About Us

Mission

Keys for Kids Ministries exists to ignite a passion for Christ in kids, teens, and families worldwide through multi-platform media, discipleship resources, and various language translations.

Vision

Our vision is to give all kids, teens, and families the opportunity to hear and respond to the gospel.

What We Do

We offer daily devotionals for kids and teens, internet radio streaming for kids, Storytellers (solar-powered MP3 players), organizational outreach programs, online ministries and apps, and audio programming. 

History

Keys for Kids Ministries began in 1942 when a young girl asked her Uncle Gil (Rev. Gil Cosselman), “Why are there no radio programs for children talking about Jesus?” One uncle became a meeting of four pastors, which grew to a group of ten, that launched Children’s Bible Hour that same year, a weekly program of stories and songs presenting the message of Jesus Christ to kids.

1940s, 50s, and 60s

  • 1942: First broadcast of Children’s Bible Hour aired in November in Grand Rapids, Michigan. 
  • 1943: Children’s Bible Hour went global and the one-year anniversary celebration kicked off a series of annual rallies that lasted for 56 years.
  • 1944: “Boys and Girls for Jesus” became the rallying cry for Children’s Bible Hour and resounded in homes throughout the world until 1999, and nine-year-old Charlie VanderMeer, later known as the beloved “Uncle Charlie,” was selected out of a studio audience to read..
  • 1949: Children’s Bible Hour founded a television ministry that lasted for many years. 
  • 1958: “Search the Scriptures” Bible course launched, enrolling over 7,000 people. “Aunt Bertha” Shooks began a ladies’ group to pray for Children’s Bible Hour.
  • 1965: The first foreign language program was released in Russian.

1970s, 80s, and 90s

  • 1971: Future president Gerald R. Ford recognized the growth of Children’s Bible Hour. The “Phone-A-Story” ministry started in Arizona, which would grow to be used in 170 areas of the United States.
  • 1976: A full broadcast singing group began 10-day concert tours each summer throughout the United States and Canada, as well as monthly tours the rest of the year in Michigan.
  • 1981: Children’s Bible Hour began broadcasting in Chinese, later expanding to Spanish, Romanian, and the Ilonggo dialect in the Philippines.
  • 1982: Children’s Bible Hour produced 5,000 copies of its first kids’ devotional, Keys for Kids, distributed via mail. Due to the demand, 10,000 more were immediately printed and sent out.
  • 1984: Uncle Charlie hosted the first radio program based on the Keys for Kids devotional.
  • 1986: Tesoros Para Niños (Treasures for Children) was first released, a Spanish version of the Keys for Kids devotional. Keys for Kids was also translated into Romanian, Portuguese, and Arabic, among many other languages throughout the world. 
  • 1988: Tyndale House began publishing the One-Year Book of Devotional line using Keys for Kids. In just four years, over 100,000 were being printed yearly.
  • 1989: Keys Radio becomes Keys for Kids Radio.
  • 1996: Children’s Bible Hour launched their first website.
  • 1999: Uncle Charlie retired as Director of Children’s Bible Hour to travel the world as the Ambassador-at-Large, illustrating the gospel throughout the US, as well as Canada, Jamaica, Fiji, Europe, and Africa.

2000s to Present

  • 2002: Children’s Bible Hour partnered with Tyndale Ministries to publish Down Gilead Lane, a hit audio drama that, along with Beyond Gilead Lane, would become 12 seasons.
  • 2006: Children’s Bible Hour‘s second website won the award for “Christian Broadcaster Website of the Year.”
  • 2007: Children’s Bible Hour was printing 95,000 Keys for Kids devotionals every month.
  • 2013: Children’s Bible Hour begins production on Red Rock Mysteries, a new half-hour audio drama for kids and families, and begins distributing the program online and to radio stations the next year.
  • 2014: Children’s Bible Hour rebrands as “Keys for Kids Ministries” to reflect what the ministry was known for to the newest generations. His Kids Radio is acquired from WCSG and rebranded to Keys for Kids Radio, a 24/7 Christian internet radio station for kids.
  • 2015: Uncle Charlie begins transitioning out of his role as host of the Keys for Kids radio program, handing hosting duties to “Zach,” the host of Down Gilead Lane, voice-acted by Pastor Phil Ayres.
  • 2016: Keys for Kids Ministries launches Parent Minute with Greg Yoder, a short radio feature to reach parents with the encouragement they need through Christian music radio stations. The Keys for Kids app is redeveloped to better meet the changing tech landscape, and to integrate Keys for Kids Radio, a 24/7 Christian internet radio station for kids.
  • 2019: Uncle Charlie passes away at the age of 84. Keys for Kids Ministries launches Unlocked, a quarterly publication of daily devotionals for teens.
  • 2023: Keys for Kids Ministries launches Keys for Kids Chinese, a division of the organization dedicated to reaching Chinese speakers around the world.
  • 2024: Keys for Kids Ministries pilots its first summer teen reading program through Unlocked.

Today

Keys for Kids Ministries prints _ devos, _ languages, _ camps, _ radio listeners in _ countries. We have a store dedicated to bringing you trusted Christian parenting resources, programs committed to supporting schools, churches, and other organizations in their outreach efforts, and requests for new language translations globally.