middle and high school was to train those kids to become the club leaders, and they have. They have been amazing to watch. The last couple of years I have had such joy watching two teams of student leaders that I have worked with directly, conduct quite possibly the purest teaching I have ever seen in ministry. They are so on fire for God, it is unbelievable at times. In the early years I was asked by people about “long-term fruit.” Now I just invite them to come watch these amazing student leaders.
This ministry is truly an equipping ministry. I have watched people of all ages and skill levels develop into remarkable children’s ministers. When I began, I thought only certain types of music and styles would work to reach kids. Thanks to these wonderful volunteers, I have learned that authenticity is what ministers to children -- not just creativity, or skill. Simply be yourself and the kids will respond. It’s awesome to learn that you don’t know it all. In fact, it’s down right freeing to know that The Holy Spirit within a believer is the teacher, and He will use the tools he placed within each of us to reach others. It is such a privilege to see that first-hand in so many workers.
By the end of January 2011 there will be 102 clubs across the USA associated with this ministry. Many of the people ministering in those schools bought my book, read it, and a thriving club was the result. There are and have been clubs in Oklahoma, Texas, California, Kansas, Michigan, Tennessee, Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina and Florida -- that we are aware of. The dream was and always has been to have a hand directly or indirectly in seeing that a thriving Bible Club is in every one of America’s 60,000 plus schools.
There are so many incredible successes and gut wrenching needs every year. This school year has the potential to be the most astounding year yet. As we begin the second semester, we will teach on God’s Faithfulness, Leadership and Prayer. At present we are talking with people in Jacksonville and Tampa, FL about making a bigger impact than is already happening there. There have been discussions with a couple of groups in New York City, as well as in Scottsdale, AZ.
Your prayers and financial support are vital as we reach out into new cities and train more people to reach more and more kids than ever before.
Just last week before I prayer walked 30 schools in the Tulsa area in 2 days, I felt as though God told me, “You don’t have a cash flow issue, you have a prayer cover issue. If you had the prayer cover, you’d have the cash flow.” As I pondered that, I became aware that I needed to sow seeds of prayer. I felt impressed to drive to as many schools as possible and walk around them praying for the students, faculty and staff. It was amazing. At four schools there was a map of the USA painted on the asphalt, so I walked to every state praying for every school in the nation. It doesn’t matter if you consider yourself a giver or a person of prayer, just please stand with us in one or the other…or both. Maybe you do see yourself as only one or the other. I dare you to be bold enough to do the other one. All I know is, in order to reach the nation we all have a role to play, and I want to ask and thank you for stepping into your role. Together we’re reaching a new generation of Kids for Christ. Thank you for doing your part in our next 10 years.—Bob Heath
