Menchit Wong: Being Weavers, Warriors and filled with Wonder
“Us means together. It means every one of us, from every culture, from every generation, from every tradition, even from every church denomination. Us means the children together with us.”
In her opening address at Cutting Edge 2025, Menchit Wong shared about the need for people to work together for the benefit of children at risk.
No longer in competition, but in collaboration.
No longer in duplication but in synergy.
No longer in disunity, but in real loving and working together.
Noting that a friend attended the first-ever Cutting Edge conference, many movements and networks were birthed as a result - the child theology movement, the 4-14 window movement, the Commission for Children at Risk, and World Without Orphans. With a reference to Viva’s founder, Patrick McDonald, who had a vision of hubs of light all over the world, Menchit noted: “I could really say that God has used the Viva Cutting Edge conference to bring about hubs of light.”
Rebuilding the Walls
Sharing from Nehemiah chapter 2, verses 17-18, Menchit linked how the need to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem applies to people today concerned about children’s wellbeing. She emphasised how we need to rebuild walls to help the over 1 billion children who experience violence every year: “Behind every statistic, there is a story of a child who longs to be known, who longs to be protected, who longs to be loved. The walls that are meant to protect childhood, family, the wall of faith, the wall of education, the wall of justice are in ruins in many places.” She emphasised the importance of building with resolve; not looking away, but putting our hands to the good work, being intentional and not complacent, not competing with one another, and building on the work that people in the past have done, standing on their shoulders. “Us means together. It means every one of us, from every culture, from every generation, from every tradition, even from every church denomination. Us means the children together with us.”
Weavers, Warriors and Wonder
When people work like this, they can build safe spaces for trafficked and exploited children; build resilience in children affected by war, displacement, or family background; and build systems of protection in schools, churches, families and communities. Menchit exhorted applying the three ‘W’s’:
Let’s be Weavers: Allowing God to use our successes, as well as our tiredness, pain and even failures, to bring about a beautiful masterpiece of missional practices as people from different cultures with different strengths come together.
Let’s be Warriors: Because God has already won the battle, we childcare workers must use our sword, God’s Word, with integrity, and go out into the world in prayer, fulfilling our Biblical mandate on behalf of children at risk and helping them be all God wants them to be.
Let’s be filled with Wonder: For those who have worked with children at risk for many years and are fatigued, they need to remember God makes all things new, and be innovative, having a childlike faith that believes the impossible can become possible.
Prayer for people serving in God’s mission today
Menchit prayed that child practitioners would focus on:
Building faith where trauma silenced it.
Restoring joy where fear or hunger or abuse has stolen it.
Making a way for the voices of children to be heard and for children to speak.
Making room for children to lead together with you in fulfilling God's mission today.
This address was from the Cutting Edge online conference in July 2025, organised by Viva. For more information about Cutting Edge and to hear about future conferences, please contact us.