For the past several years, I have had the privilege of leading the Missions Portion at my church’s Vacation Bible School. They are very gracious in letting me stray from the box curriculum and do what I feel God is leading me to do that year. As many of you know, my passion is sharing the Gospel with children and teaching others how to share the Gospel with children. Over the years, we have studied the ministries our church supports, both locally and internationally. We have learned about our missionaries and how we can pray for them. We have learned and practiced how to share the gospel with our friends and neighbors. This year we looked at the 10/40 window and unreached people groups. A couple of weeks ago, as I was cleaning my office and gearing up for upcoming projects, I had the idea that I should share my ideas as well as some of the resources that I have found on teaching children about missions. So, here we go!
First and most importantly, discuss what scripture says about missions. Here are several key passages and people:
- Matthew 28:16-20
- Romans 10:14
- Jonah (the whole book is 4 chapters)
- Paul (Acts 9:1–31, 13:1–14:28, 15:36–28:31)
- Peter (Acts 2:1–5:42, 9:32–11:18)
Practical ideas:
- Pray for missionary families
- Write encouraging letters to a missionary family
- Go to an international restaurant in your area and visit with the staff
- Have a map on your wall; commit to pray for one country as a family
- Invite a neighbor who is from another culture over for dinner or dessert
- Cook international foods, find the country on the map, and look up pictures, dances, and customs of the country
- Play international games
- Read books about different countries
- Read biographies about missionaries
- Find local ministries to get involved with
- Help your children raise money for a charity or missionary, i.e., a lemonade stand, small jobs
- Write scriptures with chalk on your sidewalks
- Help a neighbor in need
Recommended Books:
- Window on the World: An Operation World Prayer Resource edited by Molly Wall & Jason Mandryk—A child friendly prayer guide to the world.
- God Everywhere by Sarah Nunnally—3 book series.
- Do Great Things for God Series published by The Good Book Company—Check out Amy Carmichael written by Hunter Beless, my nephew’s wife. Sadly not pictured because I keep giving my copies away 🙁
- Christian Heroes: Then & Now Series published by YWAM Publishing—I have read almost the whole series!
- The Marvelous Mud Hut by April Graney—A story of a family that went on a mission trip. Great Book!
Online resources:
- https://pray1040.com/kids-corner—Great information and maps; you can look up countries to learn about unreached people groups
- https://joshuaproject.net/resources/children—They work closely with 10/40. Great downloadable resources for kids and weekly informational emails.
- https://www.wycliffe.org/resources/kids—They use a storytelling method about Kate, a missionary kid, and her parrot, Mack. They meet friends from all over the world. Prayer for people groups, Christmas activities including Advent, and cooking activities