What really motivates us? What are the beliefs we won’t back down from, no matter what? Reflecting on these critical questions recently, we ultimately came to five “non-negotiables” that guide every initiative, every partnership, and every project. More than that, the faces of children across the world represent these non-negotiables. The faces of the ones we know, and the ones we have yet to know, encourage and challenge us to ask ourselves how we can take what we believe, and use it for someone else’s good in a deep and lasting way.
1. WE ARE BELIEVERS
We’re believers in a big God. We’re believers in people. From the opening of the 10th Timmy’s Playroom in Daytona Beach, Florida, to funding the opening of an 8000 square foot resource center for children with special needs in Mexico, to hundreds of thousands of people with special needs being celebrated globally at Night to Shine, God’s plans for this ministry have always been far greater than anything we could have dreamed. We’re believers that big and lasting change is possible for a broken and hurting world.
2. EVERYONE MATTERS
To love God is to serve God, and to serve Him is to serve others. Over 87 children fighting life-threatening illnesses have been granted an official W15H experience since the program’s inception. As of 2019, 95 children have been welcomed home to their forever families through the foundation’s Adoption Aid program. These children range widely in age, ethnicity, cultural background, and medical conditions, but they all matter! Every single person matters to God, therefore every single person matters to us.
3. WE’RE ON A RESCUE MISSION
There is urgency in the mission; it cannot wait until a more convenient time. The time is NOW. For the millions of orphans, the time is NOW. For the millions of children in developing countries with limited or no access to healthcare, the time is NOW. If we don’t act now, will someone ever get to these children in need? Countless numbers of children have been rescued already, and we know there are many more to come.
4. THERE’S POWER WHEN WE COME TOGETHER
Honored Guests. Volunteers. Host Churches. Vendors. Sponsors. When these groups of people come together every year, something special happens. That something is Night to Shine, now a worldwide movement that has grown exponentially since inception, and is showing no sign of slowing down! I can’t, and you can’t, but we can. When we come together; when we believe the mission is more important than the individual credit, lives will be changed. Anything is possible.
5. DON’T FORGET
Don’t forget the moment God changed your life. Don’t forget the moment He challenged you to join the fight. Don’t forget that you have a specific role to play in bringing Faith, Hope and Love to a world in need.
May you challenge others to remember; and not only remember, but to act. To pray. To serve. To give. To take whatever skills and resources God has provided, and use them to meet the needs of others. May we each remember that He loved us first, and equipped and called us to love others.
We believe God has just gotten started with the Tim Tebow Foundation. This is HIS ministry, and as long as there are children in the world who need care, who need healing, who need someone to believe in them, and someone to fight for them when they can’t fight for themselves, the mission isn’t over. Thank you for stepping into the battle with us. Together, we will keep pushing back the darkness, and bring light to a world desperately in need!
