Children’s content creator Shantal de Odicio shares how the Lord led her into twenty years of ministry pointing children to Jesus, and churches to children—and the opportunities that still remain in this space so that children will come to know, love and obey God. This story is part of the Journeys in Christian Publishing: Stories from LittWorld series.
How did God lead you into your ministry?
Many years ago, God placed in me a deep desire to reach children, to see them grow spiritually, and He’s been working throughout all my life.
But it wasn’t until the pandemic that I saw the way He was pushing me towards ministry that was more focused on creating content for children. We saw all the pastors putting up their sermons and we thought, “What about the children? We need to do something for them.”
So we started producing these little Bible school programs. That started growing, and pretty soon we were getting all the equipment and working with our team to prepare more content.
I just see how God is so clever in putting things in your path that lead you in the way He wants you to. I always say to my husband, “I don’t know why I studied communications, because I wanted to be a missionary ever since I was 15.”
But God used that, and it was wonderful to see everything coming together, and how He worked it all out so that I could use my abilities, use what I had learned to bless children around the world.
Please share with us a little about your ministry.
I am with BCM international. We’ve been serving here for over 20 years. Our goal is to point children to Jesus and point churches to children. We want churches and people in churches to understand the importance of children and to see them the way God sees them, with lots of compassion and a deep desire to see them know, love and obey God.
Is there any advice you’d share with those wanting to enter a similar ministry?
God is the one who equips us. So if He puts a passion in you, He is the One who is going to fulfill that passion.
The second thing is it’s important to do things wholeheartedly. To walk into things, taking the challenge—to actually depend on the Lord to lead you, guide you, as you are taking on the challenges. Sometimes the challenges can be scary and they can push you away but God is with you, God is helping you.
The third thing I would say is to keep learning, keep getting more to be able to pour into others. I think that’s very important. Because the world is changing constantly. There are so many new things. We need to continue to learn so we can keep using what God has given us, and also to pour into others. After us comes a new generation, who will continue leading the next generation towards God and following Him, so it’s important we’re able to teach, and let others also grow.
What are some of your favorite books and why?
Lately I have been enjoying books to do with personal growth, growth in faith, and books that are focused on children with special needs. I’m seeing a deeper need in this area, so I feel like the more I learn, the more I can point to others. I like teaching, so reading helps me to get information and be prepared to give guidance or counsel to people who come to me with issues they might be facing.
What do you see as the greatest opportunities in Christian publishing in your context?
I see so many opportunities in my context as far as publishing and creating content for children. Especially in Spanish, I feel like there is still a big need, there’s still so much that can be done. There are so many little gaps of information that children are not getting.
Sometimes we pass by thinking children are not capable of learning, or really grasping the content that’s in the Bible, but I think if we can really bring it to their level, we can really help them grow. There’s a big need for this, to continue exploring creating content that children can take in, especially since there are so many other things that are calling their attention, that are stealing their attention away from God and spiritual growth.
For instance in the world of apologetics, there’s still so much that needs to be done. I haven’t seen a lot of content for children in Spanish regarding apologetics.
We also just developed discipling material for children. It’s a way we can be of aid not only to children but to parents. Parents are a little lost, asking, “How do we bring up our children to follow God?” So we want to be of aid, providing the tools, the opportunities for them to connect with their children, to bring them up with strong bonds towards the church and family so that when they are older, they don’t walk away.
What’s been inspiring or encouraging for you at LittWorld?
I think since the get go it’s been very inspiring! I think God is moving. He has ways of making little more obvious, with a passage here, a word here, and it’s a blessing to my life. I’ve seen God opening doors, and teaching me to keep being a vessel for Him, to be used by Him, and that He can lead me into whatever He has in front of me.
How can we pray for you?
Pray that our ministry will continue growing and stay relevant. I just see the world changing and I see that the way we reach children has to keep adapting to where they are, what their needs are—so that we are able to meet them with the Word of God, the gospel, so that we can lead them to Christ.
