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I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.—3 JOHN 1:4
This simple statement can serve to orient all of our parenting. More than anything else, our children need to know, embrace, and walk in the truth—the truth of God. The truth revealed in His Word has the power to make them wise for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ—the truth that all-satisfying and everlasting joy is found in Him alone, the truth that saving faith will be evidenced by a life that submits to the Savior and walks in His ways. This goal and aim is reflected in Truth78’s Vision Statement:
As a Sunday school teacher, I have always approached the last weeks of the school year with mixed emotions. Was I faithful week to week in teaching God’s Word? Did my students “get it”? Do they give evidence of faith in Jesus? Have I seen any spiritual fruit? What about that child who seemed bored all year? What about the one who was often disrespectful in class? What should I have done differently?... The list of questions goes on and on. At times, it’s easy to lose heart when I don’t see spiritual fruit coming about in the manner I expect. Parents often struggle with these same questions and emotions regarding their children’s spiritual condition.
I thoroughly enjoy watching my daughter and daughter-in-law in the throes of motherhood. There is never a dull moment! But amidst all the busyness – a good busyness – my hope and prayer for them and myself is that we not lose sight of what is most important in our mothering: To acquaint our children with the Scriptures so that, by God’s grace, they will be made wise for salvation in Christ and be equipped for every good work, all for His glory.
At Truth78, we are committed to making God the main focus of each and every lesson by unfolding the Scriptures for children. Though each curriculum in our scope and sequence differs somewhat based on age and particular focus, all of our Sunday School, Midweek Bible, and Intergenerational curricula share the following distinctions:
My backyard looks like a barren arctic landscape. It’s hard to imagine planting a garden here when it’s currently buried under 18 inches of new April snow. But spring will come—eventually. God controls the times and seasons. He is faithful! Soon this lifeless looking space will burst forth in a myriad of beautiful colors. How? I will go out and sow seed, water and care for it, and God will bring the growth. And yet, these plants will fade and die come winter, ushering in another season of barrenness.
In our many years of mountain hiking, my family has only once experienced feeling hopelessly lost. We became surrounded by thick forest between two mountain buttes. Although we continued to walk and make some progress, we did a lot of backtracking—wasting valuable time. It wasn’t until we emerged from the thick trees that we were able to gain perspective and see our desired final destination—a point in the far distance. Keeping that point constantly before us enabled us to complete the hike without further confusion and backtracking. Our hike became “vision-oriented.” It made all the difference.
Yet, too often, we tend to get “lost in the trees” in children’s and youth ministry. How so? By focusing primarily on short-term goals for the coming year. What curricula should we use this year? What devotional materials should we recommend to parents? What special activities do we want for the youth this year? Etc. All of these are good questions to address, but without a larger vision, you may find your children’s ministry going in various directions from year to year which may result in serious gaps in the children’s spiritual instruction.
Yes, it’s official! Children Desiring God has a new name: Truth78. But in all honesty, I need to confess that this surprisingly “simple” name did not jump out at us quickly. Our leadership and staff spent months considering dozens of possibilities, but slowly, we all became convinced that Truth and 78 best represented our ministry’s heart, vision, and mission.
Today is the beginning of our mission as Truth78!
We’re releasing three new resources for church and family ministry, updating our web presence, and officially introducing our ministry at the Truth78 Inauguration in Louisville, Kentucky that will be livestreamed for anyone to join. We’ll also be giving away copies of a new book, Indestructible Joy for the Next Generations, both at our launch event and at the T4G Conference April 11-13.
Our prayer is that this new beginning as Truth78 will allow us to more strategically fulfill our
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