I’m convinced that one of the most powerful forces on earth is the prayer of a child.

I have become convinced that the more wealth a country accumulates, the more isolated and lonely its people become. The loneliest are usually the children and the elderly. Children learn what they live, and isolation in the ‘village’ is one of the most destructive messages we daily write on the tablets of their hearts.

One changed child eventually changes a family. A changed family will influence change in its church. Enough changed churches will transform a community. Changed communities change regions. Changed regions will in time change an entire nation.

There is nothing to be intimidated about - it's just another long run where a few more people show up and they happen to wear numbers.

Just know this: What you will do among children is as close to the heart of God and central to his kingdom as anything we could mention.

But when adults speak up for the vulnerable and the weak, working and demanding that safety and respect prevail, God's little lambs are protected and nourished. They know they are not abandoned; they are loved. And the world becomes a little more like heaven as a result.

A church begins to die when it says, ‘They were just children.