When I talk with churches about growing their global missions connections, I often hear either 1) That sounds great, but we have a lot going on and a lot of need right here in our own community or 2) Why don’t you talk to our mission committee? That’s what they do.
While there is truth in either response, the reality is that we do not have a God who places missions on the perimeter of His purposes but who from Genesis 1 to Revelation 22 is all about mission, a God who is constantly on the move to seek and to save the lost from Adam and Eve hiding in the garden to each nation of the earth who will bring its riches into the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:24).
Satan would love for the church to fear scarcity of resources, time, people, or attention and so narrow in on one facet of ministry to the exclusion of all others. But the same God who gave the Great Commission has given His Church every resource she needs to fulfill it here, there, and everywhere by His power.
In his book Is the Commission Still Great?, Steve Richardson writes,
“Churches that have a missions focus are centrifuges for the gospel. They send people out and keep growing, changing the world near and far for the glory of God. Churches that have a vision beyond their immediate surroundings tend to also have vibrant local ministries. But not all churches that focus on their own communities also have a global vision.”
And so MCN wants to help churches create a church culture of missions – not as an add on to all the busyness of the calendar but integrated into the church’s ministries so that a heart for Gospel proclamation and witness permeates everything we do as the Body of Christ from children’s education through retiree groups.
And what better place to start than with our children?
Some seasons of the church year (Pentecost, we’re looking at you!) or Biblical stories (think, the call of Abraham or Jesus’s ascension) will lend themselves especially well to a missions focus, but any Scriptural lesson can be an opportunity to talk with kids about how being a follower of Jesus means being a Gospel proclaimer!
Here are 7 practical ways to integrate a global missions focus into your church’s Sunday school and other children’s ministry:
- Have each class adopt a missionary.
- Several MCN partner churches have connected each of their children’s classes with a missionary on the field. Teachers can then very easily share monthly missionary newsletters with their class and pray at the start or end of class for this missionary and those they serve.
- Classes can connect with the missionary face-to-face (see #2) or encourage them in their service by sending cards or email notes of blessing.
- If a family has students in multiple classes, they then have multiple missionaries for their family to adopt in prayer.
- Zoom with a missionary or have them visit.
- Whether you have one missionary your church supports or one for each class, missionary visits can have a powerful impact on students. Many of our current missionaries recall listening to missionary presentations as a child and thinking, “I want to do that some day!”
- Zoom and other video platforms make it super easy to connect with a missionary on the field and let students “meet” them and hear about how God is working in another place and culture.
- Connect your class with a class of kids overseas.
- Many of MCN’s mission partners are in teaching roles through schools, churches, or after school programs and would be happy to connect their students with American students whether through an exchange of letters, emails, or video messages.
- Let your students put a face to missions, connect with people across cultures, learn from global Christians, and participate in sharing their faith with kids on the other side of the world who don’t yet know Jesus.
- Take a missions offering.
- While financial support is never the primary goal of a Sunday School missions connection, it is meaningful to children to be able to participate in sending a missionary.
- Whether you take a small offering in Sunday school opening, set a class goal to raise a certain amount, or find ways the missionary you support could be aided with item donations, children will remember the powerful feeling of making a difference and participating in God’s global mission.
- Use bilingual sing-a-long videos from missionaries.
- MCN’s collection of bilingual sing-a-long videos allows students to worship with kids and missionaries from around the world and get a taste of worship in another language.
- It’s powerful to be reminded that the church is much bigger than one congregation, state, country, or language group!
- Let kids experience aspects of life in another country.
- MCN has collections of crafts and games from various countries where our missionaries serve. You may also have an international grocery store nearby where you could buy snacks or drinks from another country for students to try (always a hit!).
- Whether you want to focus on one location or survey a few, this is a tangible way for students to interact with another culture and talk about the need for Gospel proclamation in that place.
- Pray, pray, pray!
- The most powerful way children (and adults!) can participate in the Great Commission is to pray. The Mission is God’s, each believer is God’s servant, and all the power to bring others to faith belongs to our God.
- MCN has numerous prayer resources for use in a classroom including missionary prayer cards (found on mission partner’s individual webpages), 5-day regional prayer guides (just search “prayer guide” to see them all), prayer bookmarks, and a monthly prayer calendar.
Back in Steve Richardson’s powerful book, he reflects on watching his own children grow and says,
“I wonder how we are conveying an eternal value system to the next generation. What greater gift can we give the children we love than the assurance that their lives are part of a grand, God-glorifying mission to bless the peoples of the world? What more could we hope for than to see them devote their lives to Great Commission service in whatever ways God opens up for them?”
Let us know how we can help your church give this gift to your children – or share with us ways your church is doing this that others could learn from. We’d love to hear from you!
Together in His Mission!
