What is the Ministry “Little Gideons”?

It is a worldwide interdenominational Ministry, linked to the Ministry “24 Hours Before the Lord”, that unites children, from seven to twelve years of age, who love the Lord and have a commitment with their church, committing themselves to pray for the children of the Nations, fifteen minutes a day, and who seek to be ready, in holiness, for the Lord’s return.

The Vision of The Ministry “Little Gideons”

The Ministry seeks to form Christ’s character in children, from seven to twelve years of age, through biblical teaching, leading them to understand the Christian principles of the New Testament.

The children (Little Gideons)  pray for specific topics that appear in the outline of their “Passport of Prayer” and they meet weekly with their counsellors.

In these weekly meetings (usually on Sundays – before or after Sunday school, or the morning service), they receive training and they plan:

Social activities (rendering help to people in need, helping other children, showing unity in situations of catastrophe, visiting hospitals, orphanages, etc)

Leisure activities (they should learn as children, through healthy and educational games – in the meetings and special events, such as camps, pupil exchanges and retreats)

Spiritual activities (where they learn the principles of prayer, intercession and worship – promoting evangelism and spiritual growth)

Dynamics of the Operation of the Ministry “Little Gideons”

Firstly counsellors are chosen for the Little Gideons to form Troops in the church. The counsellors will receive the appropriate training through the “Preparatory Course” and will bring together the candidates for the Little Gideons. The Little Gideons will take the course “Fundamentals of the Faith” and will be consecrated on the day they graduate as the first Troop of Little Gideons.

1.  Counsellors: The counsellors of  the Little Gideons, after they have received their training on the Preparatory Course, ministered by teachers of the Ministry 24 Hours Before the Lord, will raise their troops of children aged from seven to twelve years of age.
They will receive the Certificate of the Preparatory Course for Counsellors soon after the conclusion of the course, but their anointing with oil will take place when they raise their first Troop.
They will receive their consecration and their distinctive badge together with their first Little Gideons (on the day of their Graduation)
They will be able to anoint all the new Little Gideons of the new groups as they are raised.
They should be Gideons of Prayer, of Worship or of Preaching the Word.

2.  Troops: The troops should be formed in accordance with the children’s age:
Troop 1 – with children of 7 and 8 years

Troop 2 – with children of 9 and 10 years

Troop 3 – with children of 11 and 12 years

Obs: the troops can be adapted according to the number of children involved at each church, also taking into account the number of counsellors.

3.   Candidates for Little Gideons: The children, firstly as “Candidates for Little Gideons”, will receive instruction in a series of four lessons on the “Fundamentals of the Faith” (The Magazine of the Little Gideons), being:

“Conversion” – A study on what is meant by the “new birth” (an experience which is a basic requirement of the Little Gideon)

“The Bible” – A study on the Word of God and how it should be read and how you should meditate on its teachings

“Prayer” – A study on the importance of Prayer in the life of someone who is already born again, or of the true Christian (it will be the essential habit of each Little Gideon – fifteen minutes daily)

“The Holy Spirit” – A study on the activity of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Christian and the importance of keeping alight the fire of communion with God.

Obs: The four lessons will be ministered in the church at the weekly meetings of Little Gideons (Sundays in the morning, for example). There will be eight weeks of lessons plus one more for revision of the classes and a written evaluation.

4.    Graduation and Schedule of Prayer: Having concluded the lessons, the children will receive their Certificate of Little Gideons and anointing with oil (or the laying on of hands of the Pastors).

After their graduation and consecration, the Little Gideons will begin their schedule of daily prayer, being fifteen minutes a day, following the outline supplied in the Passport of Prayer.

After concluding the curriculum of the “Course of Fundamentals of the Faith” for Little Gideons, there will be a Graduation ceremony at which the children will be anointed to exercise their ministry, interceding for the children of the Nations.
On the day of the evaluation of the Course (the last day of class) the children will choose their time of prayer (with their parents’ approval).

5.    Responsibilities of the Parents of Little Gideons: There will be a meeting with the parents (or guardians) of the candidates for Little Gideons, where an orientation on the importance of the commitment that the children will assume will be given, they will also receive an explanatory letter about the Ministry and the children’s involvement. As follows:

The parents (or guardians) will commit themselves to bring the children to take part in the four lessons of the “Fundamentals of the Faith” of the Little Gideons – there will nine weekly meetings in total: 8 weekly meetings in which the lessons will be taught, a revision of the whole content of the course of the Little Gideons and an exam to evaluate what they have learnt in the last week .

The Graduation of the Little Gideons will be held in a celebration service, when they will be anointed and begin their schedule of daily prayer as “Warrior Gideons”
There will receive the “Little Gideons kit” on the day of their Graduation. The parents should motivate the children to raise the resources with their own work.

To graduate with their class the child should have attended at least 75% of the classes and obtained the acceptable score of 50 points in the exam given by the counsellor.
If the child doesn’t have the necessary attendance or obtain the necessary score to graduate, he/she should return in the next group.

After their children have become Little Gideons the parents should:

Accompany their children in the commitment of prayer and in the devotionals directed by the counsellors.
Encourage their children to be faithful in the commitments of the Troop (meetings and activities).
Communicate to the counsellors their children’s behaviour at home and in School.
Help their children to be present in uniform in the meetings (with the T Shirt of the kit), bringing their Bible and Passport in the personalised backpack of the Ministry.

6.   Kit of Little Gideon: Each Little Gideon will receive on the day of their Graduation their kit containing the following personalised material:
A T Shirt of the uniform of Little Gideon
The personalised backpack
The Passport of Prayer
The Badge of the Ministry (there will be other badges with different designs, that can be acquired during their years in the Ministry, in accordance with the child’s performance in the activities as a Little Gideon).

7.   Implementation of the Ministry: Churches interested in implementing the Ministry Little Gideons should communicate with the Headquarters of the Ministry 24 Hours Before the Lord and request the Preparatory Course for Counsellors of Little Gideons after which they will receive all the necessary information and material.
There will be interactions among the troops in the cities.
There will be suggestions for an annual calendar for the Little Gideons supplied by the Headquarters, containing directions and tips for events.
There will be Seminars for the Counsellors of Little Gideons and national events for the children.