Willow Park Church

“..whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me.” ‒ Matt 18.5 (NIV)

By the time you read this, many of you will be far more familiar with ‘Child of Mine’ having seen it launched at Kickoff  on September 7th. But for those of you who missed it or are still wanting to understand more, read on.

I have heard Child of Mine described as “..our own version of World Vision or Compassion Canada”. But I think that’s dramatically understating matters! In many ways its simpler than those ‒ and yet far more exciting from a Kingdom perspective, to be able to directly engage with the future hope of the church in the least reached part of the world.

Set in the lower ranges of the Himalayas, in the Hindu state of Himachal Pradesh, some 200 miles apart, are Shanti Niketan (House of Peace) Children’s Home and to the north, Dar-ul-Fazl (House of Grace) Children’s Home. Between them, they are raising approximately 210 children.

Founded 16 and 25 years ago (respectively), the Homes are owned by an Evangelical organization based in Mizoram, a far-flung state of India on the border of Burma. In humble circumstances, the largely Mizo staff have the mission of raising children to know and love the Lord Jesus, in a region that forbids conversion to the Christian faith.

Three years ago, Willow Park Church and shortly thereafter, Westside Church (Vancouver) - in desiring to be involved in raising up the church in one of the least-reached regions on earth, came into contact with the two Christian Children’s Homes. They were struggling economically, but thriving spiritually in a place in North India with less than 1% church presence.

God has called us to come alongside them in such a way that we can bring value to their vision ‒ to raise the future leaders of the church in North India. To do that we cannot simply be sponsors, comfortably living at a distance and sending fi nances. By partnering in the vision we are being asked to do much more; to pray, to give, to serve ‒ and above all to share a vision that goes beyond simply feeding and clothing children.

We are being called to passionately engage in the mission of God’s Kingdom; namely to raise up the church in all corners of the globe and especially so in the least-reached regions of this world. Christ tells us that as we look to raising and equipping his children, we are right in line with his mission; that all men may know his name.

As of October 2008, Child of Mine assumes the responsibility and care for the economic needs of the homes, and our desire is to holistically partner with their God-given vision to equip and prepare these children to serve God in North India. Child of Mine partners with the homes in this evangelical calling of Christ, so that the children and young people might be equipped to reach their own ethnic groups and establish the Kingdom of God in whatever field of life they choose to be part of. Many of the children want to  be in medical professions, business and law. However, overwhelmingly, against the odds, many of them are electing to become Pastors and church-planters in order to reach their own people for Christ.

Today that vision burns powerfully in those children who have ‘graduated’ and left the homes to pursue post-secondary education in college and seminaries. Child of Mine is committed to building effective partnerships with such organizations in order to help these children fulfill their calling.

To read stories about the homes and our missions teams who have served there, be sure to check out the Missions blog, Laurence's blog, or the Missions Photos.

To learn more about Child of Mine, please grab a brochure in the foyer of the campus wherever you attend or go online to www.childofmine.ca.

Whatever you do, don’t be a bench-warmer or a sideline observer! God is up to something amazing in this world, and has opened doors for us as a church family to get involved. Ephesians 2:10 tells us that we were prepared in advance for this very thing!

So DO SOMETHING! Get involved and PARTNER IN THE VISION!