As millions of boys and girls learned about following Jesus through The Greatest Journey, God used this 12-lesson discipleship program to strengthen churches and reach the hearts of children and their parents with the Good News of Jesus Christ. In April last year, 17 children graduated from the program at a church on the island of Tahiti in French Polynesia. Upon hearing about the church’s Sunday services, one child exclaimed, “I want to go!”
Since then, many of the children have attended church every week, eager to discover new Bible stories. At first, the other boys and girls in the church hesitated to welcome their new Sunday school classmates, but as the weeks passed, the enthusiasm of The Greatest Journey graduates brought excitement to the classes. The congregation’s faith was encouraged and their love for God deepened as they discipled the new children and generously offered them rides to church.
God continued to change lives when the church hosted an Operation Christmas Child outreach event several months later. Siblings Junior, Mahealani, and Kohailani attended, accompanied by their mother, Marie Claire. Seeing the joy that it brought her children, Marie Claire thanked the church for putting on the event.
Every Sunday after that, she, her children, and her husband attended The Greatest Journey. Through the lessons, Marie Claire realized how she could apply the Bible stories she had always known to her life, and God began to transform the family’s hearts.
We are amazed by how God has used the program to grow the faith of this congregation in Tahiti, as well as that of children and families from outside the church. Last year, nearly three million boys and girls accepted Christ as their Savior through The Greatest Journey, and we trust that God will use these children to bring the Gospel to their families and communities all over the world.
Samaritan’s Purse is a faithful partner of The Bolick Foundation.