My good friend, Dr. Richard Ross, approached me one Sunday morning and said, “I was invited to attend the 4-14 Global Summit in Bangkok, Thailand. I told them I was not the man, but I knew who needed to be there. I gave them your name.” I thought, “That's great, but I don’t have the money to go.” I was off the hook, I thought.
Shortly afterward, I received an email from the leadership inviting me to join them. I told them I was interested, but I knew there was no way for me to do it. The expense was too much. Again, I was out of it. I was not interested in going. Then a person walked up to me the next Sunday morning and gave me a check for $1,000.
I did not want to go. Then, as I prayed, I felt in my heart that the Boss, the Lord, was saying to me, “You are going.” I surrendered at that moment. I said, “I am going.” Within two weeks, the funds were there, I had my expedited passport in hand, and I was on my way to Bangkok.
When I arrived in Bangkok, everyone was driving on the wrong side of the road. It was a little crazy. I had never been to a third-world country before. One day while walking through the marketplace next to the hotel where I stayed, I noticed an idol at almost every vendor location. They were burning incense to their god(s). It was difficult to see these lost people with no hope worshipping false gods.
During the conference, it was like Heaven. More than 950 leaders from about 97 countries attended the event. Worship was powerful and memorable; people loved one another in brotherly love. We were all there for the children of the world. Children from our ministries. This was a joint effort to reach and release kids in ministry worldwide.
Luis Bush shared the first evening, “There is a call going out for champions to climb a new mountain to root and release a new generation of world changers. . . We believe that children and youth are ready as anointed and appointed by God to be our partners in this mission to the world.”[1]
Luis coined the phrase "the 10/40 Window," which refers to the part of the world with the largest number of unreached people groups. Two-thirds of the world's unreached people live there.
During the conference, I connected with several leaders. While meeting with leaders from the United States, I met a gentleman involved with publishing. He said, “Clint, in the U.S., there is a plethora of resources; however, most countries have no access to discipleship materials or even a copy of God’s Word in their language. Many of these publishing companies worry more about the money than the Great Commission. They refuse to release their materials to other nations.”
That resonated with me. Twenty-two years ago, I started writing discipleship materials for kids in my church. We called it L.I.T. (Leaders In Training). I wasn’t thinking about other churches or other countries. I was just thinking about Wedgwood, the church where I served. But the Lord had a different plan far beyond my church.
Within the next 12 years, the Lord called me to step down and go full-time with L.I.T. You may have already read my testimony. Shortly after leaving Wedgwood, we were charging for our resources and materials here in the U.S. to cover our ministry expenses, and it was working. We had donations, mission trip fees, and resource sales.
All the while, in the back of my mind, I kept thinking about those who had nothing or could not afford to pay for materials. I woke up one morning with this firmly on my mind. About three hours later, I received a call from a very good friend and brother, Mitch Freeman. He asked, “Clint, do you think the Lord wants you to give the materials away?”
At that moment, I said, “Yes!” And the rest is history. There was some resistance from our Board of Directors, but the ministry exploded. L.I.T. is moving around the world. We are not in every country, but the Lord is paving the way.
You see, L.I.T. is not my ministry—it is His ministry. It does not belong to anyone but Christ. We work for Him; He is the Boss. Those who invest in L.I.T. invest in His ministry—His work. It is not about the money. It is about every tribe, nation, and tongue coming to know the Lord.
I have not done anything; all glory belongs to Him. He is the One who deserves the glory. Don’t be amazed at me; be amazed at the One who chose a mess like me and allowed me to be a part of His work worldwide.
If you are not concerned about the nations of the world, you may have a shallow understanding of the Great Commission. The “GO” in the Great Commission means you—every believer. We are called to reach them. Jesus said, “Freely you have received, freely give” (Matthew 10:8).
Remember the Boss Principle. Hudson Taylor said, “Christ is either Lord of all, or He is not Lord at all.” The key to joining Jesus on His journey is surrender. You must deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow the Master. This is my passion for every child from every nation, tribe, and tongue.
Blessings,
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