Contact: Steve Watters, Truth78, 502-689-1626
LOUISVILLE, Ky., April 11, 2018 /Christian Newswire/ -- At an inauguration event on April 10, Children Desiring God re-introduced itself as Truth78, an independent 501(c)3 organization structured to more strategically fulfill its mission to equip the next generations to know, honor and treasure God.
The event at Immanuel Baptist Church in Louisville, Ky. featured a charge by Bruce A. Ware, professor of theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and a video message from John Piper, founder of Desiring God. Also speaking were Ryan Fullerton, pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church; Mark Vroegop, pastor of College Park Church in Indianapolis, and David Michael, Truth78 founder and chairman of the board.
In his charge, Ware said it was of utmost importance to teach the next generations a high view of God. "May God help us to be tools in his hands in the life of the next generation," Ware said. "To see them grow up with a high view of God. To know him rightly and to enter into the joy and the truth of the Christian faith, that they might in turn pass that on to the next generation following."
John Piper shared in his video message the impetus for Children Desiring God launching out as Truth78. He explained how over the past 20 years Children Desiring God grew as a developer of curriculum, the Fighter Verses Scripture memory tools, family discipleship resources and vision-casting and training, while Desiring God increasingly focused its emphasis on spreading a passion for the supremacy of God through resources on the website of DesiringGod.org. He added that those growth trajectories resulted in distinctive needs for infrastructure, technology, fundraising mechanisms and artistic and editorial methods.
"We saw pretty clearly after a while that we were holding each other back from the maximum flourishing of both by trying to constrain this under one organizational structure," said Piper. "Hence the new name and new organizational structure." Reflecting on the transition process, Piper added, "If you put your ear to the sound of this transition, what you'll hear is mutual cheering on both sides for the joy and hope of what's going to come of these two ministries."
"Twenty years ago as Children Desiring God was being launched," David Michael said in his message, "we were stunned by the interest and growth we were seeing as our resources made their way into homes, churches and schools throughout North America and then...into Europe and into South America. As we look ahead to the next decades as Truth 78 we wonder with excitement what God might do with opportunities for reaching the nations."
Michael then reported on current translation projects in progress for 13 different language groups including Korean, Haitian Creole, Indonesian, Burmese, Dutch, Chinese, Romanian, Russian and French. "With much of our material already available in Spanish," he added, "there is exciting work happening in various parts of Latin America, including El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica and there have been recent conversations about needs in Honduras, Mexico, and Cuba." Michael reported that a current project will translate a 5-day Truth78 curricula into eight languages in India that will be taught to 360,000 children in the next three months.
Michael said that the passion to advance the vision for equipping the next generations is stronger than ever and that his desire is for the next decades as Truth78 to be even more effective and more fruitful than the first two.
"Awaken the church in our neighborhoods and in our cities and across America and throughout the world," Michael said in a closing prayer, "to her God-given calling to faithfully and intentionally impart the whole counsel of your Word to the next generation."
Attendees received copies of a new book from Truth78, Indestructible Joy for the Next Generation, an anthology featuring chapters by John Piper, Albert Mohler, Russell Moore, Bruce Ware and more.
In addition to Indestructible Joy for the Next Generations, Truth78 introduced two other resources for equipping churches and parents: Glorious God, Glorious Gospel, an interactive devotional for families and When I Am Afraid, a children's book.
www.truth78.org
