Over one fourth of India's people are known as the "Untouchables" — Dalits who don't even have a place on the country's infamous caste system. This is the population Gospel for Asia (GFA) serves through their Bridge of Hope (BOH) centers.

And, these are the students GFA is empowering for a brighter future.

Last week, over 400 BOH teenage students gathered at a retreat focused on future career growth. Students also learned how to become a positive influence on society. They heard from GFA Founder and International Director, KP Yohannan, as well as various BOH leaders.

At each BOH center, students learn about Christ through Scripture memorization, stories, and songs. In addition to focusing students on their futures, retreat speakers are also building on spiritual foundations laid through BOH.

Around 10,000 students will attend similar events throughout India in the coming days. Pray students will have 'ears to hear' what God is speaking into their lives.

According to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), just over 220 million people in India are between the ages of 15 and 24 years old. As India's youth transition into adulthood, pray they fulfill the Great Commission.

To learn how you can share Christ's love with a child through GFA's Bridge of Hope program, click here.

"God sent us this amazing young lady," says OneHope's Jacques van Bommel. "She's got such a heart for the children of that nation."

This woman, Gladys, is known by most of the children in Madagascar. She runs a TV program and has created a sports outreach. Gladys has been working with OneHope to share the Gospel with the children she reaches. She has affected so many children already that she is constantly asking for more materials to share, including Book of Hope booklets as well as the OneHope film about the love of Christ, The GodMan.

"The book that we have is basically a book that caters to children who have very low literacy," says van Bommel. "It's got a lot of pictures, it tells the life and story of Christ, and it's linked with the movie we show, The GodMan. The children are constantly being reminded that they could also share the story and tell the story with other children in the community."

Gladys has been encouraging children to do so and has already distributed hundreds of books on her own. "I think since the 15th of January when they had their first outreach of the year, our records indicate she's shown more than 130,000 children being reached with the books, and about 66,000 to 67,000 children have actually seen The GodMan,"reports van Bommel.

Gladys is committed to seeing the transformation of these kids' lives through behavioral changes and true commitments to the Lord. She is so passionate about the vision God has given her that low funding has not slowed her down. In light of financial disadvantages, Gladys explained to OneHope that she would continue to work without a salary for the next two months in order to continue reaching large numbers of children with the Gospel.

According to van Bommel, one dollar reaches about three children with the Gospel. Funding is needed to feed the children of Madagascar, both spiritually and physically. Gladys is working tirelessly to do all she can through OneHope.

If you can help to continue the work that Gladys has begun in Madagascar through OneHope, click here.

Since 2002, Book of Hope has had permission from the government in Ghana to distribute the booklets to children in school. As children received the books this year and came to follow Christ, they were encouraged to join Hope Clubs to learn more about the faith. In 2009, Book of Hope plans to make discipleship a larger focus.

"It's one thing giving out the books to the children and them making a decision for Christ," says Sylvanus Elorm of Book of Hope in Ghana. "It's another thing [to make] sure they are really grounded in the faith and they are living for Christ. So this year our target is to make sure we design discipleship programs or we partner with organizations in discipleship in order to strengthen the faith of the children."

Book of Hope is working with organizations such as Campus Crusade for Christ, Awana and Youth for Christ to create these programs. They are also working to redesign distribution and hope to have a lasting impact on even more children this year.

To accomplish their goals, funding, of course, is necessary. "The whole world is in recession economically, so we are praying that donors do not give up on us," says Elorm. He wants donors to know that "the Lord will reward them abundantly, and the lives of children and youth are at stake. So they should not relent in their support of our efforts."

Elorm asks that you also pray for this ministry and for the faith of the children who are being touched with the Gospel. He is thankful for all of the faithful prayer and financial support the Lord has provided in the past and will undoubtedly continue to.

If you can help reach children in Ghana, click here. Look for more stories about other countries in which Book of Hope serves in days to come.

BOH works throughout Africa and has distributed over 15 million copies of the Book of Hope in West Africa. Working in Ghana, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone, about 90 percent of BOH distributions are done in schools with the permission of the government. The video update contains accounts from three young people in Ghana: Richard, Derrick and Mabel.

Richard described himself as "disobedient, unhappy, fond of lying and stealing" before he received the Book of Hope in 2003. Today, at age 15, Richard continues to walk with the Lord in happiness and obedience.

The Book of Hope changed Derrick's life 5 years ago, when he was disrespectful and fond of insulting his neighbors. Today his faith remains strong, and he was able to give up his bad habits by God's grace. Mabel also learned obedience and respect through the Book of Hope and is now involved with her local church.

The challenges of Africa include poverty, violence, AIDS and corruption. Book of Hope is facing these challenges by bringing God's Word to young people across the continent. You can help with this mission and receive a free copy of the latest video update by clicking here. To view other videos of BOH work, click here to visit the video gallery.

The girls converted from their Muslim faith after attending a Book of Hope screening of the GodMan film. Each girl received a Book of Hope and wanted to be saved after viewing Christ's crucifixion.

"I knew I had to be saved," said Moreen, after seeing Jesus on the cross. Christian friends had told the girls about the death and resurrection of Jesus, but they couldn't understand why Christians would worship a God who could be killed.

Safina was amazed at the way Jesus shared everything with His disciples and at His tangible His love for them. After viewing the crucifixion scenes, Safina realized that her Christian friends hadn't been lying when they said that their God had died and come back to life.

After reading about how Jesus had died for their sins, Safina and Moreen understood Christ's death and wanted to follow Him.

The GodMan is a computer-generated, photo-realistic film version of the Book of Hope, which tells the story of Jesus and can be targeted toward a particular country or culture. Book of Hope uses the book and film together because the film causes excitement about reading God's Word, and the book generates excitement about seeing the film.

Primarily-oral cultures, like many of those in Africa, have only one or two people per village that can read. Book of Hope has produced a "Storying Edition" for these people to use in telling the story of Jesus to the entire village, with corresponding illustrations from the film.

The film had been shown on a Friday night, and the girls announced their decision on Saturday morning to follow Jesus as their Savior and Lord. The twins attended church for the first time on Sunday, and they have gone faithfully since. Their father doesn't stop them from attending church, but he does disapprove of their decision. He often berates the girls for leaving Islam. Please join the girls as they pray for their family's salvation.

"I don't feel good about what he says," said Safina, "but I want to be saved and be a child of God."

To learn more about Book of Hope's work in Uganda, click here.