Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the
commands I have given you.” – Matthew 28:19-20
Recently I saw a poll on the International Mission Board’s Commission Stories
website (www.commissionstories.com)
that said “at what age were you first exposed to ‘missions’?” As of this writing, 62 people had
answered. The age at which most people
said they were first exposed to missions was preschool (0-5) age! The next highest was children (6-12). The lowest was college age. Granted
99.9% of people who answered this poll were Southern Baptist (and probably
exposed to missions at birth...ha ha) …but
still, it was SO encouraging for me to see that most people were exposed to
missions as a young child!
I was one of the responders to the preschool-age choice of this poll as
I vividly remember going on mission trips and being in the preschool church program
“Mission Friends” as a preschooler. Before
I started school, I went on so many mission trips with my parents and got to be
a part telling others about Jesus – even as a little kid. My parents had a background in missions so
they believed strongly in making sure me and my sisters knew about and
experienced missions as children. Most
of you know we were missionaries for two years in Hong Kong ('97-'99) as a result of
their deep love for missions. I’m so
grateful for their passion in being on-mission for Christ and educating us as
children because it has resonated so strongly in my heart as far as being
on-mission and also helping children become educated in missions.
 |
| My sweet on-mission family during our mission time in Hong Kong |
Also while on the Commission Stories website, I found an article entitled
“Families on Mission: A Guide for Every Stage of Parenting” which contained
suggestions for families …and really anyone that works with children…to keep
missions at the forefront of your family and children’s heart. I absolutely loved the fact that the article
was divided into the different stages of childhood because it allows parents
and teachers to see what learning styles/activities work best for that age
group.
I did not come up with any of these ideas…they are solely the work of
the author of the article and you can read this article in its entirety here…Families on Mission. However, I wanted to share with
you briefly, the different points the author brought up as well as some of my
thoughts… ‘cause you know I can’t write a blog and not have any opinions… ha
ha!
Preschool-Age
- “Talk about missions.” Preschoolers
are such sponges for information. This
is the time of life where they are learning SO many new things…why not let
missions/missionaries be one of those new things that they are learning?! Adding to that…as you talk about missions,
remember that a picture is worth a thousand words…especially to
preschoolers. They are observing the
world around them, most especially visually, so show them pictures of missions
and missionaries so they aren’t just hearing about missions, but they are
seeing it too!
- “Invite Internationals to family time.” Church workers, you can also invite Internationals
to your class time. Preschoolers are very
curious people and they LOVE to ask questions!
As preschoolers meet new people and learn about new cultures, they may
be able to better understand what a missionary does and where they go. Encourage your international friend to bring
objects or food from their country/culture.
Visual/tangible items resonate strongly with kids…especially
preschoolers.
- “Collect money for missions.” This is the #1 answer I get from kids when I ask “what can we do to help missionaries?” Children know that money is needed to get something and so they have a frame of reference to understand that missionaries can’t get things or do things without having money to help them. I love what the author said about setting a goal, keeping track of it, and celebrating when the goal is reached. Allow your kids to see what the results of their collection efforts will be. If you are collecting for a specific project, show them pictures or video of what their money has funded. If you have collected money for a missionary, see if the missionary can write a letter, call, or Skype you. Help children see that what they are doing is having an impact.
School-Age
- “Collect supplies.” In the
article, the author offered a specific project for which to collect supplies –
the Baptist Global Response’s Bucket Project.
The Bucket Project is a great project to be a part of, but there are
also many other great projects that children can collect supplies for, such as,
Operation Christmas Child, your local food pantry, care packages for
missionaries, etc. Allow your child to
have the opportunity to collect these supplies – let them make the decisions
(with your guidance) on what kinds of items to collect for others around the
world. By allowing them to make part of
the decision, they are able to see that they have made a personal
investment in something/someone else. Church
leaders, maybe you can make your collection a competition. At my church, we like to have collection competitions
between the boys and the girls. The kids
get really into the competition and in turn we are able to help a lot more
people because we have a lot more items.
- “Adopt a People Day.” I know
a lot of school-age kids that love to find out cool facts about people, places,
and things. Help your kids find interesting
books or websites about different cultures or countries so that they can read
about and see what is going on in different parts of the world. The IMB has a couple of great missions websites
for kids…visit “Kids on Mission” and “The Caravan.” The Joshua Project website has information on
how reached or unreached various countries are around the world. I encourage you to visit these websites with
your kids so that they can find out for themselves about different parts of the
world and missions work there. When I
was 11, I made a scrapbook about Hong Kong…granted, I lived there…but still, it
was an opportunity for me to discover more about this unfamiliar country as my
family was living “on-mission” there.
- “Take a family mission trip.” This doesn’t have to be a 15 hour mission trip to another country…it can simply be taking a trip across town to the soup kitchen to help feed the hungry. The important part is to let your kids EXPERIENCE missions! I can’t put into words the value that experiencing missions has on a child. All I know is that I wouldn’t be the person I am today without the experience of missions. If you have the opportunity to take your family on a mission trip out of town or out of the country – DO IT! Your kids will NEVER forget it and the things they see and do will make a lasting impact on them. Experiencing missions is when it becomes REAL to them.
**Something else to mention here…introduce school-age kids to not only
historical missionaries, like Lottie Moon/Adoniram Judson, but also introduce
this age group to missionaries in the Bible like Paul, Barnabas, John Mark, and
others. Help them realize that Jesus
didn’t just ask today’s generation to be missionaries…His words were also meant
for those that lived during the Bible times.
Teens
- “’Give it up’ for global hunger.”
Really what I think the author of the article is saying here is to help
your teen realize that missions is a sacrifice.
Give up a night at the movies and spend that extra time doing something
for missions or make a low-cost meal out of items that someone in a third world
country might have and give that extra money you have to missions. Teenagers are at a time in their life where
they understand that it can be difficult to do without something. Helping them realize that so many in the world
don’t have the luxuries we do in America opens their eyes to appreciate the
world and people around them.
- “Be a World Changer.” World Changers is a great organization that teens can be a part of as they aim to change the world for the sake of Christ. It’s an opportunity for teens to experience missions in a peer-team setting. Teens don’t just have to go through World Changers, though. Encourage your teen to go on a mission trip with their youth group or your church. The IMB Students website, theTask.org has great opportunities too. Again, missions never becomes more real until you experience it!
**If at all possible, allow your teen to get to know (Skype, Facebook
messaging, personal visit) a current missionary and/or missionary kid. Whether the missionary be on Stateside
assignment or on the field, a personal interaction can help spur the interest
of a teen to get involved in not only praying for this missionary, but desiring
to help them and others as well.
-------
One thing that ALL age groups…preschoolers to adults…can do for
missions is to PRAY. Your prayers to the
Father on behalf of missionaries and missions work mean more than you’ll ever
know. The hardest hearts and most impossible
situations can change in an instant when ALL of God’s children come to Him in
prayer. Make sure your children always
know that “where two or three are
gathered in [His] name, [He] is there” (Matthew 18:20).
Mission-minded children lead to mission-minded adults and in this world
that is ever-so changing and where so many have never heard the name of Jesus,
having mission-minded adults is something that is GREATLY important. What better way to live with a servant heart
than to be mission-minded?! I pray that
our future generation will live with a servant heart, be on fire for Jesus and have
a desire to help others come to know Him either through missions involvement or
as full-time missionaries themselves.
Source: "Families on Mission" by Susie Rain, July 21, 2013, http://www.commissionstories.com/asia/interactives/view/families-on-mission-a-guide-for-every-stage-of-parenting#teens
No comments:
Post a Comment