Faith Promise Focus

 

Ministering through Puppetry

Mark 9:37 “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”

“You may speak but a word to a child, and in that child there may be slumbering a noble heart which shall stir the Christian Church in years to come.” - Charles Spurgeon

Most of the children of the world live without hope. They live in places that you would not be comfortable visiting. They cry out for someone to love them. They beg for someone to see them. Using puppets and storytelling, we share with children living in such desperate places that there IS hope. His name is Jesus! We tell them that there is a Father who loves them. 

Our Faith Promise Missionary Linda Summer, and The Agape Puppets' teams throughout the world, tell more than 800,000 children a year about Jesus and God’s wonderful rescue plan. Each year, they travel on five continents and by God's grace, they hear thousands of children praying out loud, calling on Jesus to save them! Pray for them and pray for the children of the world to fall deeply in love with Jesus Christ.

Julia's Story  A little girl named Julia had come to a puppet show we did at a park in Pestoia, Italy, recently and was so thrilled with the story of Jesus!  She said, "I know when I tell my friends what I have heard, they will all want to come here!"

We were doing a show the following morning at a nearby church and invited all the children from the park to join us.

Julia very much wanted to come but needed her father to bring her. I sent out a prayer request asking for prayer that he would be willing to bring her. Amazingly, he brought her the following morning, and she never stopped smiling!

On that Sunday morning, Julia prayed with me and asked Jesus to be her Savior!  I had the joy of giving her the very first Bible she had ever owned. I marked the book of John so that she would know where to read. Please rejoice with me that many other children prayed along with Julia to receive Jesus on that same Sunday!

Would you please pray daily for Julia and ask God to move in her father's heart so that he will continue to bring her to church? He had obviously never been in a church before and spent most of his time playing on his phone or going outside to smoke, but he came. Please also pray for her father as I would love to see his heart change.

The number one problem for children in Italy is that people have moved past a Christian experience. They no longer think they need God, unless it is Christmas or Easter. Children grow up with no knowledge of anything to do with the Gospel. They do not know Bible stories. Often, they live with a wrong understanding of God’s rescue plan. They have the mistaken belief that they can be good enough for God.

Please pray for the new church in Pestoia that is committed to reaching a city that is largely without a Gospel witness.

More information and photos of the ministry of The Agape Puppets is available at their website https://theagapepuppets.org.