🌟 Voices of Hope
Voices of Hope - A weekly worship and learning community where children find belonging, build confidence, and discover hope in Christ.
Voices of Hope - A worship-centered, skill-building, identity-forming program for children and youth in northern Bangkok.
Save One Another Foundation (SOAF) is actively serving children across Thailand through three core projects: Dream Builders, Light Within, Voices of Hope
Pictured: A large group of children and volunteer teachers gather inside the classroom at Zion Sai Mai Church during a Voices of Hope session. With raised arms and bright smiles, the group expresses joy and unity. A program banner hangs behind them. The atmosphere reflects belonging, celebration, and shared hope.
Children of Voices of Hope celebrating growth, unity, and God’s love.
Photo credit: Photo: Save One Another Foundation (SOAF) / June Thewase
🖋️A Word from Dr. Gregg Tyler Milligan
Voices of Hope gathers the cadence of worship, the warmth of teaching, and the sacred ordinariness of a shared table into a public celebration of God's rescue. In prayer, play, simple discipleship, and the feast of community, children and families encounter the Gospel in the everyday—the song that lodges in the heart, the meal that makes strangers kin, the prayer that steadies.
Voices of Hope is public discipleship: testimony is transformed into thanksgiving, and community learns to bear one another's burdens (Galatians 6:2, NKJV). We tend our public liturgy carefully—songs children will carry home, testimonies collected with consent and held with dignity, and activities that teach resilience through companionship and service.
The aim is not merely a day of joy but the slow formation of holy neighborhoods: communities that will, again and again, say to every child, "You are seen; you are known; you are loved in Christ."
🕊️Program Overview
Purpose
To form confident, resilient, spiritually grounded children through worship, mentoring, multicultural learning, and life-skills development—so each child may find their voice and their God-given place in the world.
Theological Anchor (NKJV)
“Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength.”
— Psalm 8:2 (NKJV)
The program rests on the conviction that God speaks strength through children, and the church is called to nurture their voices with tenderness and joy.
Age Groups Served
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Primary cohort: 22 children (ages 7–17)
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17 from Punsap Community
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5 from Zion Sai Mai Church
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Younger participants (ages 4–6) join during worship, prayer, and group games.
Session Cadence (2025)
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A one-year program delivered across 10 months
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Weekly gatherings every Saturday from 9:00–12:00
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Break in February and September for school exam preparation
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Integrated worship → skill-building → life skills → devotional reflection
Core Activities
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Christ-centered worship and prayer
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Guitar, keyboard, and vocal development (music as emotional and spiritual formation)
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English or Chinese language learning (child-selected learning track)
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Life-skills workshops (cooking, teamwork, creative expression, service)
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Testimony invitations (“sharing moments”) during devotional time
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Trauma-aware, age-appropriate small-group mentoring
🕯️2025 Highlights
(Trauma-informed, measurable, outcome-based — SOAF standard)
Total Sessions:
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40+ hours of worship, learning, and mentoring in the 2025 program year
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10 active program months
Participants:
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22 children (ages 7–14)
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7 teachers and volunteers from Zion Sai Mai Church
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Additional caregivers engaged through home visits and school support
Notable Outcomes
Music Group (Guitar / Keyboard / Worship Arts)
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Children can now play core chords in the C family without looking at charts
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Currently learning G family chords and 4/4 rhythm with confidence
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Keyboard group can play all melody notes C → B; now training on Jingle Bells in D
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Increased self-confidence during worship (observable behavioral markers)
Chinese Language Group
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Children can greet one another in Mandarin
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Can count to 100
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Can sing “Happy Birthday” in Mandarin
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Notable increase in pronunciation accuracy and willingness to speak aloud
English Group
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Transitioned from grammar-heavy lessons → functional conversation
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Children now create simple daily-life sentences using new vocabulary. Example: I like to keep cats.
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Increased verbal participation, reduced fear of speaking
Life Skills Group
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Children learned teamwork, cooking, personal responsibility, and safe food handling
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Activities (e.g., sushi, dessert making) strengthened confidence and peer bonding
Spiritual Formation
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Children initiated prayer spontaneously during closing circles
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Growth in gratitude, kindness, and relational maturity noted by teachers
📖Story of Testimony — “BM”
Title: “I Feel Strong When I Am Here” — BM, age 12
Consent: Published with trauma-aware written permission; identity details altered for safety.
During a quiet moment after worship, BM tugged gently on the teacher’s sleeve. He whispered:
“I feel strong when I come here. At school I’m shy… but when we sing and learn, I feel like God is close. I’m not scared to try anymore.”
He shared that he previously avoided speaking in English class, but after practicing in Voices of Hope, he raised his hand for the first time.
His closing words:
“I think God is teaching me to be brave a little bit every week.”
Editorial note: Details are de-identified and simplified to protect the child while honoring their movement toward spiritual and emotional growth.
📝How We Work
Voices of Hope is a trauma-aware, Christ-shaped learning community built on belonging, consistency, and joyful formation. Each Saturday begins with predictable rhythms—welcome, worship, prayer, and grounding practices that help establish safety for children who come from diverse emotional and social backgrounds. Teachers invite participation but never pressure children; testimony is welcomed gently and never extracted.
The learning tracks (Music / English / Chinese / Life Skills) allow children to choose areas of growth aligned with their interests and sense of agency. Music becomes a pathway to regulation and confidence. Language classes open imagination to a wider world. Life-skills workshops prepare children for responsibility and teamwork. Mentoring occurs continuously through pastoral listening and gentle guidance.
All staff follow SOAF’s safeguarding policy, confidentiality standards, and trauma-responsive facilitation practices. Any identifiable testimonies, images, or recordings are published only with written, trauma-aware consent. Sensitive data is stored securely and accessible only to authorized SOAF personnel.
We do not aim to accelerate academic success alone but to accompany each child toward resilience, voice, and hope. Formation unfolds slowly—belonging → confidence → skill → service—through the gentle work of Christ who shapes hearts in community.