The WEEK: Families Journeying Together Towards 2033 

As we prepare to embark on Holy Week 2025 from 13–20 April, let us embrace this opportunity for intergenerational interaction and spiritual growth in our families, church, and communities. By engaging with The Week, we are invited to not only reflect on the central events of our faith, but also to empower our children and families to develop a closer relationship with God and those around them. 

Welcome to TheWeek.life

In the heart of every believer lies the story of Jesus Christ’s journey from Palm Sunday to Resurrection Sunday—a narrative that has the power to transform lives and communities. As we look ahead to 2033, marking 2000 years since the resurrection of Christ and the birth of the Great Commission, we find ourselves on a profound mission: to bring this sacred story to life for children, families, churches, and communities around the globe.

Building a global movement together for children and families

It is a daunting task to empower 2.2 billion children across the world, but if we don’t reach them, we lose half of the world and all of the world’s future (Children and Family).

Recognising this urgency, leaders from the Lausanne Children and Family Network gathered in March 2016 in South Africa alongside representatives from the Global Children’s Forum. Together, they sensed a shift in how God is calling us to engage with children — not as passive recipients but as active disciples. The vision that emerged was bold yet simple: to see children everywhere walking with Jesus. This vision was later shared at the Lausanne Younger Leaders Gathering in Jakarta in 2016, with the conviction that it is indeed achievable to see children everywhere walking with Jesus, one child, and one family at a time.

Inspired by the vision of JC2033, the Lausanne Children and Families network embraced the 2000th anniversary of Christ’s resurrection as a historic opportunity to unite, witness, and celebrate the risen Christ in ways that every child will know and walk with him and build communities that follow Christ.

 it is indeed achievable to see children everywhere walking with Jesus, one child, and one family at a time.

After years of prayer and discussion about how to mobilise children and families towards a decade of discipleship, the idea of THE WEEK was birthed and shared by Lausanne Children and Family Network at the JC2033 Global Gathering 2021 in Anafora, Egypt. Since then, several individuals and ministries have come together for children and families, and this idea has become both an individual and a collective journey, launched formally as The Week.life in 2024.

The Week.life is a 10-year global initiative of networks and organizations focusing on children, young people, families, prayer, and mission to help children and families deepen their relationship with God and share His story with others. Join us as we strengthen our communities, celebrate Jesus, and walk together. This is a collaborative effort, bringing together many more each year.

How Can You Be Involved?

Our goal is to weave a tapestry of faith that stretches across continents, cultures, and generations. Together, we embark on a decade-long journey, exploring the depths of Holy Week with fresh eyes and open hearts.

The question is: How can you, your family, and your church take part?

The answer lies in finding your own expression—a creative outreach through families, social media, or communities. With structured resources like The Week.life, we can enrich our faith and reach out with compassion as we celebrate Jesus’ resurrection in our families, churches, and communities worldwide.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

1. Families

The home is the first and most powerful place for passing down faith. Just as The Week’s devotional has helped families rediscover the resurrection, let us endeavour to equip and empower parents and children to make growing in faith and sharing their faith a natural part of everyday life.

Ways to use The Week and other resources in families during the Holy Week:

• Daily Bible Readings and Discussions: Read the Bible together and rediscover the resurrection story in new ways. The Week provides short, structured dialogues that help families reflect and discuss Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. 
• Prayer and Worship: Encourage families to set aside a daily time to pray together, sing, and reflect on what God is doing in their lives.
• Storytelling for Kids: Introduce kids to the message of Jesus in an engaging way. The goal is to create a culture where faith is naturally woven into daily life. Use age-appropriate resources like illustrated Bible stories or The Week’s children’s activities to make the resurrection real for young hearts.
• Creative Family Challenges: Invite children to create art, music, or plays about Jesus’ life and share them with relatives or friends.
• Create Easter Stations: You can do this all together in a day or one station each day, whatever is convenient for you. The resources on the website will help guide you. 
• Host small gatherings at home or in your housing community: We encourage you and your families to open your homes for mini-gatherings, where children and parents discuss Jesus and life in simple, natural ways. Make it a weekly tradition—gather for discussions, share personal testimonies, and pray together. Faith is most effectively passed down through lived experience.

2. Social Media

People spend much of their time in the digital world. We can transform social media into a mission field by sharing the gospel creatively and authentically. Create artistic expressions of faith through music, drama, and visual arts.

How to use digital tools to evangelize:

• Share short testimonies—Write or record a brief story about how Jesus has transformed your life.
• Use The Week’s visual content—Post key quotes, reflection questions, or images from The Week.life to spark curiosity.
• Host online Bible discussions—Start a WhatsApp/Telegram/Signal or Facebook group where people can reflect on The Week’s themes together.
• Encourage young people to create reels and TikToks—Empower the next generation to share faith in their own language and style.
• Online Meet-Ups: Organize online meet-ups on platforms like Zoom, etc., where people can engage with The Week’s materials together.

3. Communities

Just as Jesus sent his disciples two by two into towns and villages, we are called to bring the resurrection message into public spaces. Engage in community service projects that reflect Christ’s love in action.

How to take The Week into the community:

• Organise outdoor Easter gatherings— Organise local gatherings that celebrate the resurrection in culturally meaningful ways.
• Host creative celebrations in parks, city squares, or beaches, using The Week’s discussion materials as conversation starters. 
• Engage in acts of service—Demonstrate Christ’s love by organising local outreach efforts: feeding the hungry, helping neighbours, or praying for your town.
• House Church Gatherings—Encourage believers to use The Week’s home-based format to host small group discussions in their neighbourhoods.
• Public Art and Worship Events—Just as early Christians used symbols to communicate their faith, we can create artistic murals, music performances, or dance expressions that bring the resurrection to life.
• Community Gatherings—Invite your friends into small, personal conversations about faith. Imagine if every believer invited just one person per week to join a conversation about Jesus—how many could be reached by 2033?

Just as Jesus sent his disciples two by two into towns and villages, we are called to bring the resurrection message into public spaces.

From Initiative to Movement: The Call for Global Participation

The Lausanne Movement has long encouraged the global church to embrace the call of Christ in ways that are both faithful to the gospel and relevant to our local contexts. Just as the Advent Initiative helps families prepare for the coming of Christ, The Week is a 10-year journey to prepare our hearts, our communities, and our world for a historic celebration of the resurrection.

As we walk this journey together, we recognize that every community, every culture, and every church will celebrate in their own unique way. Whether in cathedrals or in homes, in city squares or on mountain tops, in small gatherings or large festivals—what matters is that we are united in Christ.

So, let us take this vision and make it our own. Let’s dream big, act boldly, and walk faithfully toward Easter 2033. May the Holy Spirit, who raised Jesus from the dead, lead us every step of the way in creating a global movement of people who walk with Jesus every day, who love God and those around them, and who are willing to do life and share Christ where they are, with what they have.

Every believer can participate, every church can engage, and every generation can lead.

• Will you use your family gatherings to make disciples?
• Will you use your phone and social media to spread the gospel?
• Will you bring Christ’s message into your neighbourhood?

every community, every culture, and every church will celebrate in their own unique way. Whether in cathedrals or in homes, in city squares or on mountain tops, in small gatherings or large festivals—what matters is that we are united in Christ.

2033, the 2000th year of Jesus’ resurrection, is soon approaching. Let’s walk, witness, and celebrate together—until the whole world knows: HE IS RISEN! The time to start is now!

Take Action Today

• Download The Week.life resources and start a conversation.
  
• Gather your family, friends, or church to explore how you can reach out to them in your own way.
  
• Share this vision with one person this week—because every small step leads to a global impact.

How will your church, your family, and your community join this journey? Let’s start today.

Author’s Bio

This campaign and article is a collaborative effort of global networks and organisations focused on children, young people, families, prayer, and mission. We are in this together for children and families. 

Lausanne Children and Family Network, Pebbles and Stones, Grain of Wheat, JC2033, WEA Children’s Network, 2 Billion Children, Kids Pray for Zero, Global Children’s Forum, Children in Prayer, Margaret Peggy Good Memorial Christian Academy, International Prayer Connect, World Shapers, Heart of Hope, gacx, OneHope, Closing Gaps, Lord’s Home, 4/14 Movement, Families on Mission, Great Commission Network, OM, ICHNOS, and media partners—Ur Vision Communications, Kommuniti Digital, Max7, Lausanne Movement, and IBTV.