Our world is in serious moral and spiritual crisis and, sadly, children are suffering the consequences. The latest statistics from the U.S. alone are alarming:

• Barely one-third of young teens (36%) believe that God exists and is the all-knowing, all-powerful Creator of the universe.
• Nearly half don’t know if there is a God, don’t believe in His existence, or don’t care.
• Most of the youngest teens (61%) either believe Jesus Christ sinned while He was on earth or hold open the possibility He did. *

Given the U.S. is the main exporter of influence, these trends do not bode well for the rest of the world.

This is critical because it is during these years that a person’s thinking is established. Dr. George Barna, in his latest book Raising Spiritual Champions, states, “A person’s worldview starts developing in the fifteen-month to eighteen-month age range and is largely in place by the age of thirteen. That’s the prime window of opportunity for discipleship.”*

It is no mystery that the type of media most attractive to this age range is animation. Animation transcends cultural boundaries and speaks to a child’s heart in a way no other medium can. It consistently tops the lists of highest-grossing movies and tv shows; media giants spend billions creating animated content. Animation is also highly compatible with the digital landscape children are familiar with. They naturally watch, re-watch, and engage with content through gaming apps, websites, and social media. This is why it is so concerning that the content filling this space is becoming more and more antithetical to Christianity. A space traditionally reserved for kids and families has been turned into a playground of godless indoctrination. We simply cannot afford to abandon this massively influential space and leave it for the enemy.

And what better content to counter this influence than the ultimate source of Truth—the Word of God. This is why, together with generous partners like you, we created the animated Bible series Superbook and integrate it with the latest digital technology: the Superbook Kids Bible App, Superbook Kids Website, and online Superbook Academy discipleship curriculum. The results have been remarkable. Gordon Robertson, CEO of the Christian Broadcasting Network, stated, “The Superbook animated series is the most successful evangelistic tool CBN has created in its more than 60 years of ministry.” And this is why:

STREAMING

• 2 Billion + YouTube Channel Views
• 7.8 Million YouTube Channel Subscribers

BROADCAST**

• Projected 514 Million Viewers in 143 Countries
• Projected 364 Million Recalled Having Sung the Salvation Poem

APP + WEB

• 33.8 Million App downloads
• 10.7 Million Gospel Presentation Views
• 1 Million + Indicated Salvations

You can celebrate Childhood Evangelism Month and leave a legacy of influence for Christ. With your help we can do so much more, including:

• Translate Superbook episodes, the website, and Bible app into more languages
• Increase our ability to put lifesaving content in front of children
• Improve the app and website experience so we can reach more children
• Help disciple children around the world

And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard?

Romans 10:14

Together we can tell them.

Give to Superbook

*Dr. George Barna; Raising Spiritual Champions

**Brown, Fraser & Associates, a research company founded by Regent University professor Dr. William Brown and by Dr. Benson Fraser, carried out a study of CBN’s international viewership in 2023. To prepare this study, Brown and Fraser surveyed 16,282 persons in 136 cities or regions of 13 countries. Brown and Fraser applied the results from these and prior years’ surveys to project audience sizes and impact of CBN programming.  

10-year-old Pharvin spent a lot of time playing on her own because she couldn’t seem to get along with others, including her parents. “I did not think my parents loved me,” she told CBN. “They bought gifts for my brothers but not for me.” 

Pharvin said after her dad went to work, many days her mom, Sophea, left to play cards and drink wine with friends. “I was afraid of being isolated so I kept going,” said Sophea. “Also, whenever I felt stressed and alone I went to drink and play." 

One day a teacher from an after-school program supported by CBN’s Orphan’s Promise invited Pharvin to attend. “They taught me to dance and sing,” she recalled. “I felt really happy there. Then they taught me about God’s love. Then we watched Superbook.” 

At the end of one Superbook episode, the teacher asked the children if they wanted to pray to become Christians. Pharvin said yes. “Superbook taught me that I am a sinner, but that God loves me! I asked Him to forgive my sins. And I also ask Him to help my mom to stop drinking and playing cards.”  

Pharvin prayed for her family every day. She talked to her Buddhist parents about Superbook and the Bible. Then she invited them to church. “Pharvin invited me to church, and I always said ‘no,’" recalled Sophea. “She kept asking so I started to go. I watched many Superbook episodes, and I learned that God loves me and forgives my sins. Then I decided to believe in Jesus!”   

“Since my wife believed in Jesus, she has changed!” added Pharvin’s dad. “She no longer drinks or plays cards. Now our whole family are Christians.”

“Because of the Superbook, my parents and brothers all know Jesus, just like I do!” declared Pharvin. “Thank you for giving us Superbook!”   
 

Give to Superbook

“In my brain I was screaming to God, 'I hate you. I hate you,'” said Kara Diehl. Her early exposure to God quickly faded when her parents divorced and stopped going to church. Soon after, a frightening darkness entered her life. “We had a man that lived with us and he brought with him satanic worship, and seances, and calling of the dead, and teaching us forms of witchcraft and things like that as little children,” said Kara. “We would see weird things happen in the house and if you knew something was around, you didn't feel safe.”

She endured abuse and lived in constant fear as evil consumed their home. She remembers, “It was like this darkness presented itself to me. I could feel this presence, this force, just like a blanket. There was this euphoric sense of not caring anymore.”

Kara began disassociating from her life to cope with the pain. Still the torment continued. “I felt like I cried out to God on multiple occasions to just take me and He didn't. At the age of 12 was my first suicide attempt,” recalled Kara. Feeling hopeless and alone, she attempted to take her life multiple times. “When I found myself in another hospital or in another institution, the evidence to me was that I'm unlovable and I'm just too messed up. The shame of that when I would come out of the hospital or whatever program I was in and go back to high school was that, 'I was that girl.' The thing that I sought most was the thing that was the most elusive to me.”

Throughout her high school years, she used alcohol as another way of numbing. She moved out and still had no peace. “I went down Cape Cod and I partied and I just numbed out. I was a waitress and I spent all my money on partying,” says Kara “That was a good year, year and a half, and I hit rock bottom. I realized I'm going to die like this.”

Kara kept pursuing a way of escape from her dark past. After graduating college, she got married and had a baby. Still, something was missing. “We moved down into the Bible Belt in Houston, Texas,” she says. “Everywhere was scripture verses on car washes and gas stations, everywhere you look. There was this little voice inside me, this little place that was longing for something that I knew was truth. I went to church and started to ask questions. For two years, I asked every question about dinosaurs, and the age of the earth, and what about this and what about that.”

She continues, “Finally, one night when I was pregnant with my second son, I went to a concert. Afterwards they had what they called an 'altar call.' They said, "Raise your hand if you want to have someone pray with you to give your life to Christ." So, I raised my hand and this sweet young girl came down off the stage and she prayed over me that I would fall in love with Jesus. Just like that force had come to me as a child, this whole new, much more cozy, wonderful, and powerful force came in and overtook me. I was head over heels in love and loved with Jesus.”

She began studying the Bible, and as God's Word started healing her, she was inspired to share with others in a unique way. “I thought, 'I just need a way to share what happened to me and that they can have it too and how amazing this Father God in heaven is.' As I would read the Bible and a verse would pop out at me like, 'He rescued you out of the deep waters.' Oh my goodness! I would choose gemstones and crystals that represented each verse that were healing me,” states Kara. “So as that would happen, I would put it together and string together a bunch of them and create a bracelet theme. So hope or faith. And then when I would see someone, I would say, 'Hey, let me show this to you.' And I would go through the bracelet. And then there was this connection where people, their eyes were opening, and I could feel Holy Spirit reaching through and grabbing this person's hand. And I was connecting people to God's heart.”

Today, Kara has shared with thousands of people God's story of redemption through her creation, Gracelets.  “He's my everything and I want everyone to know Him, not about Him, not have a verse memorized about Him, but know Him,” says Kara. “He's so good, and wonderful, and beautiful, and kind, and powerful, and loving. He's...family.”

Disocver Kara Diehl's jewerly at her website: www.Gracelets.com.

BECOMING MITCH
Born in Passaic, New Jersey, Mitch Albom is the middle child of three siblings who grew up in Oaklyn, New Jersey to Rhoda and Ira Albom. His family attended synagogue regularly. Mitch graduated high school early and went off to college at 17. The first class he took was sociology with Professor Morrie Schwartz. Since the class was small, Mitch was disappointed and contemplated switching to a bigger class where he could skip on occasion and not get caught. Just as Mitch was walking out the door, Professor Schwartz started roll call and said Mitch’s name. He explains, “I could have left but if I did, I promise you I wouldn’t be where I am today.” 

Professor Morrie left such an impression on Mitch that he took every class he offered for the next four years of college and graduated with a degree in sociology before he went on to graduate school. Starting his career as a sportswriter, working for publications like Sports Illustrated, GEO, and The Philadelphia Inquirer, Mitch excelled at writing. He became a columnist for the Detroit Free Press in 1985 and wrote for the publication for over 30 years. 

After losing touch with Morrie for several years, Mitch was surprised when he was watching TV and saw Ted Koppel talking to Morrie about dying. He couldn’t believe it. Morrie was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s Disease or ALS. Mitch knew he had to get in touch with his friend again and that’s how his Tuesday visits with Morrie began. After Morrie passed away, Mitch decided to write Tuesdays with Morrie, to honor him. Never knowing how it would resonate with readers, 25 years later, it’s the best-selling memoir of all time.

It includes Morrie's background, difficult childhood, and the emotional burdens he carried from having to keep his mother's death a secret as a child. Morrie and Mitch's close relationship is also shared, which became more like a father-son bond than a typical student-teacher one.  

HOPE FOR HAITI

Following the devastating earthquake in January of 2010, Mitch’s elderly pastor friend was concerned about his orphanage in Haiti called The Mission. Mitch couldn’t get the kids out of his mind and decided to fly there with a group of others to check on them. When they arrived in Haiti, they found the orphanage overrun with displaced people clamoring for food and shelter. The Mission had no bathrooms, only holes in the ground to use as commodes. In addition, there was no kitchen, showers, or dorms. His friend confessed that could no longer run the orphanage, so Mitch and Janine took over. Their humanitarian organization called, A Hole in the Roof Foundation, launched a campaign to raise funds for the orphanage; $82,000 was raised in just 19 days. A Hole in the Roof Foundation assumed operation, changing the name of the orphanage to Have Faith Haiti. 

Bathrooms and showers were installed, a kitchen was built, tile floors were laid, and other repairs were made. More importantly, the kids have begun eating three meals a day, dorms are built with beds, and each child receives a quality education. Having run Have Faith Haiti for over 13 years, Mitch visits monthly, making sure the kids get all the love and care they need to thrive.  

However, the country is in turmoil. Since the assassination of the Haitian President in 2021, violent gangs have overtaken 80% of Port-au-Prince. In March of 2024, Mitch along with a group of volunteers were evacuated by helicopter because of the danger. While eight volunteers were rescued, Mitch says that his heart aches for the 60 children and 40 staff members left behind at the orphanage. 

FINDING CHIKA

Chika, a young Haitian girl, was brought to the orphanage when she was three years old, following the death of her mother. Showing signs of illness, Chika received medical care and was eventually diagnosed with a rare brain tumor known as DIPG (Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma). Her illness couldn’t be treated in Haiti, so Mitch and his wife Janine brought her to the United States under their guardianship to seek the best medical care possible. Without children of their own, Chika became their daughter while they cared for her for two years. Despite their efforts, Chika lost her battle with cancer on April 7, 2017. Honoring her precious life, Mitch announced her passing on his website, sharing:

"Chika told me once when I said I had to go to my job, that what I did for a living was not really my job. 'Your job,' she said, 'is carrying me.'
She was right. Carrying her to the end of her journey was my job, and today I carried her beautiful little body out of our room down the hall, and finally out the door."

He wrote a book about her entitled, Finding Chika, where he shares the story of how this little girl made them a family. Mitch also shares the power of love, family, and human connection, even in the face of tragedy.  

HOPE SPRINGS ANEW

In 2022, a small child named Nadie who resembled a premature baby was brought to the orphanage. At six months old, weighing a shocking seven pounds, Nadie was near death. She was suffering from severe malnutrition from surviving on sugar water alone. When Mitch and Janine saw how critical her condition was, they knew they needed to act quickly to save her life. They flew her to the U.S. for immediate care. Today, Nadie is thriving! While the Alboms expected to bring Nadie back to the orphanage in Haiti once she was healthy, she’s still living with them two years later. It’s safe to say that little Nadie has stolen their hearts. 

HIS LATEST BOOK

Mitch’s latest book, The Little Liar, is a powerful novel that explores the consequences of deception and the power of forgiveness. The story follows the intertwined lives of three young survivors of World War II - Nico Krispis, his brother Sebastian, and their schoolmate Fannie. Nico is an 11-year-old boy who has never told a lie in his life. When the Nazis invade his hometown of Salonika, Greece, a German officer discovers Nico's reputation for honesty and uses him to trick the Jewish residents into boarding trains that are headed to the Auschwitz concentration camp.

Unaware of the true destination, the innocent Nico reassures the passengers that they are going to "new homes" and safety. Only when he sees his own family being loaded onto the final train does Nico realize the devastating consequences of the lie he was forced to tell. From that point on, Nico can never tell the truth again. He spends the rest of his life-changing his name and identity, desperately seeking forgiveness from the loved ones he betrayed.

Meanwhile, Fannie and Sebastian also survive the war and spend decades searching for Nico, hoping to forgive him. The book serves as a moving parable about the power of lies to destroy lives, as well as the redemptive power of love and forgiveness. Narrated by the voice of Truth itself, The Little Liar is a timeless story about the harm we can inflict with our deceptions and the ability of the human spirit to overcome even the darkest of mistakes.

Discover more about Mitch Albom, and get his latest, The Little Liar, at his website: www.MitchAlbom.com.