Too Small to Ignore

Why Children Are The Next Big Thing

Too Small to Ignore

Author: Dr. Wesley Stafford with Dean Merrill
Review By: G. Stephen Goode

This is a book by the President of Compassion International on the importance and priority of children. By the way all royalties from the sale of this book go to Compassion's program to serve poor children around the world.

Dr. Wesley Stafford looks at the plight of poor children through his own life of adventure, being raised in a rural, African village. He and his sister had a rich, upbringing as missionary kids in West Africa. His experience of how young children were included in every aspect of life is worth the read. Childhood dreams, the strength of relationships and ceremony and communication in this remote reminded me of so many of the places we work. I was reading this book while visiting some of our slum projects in Dhaka, Bangladesh. I must say that the poor have much to teach us about the
importance of relationships, of time, of hospitality and of inclusion of children in the important things of life.

There are plenty of statistics and issues of concern about children and how we in society as well as in the church tend to overlook and engage with these little ones until their late teenage years. Dr. Stafford challenges us to do what we can do now to be engaged with kids, where we live, in our neighborhoods, communities and our churches as well as around the world.

One of the issues of concern, he hits head on is the abuse of children. In "Too Small to Ignore", Wes shares very openly from his own personal experience of abuse as a child while at boarding school and what occurred there to change his and the other student's lives forever. Through tears, I saw the broken heart of God and the struggle of a young boy to recover.

This is a very real book on the importance of children and how we can make a difference today. I was recommended this book by our good friend, Philippe Mermod, a former YWAMer and now the head of Compassion Switzerland, who is reaching out to children in Africa and Asia.

Purchase Too Small to Ignore at World Christian Bookstore

<<   Back to Book Reviews

1062