Guest Post: Raising Missions-Minded Children
Guest Post by Joy Fourney from Joy in the JourneyThe Bible commands us to "Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel." How do we teach our children to catch this vision? How do we teach them to be missions minded?
I believe Matthew
If we want to reach the world with the Gospel, and subsequently teach our children to do the same, we need to let our light shine in everything we do. How does this translate into thinking about missions?
Look no further than your own neighborhood.
::Pray for unsaved neighbors, friends, and family members with your children. Let your children see your burden for these people. Take a loaf of bread to the neighbor you've never met, invite the lonely elderly lady from down the street over for lunch, or simply smile warmly at the cashier when you shop. As you begin to look around, you will have no lack of opportunity to share God’s love!
::Learn about the missionaries that are supported by your local church. If you don't know the missionaries, find out about them! Take your children to missions conferences and spend time with furloughing missionaries. Then, find one or two missionaries you are particularly interested in, and get all their information! Ask for their prayer card, their prayer letter, and any other information about their ministry. Get your children involved in reading about the place the missionaries serve and what they do there. Cook a meal for your family from the country where the missionaries serve, and talk about the culture of that country. Pray for the missionaries as a family, and allow your children to watch as these prayers are answered.
::Read great missionary stories. There are many excellent stories about missionaries who served in
::Find out about other children living around the world. There are excellent resources such as Compassion International, that allows you to "adopt a child" by supporting them each month and thus, changing their life forever. I believe that it can also do the reverse. As your children receive letters from a child across the world, suddenly it becomes personal! Their understanding of the world is expanded, and their heart and life are changed. There is also a wonderful website for children put out by Voice of the Martyrs called Kids of Courage. They have a magazine they send out that is free of charge and it will show your children what life is like for Christian children around the world, and the things that they go through that some may take for granted.
::Give sacrificially. It may be fairly easy for you and your spouse to write a check of support to an organization or a missionary family. However, if you want your children to see and get excited about giving toward missions, you need to bring it down to their level. Pray and talk together about a missionary or a project that you would like to support. Then, come up with a plan of action with your children. It could be as simple as deciding together to eat a simple meal of rice and beans once a week, and donating the extra money to your cause. Or it could be as elaborate as hosting a bake sale, garage sale, or some other sort of sale , and then giving the money away.
::Lastly, and most importantly, pray for your children's hearts to be softened to the things that your discuss with them. Pray for your children to rise above the status quo and become world-changers, wherever they may be. If we want to see the next generation sold out for the sake of the Cross, we need to be on our knees each and every day, praying for them.
In all these things, we need to convey to our children our love for those who are lost. We need to tell our children over and over that missions is not something that's just done on some foreign field, but rather it begins right here--right where we live, and in whatever we do. And, you don't have to wait. God is ready to use you and your children right now, today.
"Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity." 1 Timothy 4:12
-Joy is the proud wife of a missionary pilot, as well as the blessed mommy to five. She and her family live on the island of Tarakan in Indonesia, where they serve as missionaries. Joy has a passion to encourage women to find contentment in the "mission field" right inside their home--their family. You can visit Joy at her personal blog, Joy in the Journey.Graphic from AllPosters.com
How do you encourage your children to have a vision for missions and reaching the lost? I'd love to hear what ideas you are implementing in your home.
Labels: Service and ministry
posted by Crystal Paine at 6:13 AM
8 Comments:
This post is one I will save! I love the way Joy writes, and her own blog is very interesting as it tells of her life as a missionary. I have been challenged once again to look at missions through eyes that are open to my surroundings and who I come into contact with. I don't go too many places, but I *do* live in a neighborhood, and I *do* go grocery shopping, etc.
Thanks, Crystal for posting this for us. God bless you and your family.
Carla
Beautiful post! Too often I think of missionary work as something that must be done in third-world countries, and forget the great good that can be done here at home. Thank you for your suggestions; I look forward to implementing some in my family.
I'm so glad to see you bringing up this important topic! I was just talking on my blog about it, too. There are so many ways ALL the family can be reaching out towards others and witnessing. I'm so glad my parents have taught my siblings and I to pray everyday for the lost folks we know, and to look for ways we can witness. And I'm SPEACIALY thankful for all the missionaries Dad and Mom have invited into our home! I know so many of them personaly, and that's such a thrill.
Thanks for the post.
This was so good to read and the resourses listed are very helpful, thank you. I am struck by how few comments there are on this post vs. last weeks 50 some on the Subway issue. I pray it is not representative of our priorities as Christian parents.
Thank you for this post! Great ideas. I am linking to it for future reference!
Just another idea- ask missionary kids (or their parents) if they'd be interested in being penpals with your kids... the answer might be know... but it never hurts to ask. It would be great for both ends- mk's can learn about American culture and your children can learn what it's like for children to live elsewhere. I know that once my little ones are reading and writing (or simply old enough to dictate so I can write for them), I hope to find some kids in the U.S. to be a connection to our country of origin.
Talking of VOM's Kids of courage website, they are also involved in making the "Torchlighters" DVD series for children.They consist of a sensible 30min animation on a great Christian or missionary, followed by documentaries for teens & grownups. Our girls aged 4& 6 have John Bunyan, Eric Liddell, & William Tyndale. They love these.
Claire
Excellent! I just found Joy's blog a couple of weeks ago and have been enjoying it thoroughly.
One other thought...there are some great organizations for kids to experience mission trips first hand. I spend a summer in Honduras with Teen Missions, and so many things stuck with me from that summer that still influence my thinking.
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