Every April, the PAOC highlights the 4-14 Initiative—a vital movement rooted in the reality that children are most receptive to the gospel between the ages of four and 14. This is more than a seasonal awareness campaign; it is a strategic response to the critical need to share the good news of Jesus with kids and to create a discipleship pathway in the lives of our youngest generation.
Research by George Barna reveals that a person’s worldview begins developing as early as 15 to 18 months of age and is largely in place by age 13.[1] This narrow window represents our prime opportunity for discipleship. During these formative years, the foundation of faith is laid, determining how a child will perceive God, themselves and the world around them.
How can you, as an adult, reach children aged 4-14 for Christ? You can do so by making the BLESS lifestyle part of your life. Developed by Pray for All (prayforall.com), the BLESS framework vision is to have enough people willing to collectively pray for every person in the world by name and share Jesus with them. Mission Canada’s Children’s Ministries has partnered with them to make a version of their resources for adults to pray for kids by name. Called BLESS 5 KIDS, this framework helps you to impact the children you meet with the gospel.
Begin with Prayer for Kids
When you pray for children, you begin to care for them more. The Lord knows them by name (Isaiah 49:1).
Listen to Kids
Relationships are built one conversation at a time. Listen to children with empathy. Get to know their story, fears, needs and doubts (James 1:19).
Eat with Kids
Jesus spent a lot of His time eating with people far from God. Eating with people builds friendships. Build friendships with families over a meal (Matthew 9:10).
Serve Kids
Jesus modelled that the best way to reach people is to serve them in practical ways and meet their needs (Matthew 20:28).
Share Jesus with Kids
When Paul shared the gospel in Acts 22, he shared the three parts of his story: his life before Jesus, how he met Jesus, and his life after he met Jesus. You can do the same.
Sharing your faith is such a personal journey, and keeping it simple is usually the best way to remain sincere, especially with kids. You can practise sharing the gospel beginning with the story of your life before you met Jesus, how you met Jesus, and what your life has been like since meeting Him. This is how Jesus transformed you. Remember to use analogies such as a gift or a bridge to explain abstract concepts.
Next, move on to God’s story and summarize the gospel in your own words. This is where you explain how your heart understood what Jesus had done for you and why the gospel is called the Good News! Ask the Holy Spirit how to unpack big words like “redemption” and use everyday language.
Finally, write out how you would invite kids to accept Jesus if they are ready to. An important step here is to be actively listening to the kids’ questions so you know how to continue the conversation the next time you are together.
Action Steps
- Ask the Holy Spirit to give you the names of five children who do not know Jesus, and make a list (they can be children of neighbours, relatives, colleagues, etc.).
- Set aside five minutes a day to pray for these five kids by name for five weeks.
- Ask God to give you opportunities to talk with children, to invite families to eat with you, serve kids in some way, and share the gospel with them.
- Invite families to a service or event at your church so that they can hear the gospel and get to know other believers.
- Share with your leadership what God does in your life and in kids’ lives as you BLESS them. Bring this BLESS 5 KIDS lifestyle campaign to your church by downloading the resources.
Praying Scripture Over Children
John 6:44 tells us that Jesus said, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day.” We can pray, “Father God, we ask You to draw the children to Your precious Son, Jesus Christ, today.”
2 Corinthians 4:4 says that the god of this world has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God. We can pray, “Father God, we ask for You to remove the spiritual blindness from children so they will believe the gospel.”
John 16:8 tells us that when the Holy Spirit comes, He will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. We can pray, “Father God, we pray for the children to turn from their sins and receive the gift of repentance today.”
Paul writes in Colossians 4:3-4, “And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.” May we, too, pray that God will give us many opportunities to speak about His mysterious plan concerning Christ, and to proclaim this message as clearly as we can to the children.
We can pray, “Father God, according to Your Word in Acts 16:31, may kids believe in the Lord Jesus and be saved, becoming daughters and sons of the Most High God. May they witness and testify of the good news of Jesus to their families, and may their households be saved!
Visit paoc.org/family/annual-initiatives/4-14/bless-5-kids-2026 to download the BLESS resources, including the worksheet, bookmark, commitment card and daily prayer.
Leann Woelk is the Mission Canada Next Gen children’s co-ordinator for The Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada. This article appeared in the October/November/December 2026 issue of testimony/Enrich, a quarterly publication of The Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada. © 2026 The Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada. Photo © istockphoto.com.