Every so often I get a humbling reminder of the lives this ministry has touched over the past four years. As a friend once stated to me that "numbers" mean very little in evaluating the effectiveness of a ministry, what counts is the lives that are touched. I often ask kids to write a paragraph for me about "How Kids for Christ USA has affected their life. I ask often, but I don't get too many of them that actually follow through. Today as we prepare to launch into a new year, I thought I would share one of those "testimonies" with you all.

"After thinking for a little bit, about how much Kids For Christ has actually affected my life it's basically a WOW thought. About 5th grade is when I started getting involved with Kids For Christ. During my 5th and 6th grade years I've changed dramatically in a good way (of course). I gave my life to Jesus Christ in one of those two years. I'm now an eighth grader and sure proud of giving my life to my savior. I'm now a brand new person. Bob watched me grow up through Kids for Christ at my school. He was the person who I would go to for help. When I first went to Bob for help, he told me to pray about it, then he prayed for me. It really did surprise me when he told me to pray. I thought, "What would I say? When should I pray?" I figured it out after a while! As I look at myself now I see the HUGE change in my life. I find myself praying when life gets hard and I find myself going to church twice a week. I sing in my churches' choir and I go to Sunday School. I also find myself reading Chicken Soup For The Soul books and relating them to my life and how Jesus Christ is involved. Jesus Christ sure has turned out to be my TRUE BEST FRIEND." —A Tulsa Area Student

Wow is right! A child that learned to learned to pray when in time of need. Not only in time of need, but now prays often enough that she sees Jesus as her best friend. That is one of my goals in this ministry: That the kids we minister to in the public schools develop a real, personal, relationship with Jesus

Jesus said to preach the gospel to every creature! That includes the kids in America's public schools. Letters like this girl's really fire me up! You see, I really need the body of Christ to catch this vision, to support it with prayer, with manpower, with finances, by sharing this vision with your friends, family and Pastors. I have been through more unwanted, horribly uncomfortable situations than I will EVER share with all of you, and my family has been forced to endure them with me. However, my commitment to God and the children still stands: Come hell or high water, I will continue to fight for the souls of America's public school children. I admit at times my wife and I get a bit battle weary, but the more of you who pray and/or support the team and I in this endeavor the more effective and energized we'll be. I expect 2005 to be the most effective year thus far in KFCUSA; your support in whatever manner God leads you will insure that. Together we're reaching a new generation of kids for Christ.

In His Service, Robert (Bob) Heath