For years, children’s ministries leaders across the Southeastern Conference have faithfully served children and families, giving them room to know Jesus, grow in faith, and experience His love. As the Seventh-day Adventist World Church moves toward September 2027 with a renewed emphasis on prayer, service, sharing Jesus, and discipleship, the children’s ministries team and leaders across the Conference gathered on September 12, 2026, at the Conference office to solidify that foundation, and get more intentional about it.
The call to share Jesus has always been at the heart of children ministries. What OneVoice27 gives is a chance to sharpen that call: to equip children not only to know Jesus for themselves, but to carry Him to others.
Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven,” Matthew 19:14. Children are not on the sidelines of ministry, they are part of the mission.
A Pathway, Not Just a Program
Paul told Timothy, “Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity,” 1 Timothy 4:12.
That counsel reminds all that young people do not have to wait until adulthood to live and share their faith. Children can pray. They can serve. They can invite. They can encourage. They can share what Jesus means to them.
OneVoice27 gives children’s ministries leaders an opportunity to help make that practical.
The goal is not simply to prepare children for a single event in September 2027; it is to create a pathway toward discipleship — helping children develop habits of prayer, service, witness, and spiritual confidence that can continue long after the initiative itself has ended.
That means the work as leaders matters tremendously. Leaders are not merely organizing activities for children, they are helping to create environments in which children can discover that they, too, have a place in God’s mission.
Equipping the Equippers
That was an important part of the purpose behind the September 12 gathering. If the children are to be equipped, the adults who serve them must also be equipped.
Children’s ministries leaders need resources, ideas, encouragement, and practical tools they can carry back to their local churches. They need opportunities to learn from one another, ask questions, share what is working, and think intentionally about how children can become active participants in ministry.
The responsibility is not simply to tell children to share Jesus. They must be shown how.
They can be given age-appropriate opportunities to pray for someone, serve a neighbor, welcome another child, participate in church ministries, tell a Bible story, share a testimony, or simply explain — in their own words — why Jesus matters to them. Small opportunities can build spiritual confidence.
One Voice. One Mission.
OneVoice27 gives a common direction, but its strength will ultimately be seen in local churches, classrooms, homes, and communities.
It will be seen when a child realizes…
I can pray for somebody.
I can help somebody.
I can tell somebody about Jesus.
And, perhaps most importantly:
God can use me, too.
That is the opportunity as children’s ministries leaders — the privilege of helping children understand that they are not merely the Church of tomorrow. They are part of the Church — and its mission — today.
OneVoice27 is an invitation to become more intentional about that calling: one child, one church, one community — and one voice for Jesus.
Southeastern | November 2026
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