Benjamin Franklin famously advised fire-threatened Philadelphians in 1736 that “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."  Of course this is sage advice in any situation, but what is the cure for the struggles people face on a daily basis here in Hawaii?  If you take a serious look around the islands of Hawaii, it doesn't take long to realize that even in paradise people struggle with the same things the rest of the world struggles with.  On every island you will find problems related to substance abuse, poverty, housing inadequacies, prejudice, human trafficking and on and on.  It's easy to feel discouraged by brokenness we see all around us. 

Thankfully, there are dozens of organizations dedicated to helping broken people become whole again.  In a sense, these groups are trying their best to "cure" the problems people are facing now as a result of their accumulated life experiences.  But what if there were a way to "prevent" people's greatest problems before they ever happened?  Wouldn't that be something worth investing our time, talent and treasure into?  Of course it would be.  And if you think about it, this is exactly why so many people, companies and governments have invested in researching and distributing vaccines for Covid.  The goal is to prevent people from having to suffer through the full blown symptoms of the virus in the future by giving them something in the present. 

Imagine if there were a medicine people could take when they were young, that would help them make choices that would result in less pain and suffering in the future?  The Good News is that there is such a "medicine" and it's called the Gospel.  The bad news is, not everyone recognizes the fact that we are all born with a terminal condition (Romans 5:12) and need this medicine to live the live God plans for us (Joshua 29:11).  This is why the first step in helping people avoid future pain and problems, is helping them understand they have a genuine need for the cure (the Gospel). 

The Gospel message has the power to bring hope to the hopeless, heal broken families, break the chains of addiction and so much more.  But what if rather than waiting until people were broken, hurting or in pain to bring them the Gospel, we shared it with them while they were still young? Doesn't it make sense, that if someone accepts Christ as their Savior and they have the power of the Holy Spirit living within them, that they will be more likely to make better choices in life? 

If you are already a believer, then the answer is obvious, because of course it is.  In all my years of ministry, in church and as a CEF missionary, I have never met anyone who has said to me, "I wish I had come to Christ LATER in life."  That's because the believer who comes to Christ late in life knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that if they had started their journey with Christ earlier, they would have made different choices.  Of course God uses the circumstances and choices in our lives to draw us to Himself (Acts 27:26-27), but it also makes sense that the sooner a person hears the Gospel the more likely they are to receive Christ as their Savior (Romans 10:14-15).

This is why CEF of Hawaii believes so strongly that every child on every island should be able to hear the Gospel by the age of twelve.  We believe that the power of God's Word will not only impact this generation but it can ignite a revival (2 Chron 7:14) that fundamentally reshapes the islands in ways we can't even begin to imagine (1 Cor 2:9).  If you would like to know more about how you and your church can more effectively share the most powerful "ounce of prevention" known to man, please contact us.  We would he happy to talk story with you and help inspire, train and equip your congregation to reach the children in your community with the Gospel.  In the end, Ben Franklin was right and we can have confidence that any effort spent in reaching children with the Gospel will be well spent indeed (Isaiah 55:11).

Blessings and aloha!

Mat Walton - State Director