A global coalition of Christian organisations, researchers, and church leaders gathered at the Vatican from 3 to 5 June 2026 to develop a shared framework for measuring children’s spiritual flourishing. The Fostering Hope for Children Global Summit was convened by the Society for Global Flourishing in partnership with World Vision International, Harvard University, Baylor University’s Institute for Global Human Flourishing, and Gallup. The gathering produced what participants called a blueprint for bringing love-fuelled hope to children across the world, addressing the whole child across physical, social, emotional, and spiritual dimensions.
At the centre of the summit was the “Signs of Hope” measurement tool, a framework designed to assess how children experience God’s love across six interconnected dimensions: Compassion, Joy, Purpose, Resilience, Wisdom, and Personal Faith. Hope is positioned within the framework as a measurable indicator of spiritual transformation. The initiative reflects a growing recognition among evangelical mission organisations that children’s ministry must move beyond survival metrics and invest in the long-term spiritual formation of the whole child. Alan Charter, co-leader of the WEA Children’s Network, moderated the session on adults working with children.
The World Evangelical Alliance outlined three forward-looking commitments coming out of the summit: empowering regional catalysts to serve as strategic anchors for contextual advocacy, using validated data to advocate more boldly for children’s nurture and well-being, and embedding the Signs of Hope framework into seminary standards to equip future pastors to value and measure children’s spiritual flourishing. For the global free church movement, where believers-church ecclesiology places particular weight on personal faith and discipleship, a robust framework for nurturing faith in childhood carries direct relevance for how congregations form the next generation.
For free church formation resources including this topic, visit Worldwide Evangelical Seminary.
Source: World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) — worldea.org
