Children from across three continents are sending their prayers to thousands of Christian leaders gathering this month in Cape Town, South Africa.

The Lausanne Congress is bringing together more than 4,000 Christian leaders from around the world for a week of discussions on some of the most pressing issues facing the church today.

Over the last few weeks, children's charity Viva has been receiving handwritten prayers from at risk children to hand over to the delegates in Cape Town.

Each delegate will receive a prayer, which the children wrote inside the outline of their own hands.

Tomas, a 7-year-old child from Columbia, wrote: “Dear Jesus, I thank you for all these leaders who help the children who don’t have anything to eat or a roof to sleep under.”

Suid, a nine-year-old from South Africa, prayed for wisdom for the leaders and “safety for all children”.

The network has been heavily involved in the planning of one of Lausanne’s main plenary sessions looking at the role of the church in serving and supporting children, especially at risk children.

Viva’s Chief Executive Patrick McDonald is a senior associate on the Lausanne Committee and will be present at the congress.

“The decisions made by leaders at this Congress will shape the way the church relates to the world in years to come,” he said.

“We need to go out into that world and be the hands and feet of Jesus, particularly to those most vulnerable – most often that’s children.

“It’s so amazing and humbling to know that as we spend time grappling with the issues that are faced in reality by millions of children every day, we have the powerful prayers of those very children behind us.”