Seven Cultural Influencers
Cultures are influenced—good or bad—through seven primary areas: Family, Education, Business/Economics, Faith, Government/Politics/Justice, and Environment. At Children of the Nations, we understand that it only takes 3 to 5 percent of a population base to create change within a culture. By capturing the hearts of children and creating strategic learning environments, we seek to create opportunities for our children to create “tipping points” in their nations, and even continents, causing the faces of nations to change.
Family
Happy families foster happy streets, happy streets foster happy communities, happy communities foster happy cities, happy cities foster happy nations, happy nations foster happy continents. By creating a safe family environment where children are loved, respected, and nurtured, each child will learn to understand the value of “family” and long to create this themselves. In addition, children that are properly protected and cared for holistically (mentally, spiritually, physically and socially) have opportunities that allow them to be on a platform to realize their dreams.
Faith
The core of one’s life is the knowledge of where they come from, who they are, and where they are going. COTN strives to create within each child the knowledge of Jesus Christ, His desire for a personal relationship, and His sacrifice on the cross for sin. Our relationship with Christ is personal but is encouraged and strengthened through participation with a local group of believers (Hebrews 4). COTN desires to create every spiritual opportunity within this arena, creating passion for the Kingdom of God which, when actualized, becomes “acts of service.” (Ephesians 4:11-13)
Education
A key element in the transformation of a nation is education—from preschool to the university level. Knowledge is key as COTN seeks to create environments that are rich in learning. Teaching the brain to think rather than teaching the brain to respond (rote learning) is a high goal for developing the nations in which we operate. In order to have “bright” children we must have “bright teachers.” COTN seeks to mobilize the best teachers in the world, both locally and via satellite, into its classrooms.
Government / Politics / Justice
Nations are led (good or bad) by political leaders. COTN seeks to create great leaders. It is often said that a leader is born not trained. This may be true but an individual taught Godly character can lead in an amazing transformational way. By mentoring and teaching, our children will have the platform to choose to lead politically. Our hope is to support these leaders in every way we can. We also desire to link our children with other growing leaders in adjacent countries causing regional peace and stability.
Business / Economics
A foundational element to any society is its ability to provide economic stability to its nation. By capturing every available opportunity, COTN will create a platform for its children to learn the basics of economic sustainability for both their region and their country. COTN will endeavor to connect business leaders of all kinds with the hope that multiple industries, businesses, and economies will be created, transforming the nations.
Media / Arts / Entertainment
By capturing a nation’s media, one can create elements of change that will influence an entire populace. COTN seeks to train its children in the media arena and thus create the best TV anchors/programs, radio hosts/programs, journalism programs, video, etc. This programming in itself has the power to make lasting inroads that will promote change. Through the arts and entertainment, cultures are influenced and they have the ability to influence. In the developing world, arts and entertainment are strongly linked to cultural heritage and values. It is the desire of COTN to foster the continued development of arts and entertainment, thus keeping our children connected with their heritage. We also desire to provide avenues for new expressions of arts and entertainment for personal growth as well as evangelism and potential economic growth.
Environment
Pollution. Litter. Mineral exploitation. Desertification. Deforestation. Fauna depletion. Hazardous toxins. Unclean water. Sanitation issues. For much of the developing world many environmental issues, such as pollution and litter, are completely unrestricted. Countless others are merely not addressed or enforced by the government. Western countries often take advantage of the dilemma in developing countries, dumping garbage and hazardous waste in developing nations, building plants which emit considerable toxins, depleting natural resources by mining minerals and gems, clear-cutting forests, etc. COTN seeks to raise children to not only be good stewards of all which God has given to us, but who will also strive to bring about environmental change and sustainability in their nations. Through education and awareness programs our desire is to create a generation empowered to promote global change and create environmental sustainability in their nations.
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