International (MNN) — Summer is about to start, and for many kids, that means a lot more free time. Want to put that time to good use? Greg Yoder of Keys for Kids has an idea.
(Greg Yoder, Executive Director of Keys For Kids)
“Summer seems to be one of those boring times of the year when we don’t have a lot of connection to families and support goes down, so we thought, ‘Let’s develop a program that’s going to really engage kids and their families,’” he says.
The new “WORD With Zach” summer reading program seeks to keep kids immersed in the Bible in a way that keeps them engaged. Yoder says their goal is to make the program easy to understand and get into yet impactful for kids seeking to learn more about God.
This isn’t just a way to keep kids entertained when they need something to do. Yoder says there’s a big problem in the Church with biblical illiteracy.
“Biblical illiteracy is rampant across the United States. In fact, 1 in 10 people have never ever read the Word of God. It’s not much better for Christians, either because 42% of Christians don’t read their Bible any day except for Sunday, when they’re probably in church.”
“We’re wanting to fight biblical illiteracy through the summer months by encouraging kids and families to read our devotional books all summer long, and in the process we want moms and dads to be praying for us.” Plus, he says most Christians turn to Christ between the ages of four and 14 (the 4-14 Window). Keys For Kids is just helping to provide the tools adults needed to reach out to kids where they live today to impact the next generation for Christ.
(Photo courtesy Keys For Kids)
The program has three main goals: raising awareness of biblical illiteracy, combating biblical illiteracy, and raising support for Keys for Kids so they can fight biblical illiteracy.
Every day, kids will receive a 400-word devotional parable characteristic of Keys for Kids. On the Keys for Kids app, kids can find audio recordings of Zach, the voice of Keys for Kids Radio, reading the devotional. There will also be a Bible passage of the day and a key point and verse to take away. Kids can log their devotional time into a calendar, and they’ll be rewarded for their time spent in the Word.
“If you as a kid read our Keys for Kids devotionals through the months of June, July, and August, not only will you win a prize in June if you do it every day, not only will you win a prize in July if you do it every day, not only will you win a prize in August if you do it every day, but then you’ll be entered into a drawing to win a Kindle Fire.”
