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Online Chats Lead Child to Decision

Whether or not you hear many “Amens”  in your church, you can hear them online at Guide magazine’s Web site. During a recent chat session, chat coordinator Andrew Hiebert was leading a group of adolescents in a Bible study about Zacchaeus.  He was making the point that Jesus is inviting each child to a special friendship with Him, just like the invitation he gave Zacchaeus. “Yaaayyyy!!!” responded one child. “Thank the Lord,” typed another. “Amen!” typed a third.

“Many Guide readers live in rural settings and their Sabbath school class may be quite small,” says Guide editor Randy Fishell. “The chat sessions allow these kids to ‘get together’ on their computers with a wide range of peers from city and farming community alike.”

Heibert and a dozen other volunteer moderators lead three chat sessions each week including a Thursday night Bible study. In the first five months of the year, about 600 young people logged on to the chats from locations around the world. The ministry obviously provides a lot of Christian fellowship, but it also leads to decisions for Christ. User katiesw  says that the Guide moderators  “helped me a lot. I mean a lot. They’re the ones who gave me the power to tell my mom and dad that I want to be baptized.”

To volunteer as a chat moderator or support Guide’s Web ministry with a donation, please visit www.GuideMagazine.org.