So, Josh and I have been home for about 1 week from Dr. Arroyo, Nueva Leon, Mexico. We are in the states for a few months gearing up for the upcoming year. We are visiting friends and family and trying to figure out which way is up. Right now I am sitting in Hastings with (you guessed it) a big cup of coffee.
As I began to think what I could share with everyone in this blog, I thought of many things from the reasons why we do missions to stories that Josh and I have had over the past 11 months. Let just say I have gotten an opportunity to do things I never thought I would do. But, something that is very near to my heart is children and missions.
How do we as the local body of Christ and missionaries help teach our kids to be mission’s minded people? Honestly there of plenty of adults that have a hard time being mission’s minded. Sometimes our lives get so busy with stuff we forget the reason we are here on the earth. We are here to glorify God in everything we do. Jesus told us to go into all the world.
And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen. (Matthew 28:18-20)
Whether you feel you are called to go into a foreign country and take the gospel or work at home doing the same, we are all called to be a part of missions. I believe this requires us to be intentional with our lives and hearts. We are all called to the great commission.
There are so many ways that we can get kids involved in missions. I could sit here all day and not exhaust a list of ideas. So, here are some thoughts on how to help kids have a heart for missions and how to get them involved in missions.
1. Pray with your kids. Pray that God would give them a heart for Matthew 28:18-20, the Great Commission. God is ultimately the one that places the calling and desire for the Great Commission. Pray for missionaries working in various parts of the world. Have pictures of these missionaries and a map of where they are ministering posted somewhere in your house.
2. Help your children focus on kids in other parts of the world. Take some time and teach kids about the differences and similarities of kids in other cultures. Help them see some of the challenges that other kids face growing up in different areas of the world. For a real life example, True Vine Church has begun a program called “MO Change”. (MO is an acronym for Mexico Orphanage.) The kids bring any change that they can round up from allowances to searching under the cushions of the couch. All the money goes to help an orphanage on El Higo, MX. When the kids meet their goal they have a celebration and start the process over again.
3. Go on short term missions’ trips with your kids. There are great short term trips available that are family friendly. Not only do the children get a first hand experience of another culture, as parents you are setting the example for your kids about the importance of missions in your lives. One family Josh and I know have over the years established a tradition of going to Mexico in the summer to help minister to local kids in the area. This summer they gave their boys a choice between coming to Mexico and doing a mission’s trip or going on a cruise. The boys had no hesitation in choosing to come to Mexico. I believe part of the reason is that this family has been instilling the importance of missions in their kids for a long time.
4. Serve as a family locally in areas that may be different from what your kids see everyday. This could be helping out in a soup kitchen or taking books to kids who don’t have the money for them. Helping a neighbor across the street mow the lawn and pick weeds is a very inexpensive way to show a person in need God’s love.
The commission for sharing the gospel doesn’t start in a foreign country but first in our hearts and then is expressed in our daily lives by loving those around us. Life can get really busy. If we allow it our schedule will begin to dictate what we hold as valuable and precious. Let work on raising up families that put God first in all that we do. Then all the other things will take their proper place in our lives.
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