“Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” – 2 Corinthians 9:7

There are very few blessings as humbling as a gift received from a child. Where “grown-ups” may find distraction or reluctance, children often embrace simplicity and give with joy.

On May 14, Reaching Souls International had the great honor of receiving a humbling and generous gift from students of Shiloh Christian Academy.

Shiloh is a classical Christian school for students in Pre-K through 5th grade. Opened in the Fall of 2018, the school is located in Newcastle, Oklahoma, within Woodland Hills Baptist Church, and is patterned after an established, successful, classical Christian school format.

Shiloh’s mission is to provide academically able students with a challenging educational experience designed to help them know, love, and practice that which is true, good, and excellent, and to prepare them to live purposefully and intelligently in the service of God and man.

This year, the students were challenged to earn $0.35 each week to place into a special offering jar. The students performed various tasks and chores throughout the week to earn the money and contribute to the offering.

At the end of the school year, the students from Shiloh blessed Reaching Souls with a gift of $294.26. When you consider that for every $0.35 invested by Reaching Souls in 2018 an individual came to know Christ, their giving will result in more than 840 souls being reached for Christ. That means each student earned more than $16, $0.35 at a time.

The children were able to see first-hand how their gifts would be used, and more importantly, they learned that God can do a lot with a little and that you are never too young to make a difference.

In addition to their offering, the students presented Reaching Souls with an art board, which featured a rendition of the bicycles used to support National Missionaries. The project was created by students in the kindergarten through 3rd grade art class.

As they were leaving, the students were excited to hear that, because of a generous matching fund opportunity, the impact of their gift would go twice as far.

The staff at Reaching Souls were incredibly blessed and humbled by the support and faithfulness of these little ones.

John McCloy, Africa Missions Director at Reaching Souls, believes the students are learning many valuable lessons at Shiloh.

“It’s exciting to see children who are learning so early about generosity, sacrifice, and the spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” he said. “I’m grateful for the leadership and teachers at Shiloh Christian Academy who are equipping these children to be world-changers.”