An Amazing Fact: U.S. national parks spend more than $3 million each year conducting nearly 3,000 search and rescue missions. The largest number of operations take place at the Grand Canyon in Arizona and Yosemite in California. Sadly, for about three percent of cases, the lost are never found.
Dear friend,
Forty-eight hours. That’s how long two little girls were lost in the cold mountains of Northern California this past March. Two long, lonely nights. Can you imagine how their parents felt?
Rescue personnel, tracking dogs, ATVs, and helicopters were deployed to combed a vast, rugged forest known for its regular cougar and bear sightings—all in a frantic search for the sisters, ages 5 and 8, lost in the woods.
It reminds me of our intense, ongoing rescue mission you are involved with at Amazing Facts—to find and help save souls for eternity. How far are you willing to go to find God’s lost children? Can you imagine the longing in the heart of Jesus to rescue His children before it’s too late?
God’s Lost Sheep
Amid the rainy, cold weather, the rescue team eventually found the two girls. They were shivering, tired, and dehydrated, but uninjured. As you can imagine, an outburst of joy and relief was felt by both parents and searchers when they learned the lost children were found.
I am grateful for those who sacrificed so much time to find these lost children. Yet how much more should you and I strive to reach the people that Christ died to save?
Jesus tells the touching parable of an anxious shepherd searching for a lost lamb. He is so happy when he finds it that he throws a party: “Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!” Jesus adds, “Likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance” (Luke 15:6, 7).
Amazing Facts feels a sense of urgency. Together with you, we want to assemble a global search and rescue effort to reach children who don’t know how to find their way to Jesus. Let me tell you how you can help to rescue not just one or two children, but thousands for eternity.
A New Program for Little Lambs
One of the most successful evangelistic programs supporters like you helped Amazing Facts produce was a series of children’s meetings recorded in 2008. It was called Amazing Adventure.
In traveling the world over the past decade, I have met or heard about thousands of young people who found their way to Jesus because of the Amazing Adventure videos and Bible lessons.
Because of our limited budget, however, the original programs were recorded in standard definition—now considered ancient technology. The picture and sound quality do not look good on today’s HDTVs. Everywhere I go, parents and kids, like Samuel, are asking when we’re going to produce a new kid’s series.
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Dear Pastor Doug, My name is Samuel. We have enjoyed your programs. I especially enjoyed Amazing Adventure. I’ve been wondering if you will be doing another series for kids. I am ten years old.
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I’ve been praying about this for years, but just about a month ago, the Lord opened a wonderful door of opportunity to make this happen.
You see, there will be a ten-day Christian gathering in Michigan this June with thousands of people in attendance—and, yes, hundreds of children. The leaders of these meetings have invited us to present a new Amazing Adventure program before a church filled with energetic kids.
That’s why with your essential support, we are planning to film a brand-new children’s evangelistic program in just a few short weeks. This ten-part Amazing Adventure program will reach children between the ages of 8 and 12. We’ll tape it before a lively audience of more than 200 children, sharing key truths of Scripture and answering big questions that young people have about God, good and evil, and salvation.
New Bibles and Lessons for Kids!
Each of these Christ-centered programs will begin with an amazing fact for kids, an inspiring theme song, and Bible questions from children around the world. Then we’ll delve into a fascinating Bible study filled with current-day illustrations and hands-on experiments.
We are also producing a new set of Amazing Adventure Bible lessons to go along with the videos. These beautifully illustrated, interactive lessons will be used to help young people build a faith rooted deeply in God’s Word!
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Dear Pastor Doug, My name is Obadiah, and I am ten years old. I want to learn more about God. … My dad won’t let me have his Amazing Facts Study Guides because he’s afraid I will lose them, so he told me to write you and ask for my own. Thank you.
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What’s especially exciting is that these lessons will go global! We have already arranged, as soon as the English lessons are complete, to have them translated and printed into Spanish, French, Portuguese, and other major languages to help rescue God’s children in foreign lands.
The ultimate goal of these new-and-improved videos and lessons is to lead even more children to make a decision for Christ and prepare them for baptism. Your help can make this resource available to parents, teachers, and pastors around the world to lead children to Jesus Christ.
But time is running out! This tremendous opportunity to make a big difference in young people’s lives can only happen with your help. The cost for set construction, filming, production, printing, broadcasting on major networks, and other steps is anticipated to be $270,000. Will you please invest in this worthy project today?
Your gifts of just $20 will help 10 children know Christ through these new Bible lessons. A gift of $75 will broadcast these new programs to almost 600 hungering hearts, and $500 could reach 170,000 precious lambs around the world who need to know Jesus.
So will you prayerfully help rescue God’s children by joining us with your lifesaving gift this month? Two young children were rescued and reunited with their parents this past March. You can bring this same hope to other lost sheep and lambs when you support Amazing Facts.
Seeking after God’s wandering children,
Pastor Doug Batchelor
President, Amazing Facts International