If you stop to think about the future of an organization, a publication, and yes, a ministry, you must think about the people being served. Who are they? Where are they? What do they need? And how can we provide it? But going beyond that, you must anticipate the coming needs of those you serve currently. And to build upon that, you must look to the generations coming up behind those who patronize you now. For us, the future of Adventist Review is found in the children of this church.

This coming autumn KidsView will celebrate 20 years of being the “baby” in the Adventist Review family. A publication founded to meet a need that wasn’t being met at the time—a general-interest Adventist magazine for children ages 8-12—KidsView aimed to create a vital link between the future of the church and the Adventist Review. It started with just four pages accessible only to AR subscrib- ers and in time doubled its size and vastly increased readership through its distribution in North Amer- ican Division elementary schools.

I’ve been the editor of KidsView since 2007. In that capacity, I work with our designer, Merle Poirier, to create issues that feature activities, STEM columns, devotionals, student writing, quizzes, stories, and a perennial favorite, our interactive and highly creative calendar.

Our first KidsView readers and content creators are grown-ups now—some married, in careers, and yes, some of them now parents themselves. So when we put together issues, we think about building on our foundation—introducing kids to Jesus and His interest in every aspect of their lives. We think about nurturing the seeds we’ve planted, helping faith to grow and mature. And we always think about producing something that is also fun for kids—fun to read, to think about, and to participate in. To us, this is all about shaping the future of the ones who deserve the greatest care: our children.

Perhaps one day a child now grown, who once held the pages of KidsView in a classroom long ago, but who has long left the church family he or she grew up in, will remember the little magazine that tried to show them how much they mattered. Perhaps through some pleasant memory or lesson learned, the little seeds we planted will bear fruit and point to a path back to their Savior. How wonderful would that be?

So that is why I do what I do. That’s the driving force behind all that we do with KidsView. Is it enough? Time will tell. But for now, as we strive to look at new content creation through the eyes of children to keep them smiling, our hope is great. KidsView may be that vital link between the Adventist Church of the present and the Adventist Church of the future.

Wilona Karimabadi edits KidsView and stays on the leading edge of social media.