The Finish Line Podcast John Mark Eager, Director of the Mailbox Club, on Why Children are the Largest Unreached People Group (Ep. 30)
John Mark Eager is the executive director of the Mailbox Club, an international organization dedicated to advancing the gospel through the discipleship of children. If you haven’t heard of the Mailbox Club, that is probably because they work behind the scenes with many other missions organizations to provide discipleship training and resources to communities all over the world, including many regions that are completely closed to the gospel. Their extensive discipleship programs focus on kids 4-14 as well as teenagers, and even adults at times. Each program is designed to walk a new believer through the core foundations of the Christian faith, the Bible, and the Great Commission.
Last year, the Mailbox Club partnered with over 60 thousand churches and 500 thousand volunteers all over the world to disciple 4.4 million children through the core of the gospel and the freedom that Christ offers. One of the incredible parts of the Mailbox Club’s strategy is just how widely adaptable the message of the gospel truly is. John Mark shared how their discipleship materials are being used in unique ways from Eastern Europe to Africa to underground communities in Afghanistan. The gospel hits each culture in a unique way, and it is amazing to watch it take root at an indigenous level and truly become viral.
John Mark shares why children should be one of our highest priorities as we seek to bring the gospel to every tribe, nation, and tongue. And you won’t want to miss the incredible stories he had to share of how the church is moving all over the world. Listen now to hear all he had to say!
QUOTES TO REMEMBER- “And I realized … I could make a million dollars, so what? What does it matter?”
- “The approach we take is to equip believers around the world – churches and believers – to evangelize and disciple children.”
- “It literally is like the feeding of the 5000. If you take Jesus out of the story, there’s just no way.”
- “Children are the greatest harvest field in the world. And they are the most responsive to the gospel.
- “Adults become proud from success, or bitter from hardships they’ve faced. So it’s very difficult for a lot of adults to bend a knee and become like a child to receive Christ.”
- “Children are the most unreached people group in the world.”
- “Children, if won to Christ and properly discipled, can lead long, fruitful lives for Christ.”
- “It looks different in various countries because it’s indigenous – it’s gone viral, it’s organic, which is beautiful.”
- “We love to come in behind an organization that has a big evangelism presence and partner with them to provide long term discipleship.”
- “We cannot name anything we have that has not been given to us by God.”
- The Mailbox Club
- Child Evangelism Fellowship
- Operation Christmas Child, the shoebox ministry of The Samaritan's Purse
- Rodney "Gipsy" Smith
- My Hope India
- Evangelism Explosion
- ROI Ministry (see our interview with founder, Tim Barker)
- Maclellan Foundation (see our interview with Director of Generosity, John Cortines)
- Josh McDowell
- The Finish Line Community Facebook Group
- The Finish Line Community LinkedIn Group
Luke 18:16-17 | Let the Children Come to Me
16 But Jesus called them to him, saying, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. 17 Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”
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