Grace Ministries International partners with 240 schools in
Bukavu, of Sud-Kivu Province, and in Kindu, of the Maniema Province.  

However, the team was concerned that although the government required schools to
teach a religion class, ministries were under-resourced, resulting in students
not being reached with the Gospel.

This led to a partnership with OneHope's Book of Hope, a Scripture
book for children and youth that tells the life story of Jesus in chronological
order and helps young people understand the Gospel. Together, the teams distributed 30,000
copies among the schools.

GMI and their partners distributed this resource in the isolated rural areas with a three-fold
approach.  GMI's Sam Vinton explains: "They went into the schools, they had evening
showings of The GodMan DVD, and then also trained people and they would reach
the adults with the Gospel."

The results were spectacular, Vinton adds. "About 18,000 made professions of faith in
Christ. I would say the great majority of them, about 14,000 or 15,000, were
students."

The huge response was thrilling, however, it posed a new challenge
for the team. How does a ministry
disciple 18,000 new believers? Grace
Ministries is working on a seven lesson book on salvation and the assurance of
salvation. Vinton notes that "nearly 5000 students
have gone through that book, or are in the process of going through it."

But GMI is not finished yet, says Vinton. "My son is
writing a 15-lesson book based on the Gospel of John. We've got Gospels of John that we're going to
be giving out with these lessons."

"We believe that this is just great advance," Vinton says,
adding that "the church is going to be invigorated with a generation of young
people who know the Lord."

Funding is needed to keep it moving forward. Click here for details.

President of One Hope Rob Hoskins just returned from Russia. "Although termed a 'Christian country' because of its Orthodox history, it's still an unreached country. 70 percent of Russians consider themselves Christians, but only seven percent of them pray or have some kind of active faith."

Hoskins says drug abuse and HIV/AIDS aren't the only issues facing young people in Russia. "50,000 Russian children run away from home every year. Usually it's because of abuse and domestic violence. We're talking about a desperate situation there. And the church is in a desperate situation. Evangelicals in many parts of the country are considered a foreign cult, and so there's persecution of the church."

Hoskins says, "The only answer is to plant healthy churches across the country," in the unreached parts of Russia.

OneHope is partnering with Pastor Edward Grabovenko, who's already planted some 600 churches in Russia. "They have just embarked on a vision to reach these unreached parts of Russia where the most desperate situations are, and they have a vision to plant 1,600 churches."

Pastor Grabovenko plans to reach out to 15,000 people every year. And OneHope is committing to resource their work, say Hoskins. "To provide Gospel portions: the Book of Hope for the children and young people, to show The Godman film to children and young people, and to bring them the hope of Jesus in the midst of their pain and their suffering and abuse."

In order to do this, Hoskins says, "They're mobilizing young people to go out in teams of 24 in buses and to travel across the country. Their vision and plan is to reach 2 million young people across the country this next year."

It costs just 33-cents to place a Book of Hope in the hands of Russian young people. That means your $100 gift will reach 300 children with the Gospel.

According to Hoskins, young people feel left out of the "new prosperity" they see on TV and what's happening around them. Since they're not finding belonging in their family or faith, they start looking elsewhere.

That provides Christians an opportunity. "When a group of vibrant young people come along and say, 'Join our community,' they're super receptive to this. So this is an incredible hour and opportunity for the church in Russia today. But we don't know how long of a window we have open. So we need to move quickly, and we need to move now."

OneHope desperately needs your help today. They've had many opportunities to reach out, but fewer dollars coming in. Your generous gift today, will help dozens of young people not only in Russia, but around the globe, to be able to see and hear the Gospel.

Click here to donate.

Sam Vinton with Grace Ministries International says,
"The troubles that have taken place in the Congo, and
just the general situation in the country, something has made people very open
to the Gospel." 

GMI's two-year old evangelism program "Reaching Congo
Students" has seen phenomenal response. From January through March, three of the teams
doing village evangelism showed the DVD "The GodMan" in 43 different
villages where 1,129 people (mostly students) responded to the Gospel.

The team has also taken OneHope's DVD "The
GodMan" into hundreds of rural villages along with evangelism training
with the local church. As a result, more than 100 adults were saved
in house-to-house tract evangelism.

In fact, Vinton says, "Over 14,000 people have
made a profession of faith in Christ. We're now starting a very strong push on
follow-up using booklets that we're printing to take these converts down the
steps of prayer, worship and Bible study." 

It's a good problem to have, but they need help. The Congo is GMI's oldest mission field. They're using all avenues of their outreach
to facilitate the evangelistic thrust.

There are four missionaries working with the Grace Church in
Congo in evangelism, church planting, education, literature, medical work, and
community development projects. GMI-trained
leaders for over 500 churches are trained through a fully-accredited Grace Theological
College, Pastors' School, and 16 Bible institutes.

One teacher training college, 75 high schools, and 145 grade
schools are run by the national church. There
is also a large medical center with two Congolese doctors functioning in a
Muslim area where there is a focus on planting churches in the surrounding
unreached people groups.   

Click here for more.

While physical needs abound, OneHope founder Bob Hoskins says churches are seeing a change. "The churches and the Christians, I believe, for the first time en masse, are seeing the power of darkness that they have to be delivered from. And so we're seeing a turning from Voodooism and a turning to Christ."

Hoskins says OneHope is using their "Book of Hope"– a harmony of the Gospels–and a 3D animated film in outreach. "We're showing 'The Godman' night-after-night in tent cities to literally tens of thousands–not just children but adults–who have nothing to do, so they come."

Hoskins says in 2009, he felt moved to increase their work in Haiti. OneHope's goal for "Book of Hope" distribution? "Our goal was originally 1.8 million [Books of Hope], but now we've added an additional 500,000 because of these tent cities. Most of those will also have a chance to see 'The Godman' film as they receive a book."

While this ministry has been effective, Hoskins says OneHope is sending soccer teams from around the world this summer for World Cup ministry, "conducting soccer camps for Haitian children, giving them the 'Book of Hope,' showing them 'The Godman' and bringing some real joy into their lives."

To help you understand the work OneHope is doing in Haiti, they're making available a DVD called, "Haiti: A New Dawn Arises." This DVD gives insight into the problems facing Haiti. It follows the story of a girl given to a Voodoo priest, who later escapes after coming to Christ because of the "Book of Hope."

Get your copy by clicking here.

However, OneHope Latin America Director Richard Luna says the people of Haiti are showing an interest in God. He says over a million people gathered around the presidential palace for the conclusion of a three-day fast. "For the first time as a collective people, the people of Haiti are looking for God — seeking for God. They were fasting for God — for the very first time, not for the voodoo gods, but for THE God of creation. And I think this is something significant."

OneHope presents the harmonized gospels through the Book of Hope and The Godman, the story of the life of Christ in 3D animation. "In one weekend, they went visiting camp to camp, tent to tent, and heart to heart, and they reached in one weekend 33,000 children and their families. We have seen in one month more showings of The Godman than in all previous years put together."

OneHope had been working with a few hundred churches in Haiti. Because of the need, Luna says, "We're now working through 14 denominations, 2,500 churches and 3,000 schools. In order for transformation to happen in Haiti, it has to happen in every segment of society. And that has to be coordinated through churches."

The increase means there's a need for more copies of the Book of Hope and The Godman videos. "This year we hope to reach out to 2.1 million children and youth in Haiti this year. We're seeing a demand greater than we've seen it [before] — more open hearts and more open doors."

For 33 cents, you can put a Book of Hope in the heart language of a child in Haiti. Click here if you'd like to help with this financial need.

President of OneHope Bob Hoskins and his wife, Hazel, were able to obtain two of those visas. They flew into the country over snow-covered mountains and stayed with a local family because there were no hotels in the city where they stayed. There also was no heat. 

"They had to pile sheepskins on us at night to keep us from freezing to death," Hoskins recalled. And there was something else that Nepal didn't have — it did not have any known churches. 

The country considered itself the world's last Hindu kingdom. 

Hoskins found a small group of believers and made a film to bring back to the United States. The film encouraged American Christians to pray that Nepal would open up to the Gospel.   

"Now we see marvelously how God has answered that prayer," Hoskins said. "They did begin to open up, they did begin to allow some Christian activity. And then only a few years ago, they declared themselves a secular state. There's total freedom right now for evangelism in Nepal, and the church is thriving." 

Hoskins recently returned to Nepal for another visit and discussed with some church leaders there how to reach more of the country with the Gospel. They decided to do something similar to an event called "Hope India," which reached over 400 million people in India with the evangelistic GodMan film. 

Like that event, "Hope Nepal" will feature the showing of The GodMan on television channels all over the country over a period of a few days. 

"We've set a target for Christmas, because that's an appropriate time to show the life of Christ on national TV," Hoskins said. 

The GodMan is a computer-generated photo-realistic animation version of the Book of Hope which tells the life story of Jesus and can be targeted toward a particular country or culture. During "Hope Nepal," Christians will invite children to view the film in their homes and churches as an outreach. They will go through training and preparation before they do this.

"We'd like to have them come into homes or into churches to watch the television showing with believers who already have Books of Hope in hand," Hoskins explained. "After the showing, they can discuss the film, and our leaders can give them a Book of Hope. Then we do a follow-up called Hope Clubs, in which the children are invited back to those venues to study the Book of Hope together."

The event will resemble a similar one held in India, "Hope India." Over 400 million people viewed The GodMan through that event, including over 12 million children who received copies of the Book of Hope. Although Nepal is a much smaller nation than India, it has plenty of television networks, and Hoskins hopes that "Hope Nepal" will have a similar impact on the country.

"We expect to touch millions, and we expect the believers to have several million in their homes, so they can give the Book of Hope during that showing," he said. "It's an incredible impact on a nation."

Pray for the church in Nepal as it prepares for "Hope Nepal" and for OneHope as it works out the details; pray for the people who will hear the Gospel through the event. Also pray for the funding needed for the project. It costs one dollar to reach one child with the Book of Hope and The GodMan film.

However, Hoskins says one day, "I received a
letter from a missionary saying, 'Half the children in our country are
illiterate. How are we going to get
Jesus' story to them?' "

UNESCO says one
in every five people on earth can't read. That's over a billion souls that
can't be touched by a book.

Hoskins knew then that they had to
respond to the changing technologies that were bringing the world closer
together. "We had to communicate not
only to those who were readers, but also to those who could not
read," which led to other media
development for sharing the Gospel. 

They developed and released the
film The GodMan, which has been viewed by more than 10 million children and
youth in hosted showings, and by hundreds
of millions more via broadcast TV.

That brought another question:
why did a ministry called "Book of Hope" use a film, and the
Internet? It was time for a name change. "What we really are about is
God's Word for every child. So the name 'OneHope' encompasses the Book of
Hope, The Godman film, and the internet ministry. We're starting to do text
messaging of Scripture to children and youth in some countries." 

Hoskins and his son, Rob, along with their ministry board
of directors and leadership team, prayed about a new name to better reflect
this expanding vision. OneHope is the
name God led them to for the following
reasons:

*OneHope captures the original vision
God gave: to rescue children and youth from the despair and lies of the enemy
by providing them with the one and only hope for eternity.

*OneHope is perfect in an age of
relativism when children are not only taught that there are no absolute truths, but
also that there are many ways to God. The ministry believes it is critical
they understand there is only One Hope for the future, and that they can
find this Hope in the Scriptures.

*OneHope also reflects the proclamation
of the Living Word, the Savior, whether through print, film or some other
media.

The OneHope team wants to reach
over 70 million children with the Gospel. Bob Hoskins Sr. says, "One dollar will
deliver the Word of God either through the Book of Hope or The Godman film to three
children. Those books are presented by
volunteer Christian workers who've been trained in churches to begin to
disciple them to become real followers of Christ."

Click here to learn how to help spread God's Word through OneHope.

In a press release sent to their supporters last week, President of OneHope Rob Hoskins says, "OneHope is what we offer the children and youth of the world: the hope of Jesus Christ. OneHope is found in His Word — whether we deliver that Word through the printed pages of the Book of Hope, or on the big screen with The GodMan film.

"The One Hope for the future of the next generation is Jesus. It's the Savior we present to the children … their OneHope."

Book of Hope will of course remain the name of their printed Scripture book for children and youth. OneHope is not cutting back in distributing the printed Word at all; in fact, their goal is to reach over 70 million kids with the Book of Hope this year alone.

According to Hoskins, "Some new friends were getting confused: was 'Book of Hope' a ministry or a product? And why did a ministry called 'Book of Hope' use a film and the internet?"

The new name will help clarify their work and eliminate confusion.

"Prayerfully we studied the future, the worldwide priority of our mission, and the true state of the world: UNESCO says one in every five people on earth can't read. That's over a billion souls that can't be touched by a book," says Hoskins.

OneHope continues to be committed to reaching the next generation with God's Word through all available media. The GodMan has been viewed by more than 10 million children and youth in hosted showings and by hundreds of millions more via broadcast TV.

OneHope also will be exploring additional media such as the web, text and oral presentation — anything and everything with the potential to introduce Scripture to young people!

According to Hoskins, "OneHope captures the original vision God gave: to rescue children and youth from the despair and lies of the enemy by providing them with the one and only hope for eternity. OneHope is perfect in an age of relativism when children are taught there are no absolute truths but that there are many ways to God. It's critical that they understand there is only 'One Hope' for the future … and that they can find this Hope in the Scriptures. OneHope reflects the proclamation of the Living Word, the Savior, whether through print, film or some other media."

"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.

President of Book of Hope Rob Hoskins says churches distributing the Book of Hope and showing the Godman film have been affected. "We've seen in some of the states children and families come to watch, and we've had some disruptions — mobs being stirred up against them. So we have seen a direct impact. We have decided to pull back a little bit and wait until things calm down."

He says churches have been burned, distributors have been beaten and some have been arrested.

Hoskins says it's causing some people on a national level to start asking tough questions. "Should conversion be legal? Does every human have the right to decide what their faith will be? And these questions are being brought to the forefront because of the persecution and the backlash against the persecution that's taking place in broad culture."

Hoskins is praying long term that it could open doors for more freedom to take place for people to choose what their faith will be.

However, Christians aren't interested in pulling back because there's such an incredible move of God in India. He says India Christians view persecution as a way of life, which is different than western Christians tend to think. "If we're having problems, or if there's any difficulty in their lives, then we need to try to avoid it, whereas I think the people that live in the suffering-church mentality believe that this is part of the life of a believer, and it's what I expect as a believer."

He says Christians in the west can learn from that.

In the meantime, Hoskins says we need to stand with our brothers and sisters in India. "As my brothers and sisters in India say, don't just pray for our protection. Pray that the Word of God would be known in the nation. The second thing we can do is actually give and provide God's Word. Also, the Godman film teams that are out there need our support. They don't want to pull back."

While many Christians in the west may be suffering financially, Hoskins says, "The crisis that our brothers and sisters face is far greater than the financial problems we're having. This is a time for us to give, rather than retreat."

It costs just 33-cents to put a Book of Hope into the hands of a child, while $1 can help ten children see Godman.

Click here to support the work of Book of Hope.