Missions has been a big part of the spread of the Gospel all through history. We’ve all heard of Hudson Taylor and David Livingston, and other great missionary heroes of days gone by, but how do we teach our kids about missions in the modern world? Here are six suggestions:
1. Study missions
You can study missions and missionaries as part of your homeschool history curriculum. This is a great way to learn history, geography and biographies of men and women of faith who changed the world and accomplished great things for God! WYAM Publishers, BJU Press, Your Story Hour and Torchlighters DVDs are a few but not all of the great missions resources you can use. You can find a list of our favorite missionary biographies here. Choose a few names for the period of history you are in and go for it!
2. Host a missionary family
One of the biggest missions influences on my own young life was the interactions we had with missionaries who were guests in our home either for a meal or for a few days. Hosting missionaries allows you and your children to meet them and get to know them as real people, (not just historic figures) and get to know their heart and their field. Hosting a missionary family can be a great blessing both to your family and theirs! (Don’t know anyone to invite? Contact a mission agency and let them know where you are and that you’d love to host missionaries for meals -or for a few days if you have the space. They can put you on the list for the next family who comes through in need of hospitality.)
3. Adopt a missionary family
Just as people adopt roads and parks and pets, missionary families can be “adopted” as well. Choose a family that you know, or would like to get to know, (many church websites list missionaries they support and how to contact them) and begin to correspond with them. Many missionary families have their own websitewith photos and information about their family and their ministry and host country (see ours here). You could sign up for their ministry news, exchange emails and postcards or allow your children to become penpals. When they next come to the US for a visit, or furlough, you could arrange to visit with them or have them visit you!
4. Take a mission trip
Visiting a missionary in his host country is an experience that can be life changing, especially for young people! Consider forgoing one family vacation and instead take the entire family to the mission field to work with a missionary on a project or a Vacation Bible School or other evangelistic outreach! I guarantee you, you and your children will come home different than when you left! Broadening their world, expanding their life experiences by interaction with other peoples, cultures, customs and foods will change your life. Seeing missionaries in their “home” and routine and getting to know them as real people makes missions more of a viable option and gives you a heart for missions and a personal interest you will not get any other way. Contact a missionary directly to plan your family trip, or join a larger team through Praying Pelican or another missions organization.
5. Pray for missionaries
Many missionaries who visit churches in the states either to raise funds for their ministry or to report about their ministry give away “prayer cards”. Prayer cards are photo cards with the family’s names and host country information. You can collect those cards and store them in a file box, or a photo album and pray for a new missionary family each day or each week as part of your family devotional time. You may even want to have a missions themed family fun night every now and then where you read the latest newsletter from a missionary, pray for them, learn about their country, eat food from their country etc.
6. Partner with missionaries
Many missionaries are not allowed to work secular jobs in their host countries. This means that independent missionaries have to raise their own funds to live and serve the Lord in their host country. The missionary will set an expected budget and then ask churches, families and individuals to partner with them through financial pledges.
Your family could participate by pledging to send a missionary family a certain amount of money each month, or perhaps you could help with a fundraiser for a special ministry project like this one for a Spanish homeschool curriculum. You could also collect needed materials or comfort items from home they cannot buy in their country and mail it to them, send birthday or new baby packages… For more ideas check this list of things you can do for missionaries, but ultimately your imagination is the limit for partnering with a missionary family in their work. Contact a missionary family today and find out how you can partner with them!
Katie is a busy missionary wife, homeschool mom, speaker, blogger, and author of two ebooks. She and her husband are big promoters of the Spanish Homeschool Movement and the creators of the Lemonhass Spanish Homeschool Curriculum for Spanish speakers. Katie welcomes you to visit their ministry website, her blog Paradise Praises, or follow her on Facebook, Twitter, or Google+.
Photo credits: Katie Hornor, office.microsoft.com, used by permission
Monique says
This is great.
Another thing that has been helpful to us is to read lots of missionary stories(Missionary Stories and the Millers, YWAM books and the little golden book style” and a few good movies.
We like Amy Carmichael, http://dvd.netflix.com/Movie/The-Story-of-Amy-Carmichael/70042958?strkid=1641582896_0_0&strackid=5e8caf7df2523f2f_0_srl&trkid=222336
Return to Huana
http://www.amazon.com/Return-Hauna-Translators-Jungles-Guinea/dp/B000WCJRKU
and the Torchlighter series, as well as the movies about Jim Elliot and Nate Saint.
And encourage your child’s “outlandish” dreams of going! Tell them to ask the Lord about it. —You never know the good works He has prepared in advance for them!
Katie Hornor says
Absolutely! Encourage them and their dreams. You never know how God will use them!
Jillian says
Hmm… I never thought of contacting a missionary agency. I don’t have room for hosting a missionary overnight, but I hadn’t thought of hosting them for a meal. Thanks for the tip.
Katie Hornor says
Hosting a missionary family for a meal can be such a blessing! I hope you get to do it!
Tonya {The Traveling Praters} says
I love this and it’s all so practical. I wanted my kids’ to grow up with a heart for missions and regularly included books about missionaries in our curriculum each year. Not only did it help them to appreciate the many needs of others, it also built our faith as we learned of the miraculous ways the Lord can provide.
My teen boys’ went on a mission trip last fall to clean up after Hurricane Sandy along the Jersey Shore. They were particularly impacted by the homeowners that they met and it was a time of spiritual growth for them.
The July we are going on our first mission trip as a family– to Honduras. It’s something I’ve prayed about for years and excited to see how the Lord will use us.
Katie Hornor says
So excited for your trip to Honduras! I know it will be an unforgettable experience for all of you!
Christy says
As a family helping your local church have a bigger picture of missions is also really great. As Americans it’s so easy to forget all the blessings we have, are just that “blessings”, this includes our rich spiritual heritage. Many many people do not ever learn to love people of all cultures, like Jesus does. I think we grow so much when you start understanding cultures. I know my life has been very rich because of all the international friends and people I have met or really have learn to understand.
Kat says
Were you sitting at my dinner table last night?! We were just discussing this very topic with my teens. They went to a Christian event in Richmond, Virginia this past January called, “Acquire The Fire”, and the speakers were schooling the kids on different ministries that they could be a part of. A lot of these ministries are in far-off countries……and way out of our price range. One groups is going to Nicaragua, and the cost for one person to go is $1,500.00. Um…….no.
I devoured your post, and will now dissect it so that I can offer my kids a more realistic journey to spread their faith and Jesus’ love. Unfortunately, we have STILL not found a church home, where we would normally get all of the good local information about these things. Please pray that we find one soon…….and it has a youth group that believes in ‘dating with a purpose’, not ‘dating everything that walks’ 🙂
Thanks and God Bless!
Katie Hornor says
Kat, so glad you found this encouraging. Excited for the opportunities God will open for your family! If you’re looking for more kids ministry and missions ideas be sure to visit us at Paradise Praises. I’m doing a weekly missions post there and did a series earlier this year on kids doing ministry. Blessings!
SaraA says
Just now reading this…when you say BJU press as a missions resource, what exactly should I be looking for? Thanks!
Katie Hornor says
Sara, BJU Press has published some great missionary biographies that work great as read alouds, book reports, and reading books for children and teens. Even adults love them! This one about Amy Carmichael is slated for fourth grade and is one of my all time favorites! http://www.bjupresshomeschool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_With-Daring-Faith____10288
SaraA says
Thank you!