One staple of Kids for Christ USA Bible clubs is that we walk the kids through “The Ticket to Heaven Prayer” on an almost weekly basis.  This is not as some might think, an effort to manipulate children into badgering their classmates to “get saved”, but rather teaching them a simple tool, so that if an opportunity arises they can feel confident in leading someone to Jesus.

I have told the story of how I gave my life to Jesus at age five...AND KNEW WHAT I WAS DOING.  However, because it was taboo to tell anyone about my faith in school or the neighborhood, I just didn't.  I loved Jesus with all my heart, but lacked the courage to share my faith.  It’s likely my story is not much different that your’s.

 Back in the summer of 2001 I felt impressed to search for a very simple way to empower children in our clubs to share their faith with friends.  A friend shared the simple prayer that God had given him and his 8 year old son to lead kids to Jesus.  I knew it was “the” tool we needed to teach kids.  It has been more effective that I could even tell you in one article, but to date we are aware of over 4,000 people who have made a decision to serve Jesus using this prayer. 

Three years ago a prayer and workout partner suggested that we put the Ticket to Heaven Prayer on the back of the t-shirts we sell every year.  I honestly didn’t expect the result of what God did.  The first year a story was emailed to me about a second grader who using her shirt during her free time shared faith with her entire class and most of them prayed the prayer with her (the whole story is in my e-book “How Are You Doing That” here on our website).  This year that same girl, now a fourth grader, has shared her story with kids from two different schools.  She knows what she believes and nobody will talk her out of it. 

During the summer while in Iowa ministering at a church, I taught the prayer to a whole congregation.  I gave one of last year’s shirts to a boy on the second row.  That shirt only said “Do you have a ticket”? on the back of the shirt.  What happened the next day “blew me away”.  The boy wore the shirt to school on Monday.  During the day the first person to say anything about the shirt was teasing him.  Later that day another child asked him what that meant on the back of his shirt.  He shared what it meant to him to have Jesus as his savior.  When he finished the boy prayed the Ticket to Heaven Prayer with him.  A prayer that was so simple he learned it during church the day before...... and used it the very next day!  The lines of the prayer are listed, available for free under “Club Resources” on this site.

Just this past week a proud mommy told me that her fifth grade son wore his shirt to school on KFC day.  During the day another boy asked him what that was on the back of his shirt (it had the whole prayer). He told his friend it was a prayer and that if he wanted to they could pray it together and he would also have a ticket to heaven.  After a long discussion, the two prayed and his friend accepted Jesus.  With all my heart I believe these are foundational moments that can lead to lifetime followers of Jesus. 

Although I don’t know of any others, I wouldn’t be surprised to find there are more testimonies like these with and without shirts involved.  The bottom line is that kids who feel confident will share their faith and I intend to see that kids across the land feel confident in their faith.  I don’t know if I am smarter than a fifth grader, but I sure want to see 5^th graders bold in what they believe in; don’t you?--bob