A Note From the Founder
Kristie Roukounakis (Chute)
Founder and Executive Director, Kingdom Kids Homes
My favorite Bible verse has always been 1 Timothy 4:12—“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.”
I have always believed that God desires to use young people to do big things for His kingdom.
You are never too young to hear from God or for God to use you to change someone’s life. No one is too young or insignificant for God to instill a God-sized dream in their heart.
I have dreamed of being a missionary since I was six years old. After years of begging my parents to let me go on a missions trip, I finally went on my first trip to Guatemala when I was fourteen years old.
After just the first night of ministry in Guatemala, I knew that full time missions was what God was calling me to do for the rest of my life and that is when God put on my heart to start my own ministry.
I went to college at Oral Roberts University to study ministry. During my freshman year, God gave me specific direction for the ministry that He was calling me to do. I had a vision where I saw myself opening an orphanage. I saw myself cutting the ribbon at the entrance of a brand new home and I saw children jumping on their brand new beds for the first time. Then God spoke to me saying that he wanted me to open this orphanage while I was still young and in college!
Yes, I was freaked out. I actually laughed and said no way. People were going to think I was crazy...even I thought it was crazy! I did not even know where to begin. That day I prayed, “God, I will do this for you, but you have to plop every last thing that I will need right in to my lap.” Thankfully, I serve a God who uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things. When you say “yes” to God and pray a dangerous prayer, you better buckle up because it will be one crazy ride.
There have been happy moments, confusing times, many opened doors, people who said good luck having people take you seriously, and people who have believed in my dream since day one; but through it all, God has been with me and he has plopped everything that I have needed right in to my lap.