Cultivate a Heart for Missions in Your Kids

Cultivate a Heart for Missions

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to

the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8, ESV)

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“Eat your vegetables! There are starving kids in Africa, you know.”

The Fallacy of Good Works

• When our children eat their vegetables, a child in Africa is not fed.

• When our children are thankful for their toys, a destitute child does not feel the joy of being given a gift.

• When our children refrain from losing their coats, a freezing child does not receive one.

When we give because we think we will be a “better person” or because we feel guilty for what we have, God is not honored.

For all of us have become like one who is unclean,And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment;

Isaiah 64:6


Mark 10: 17-2217 And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” 20 And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” 21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.


We love because he first loved us. 1 John 4:19


Your First Mission Field

My first mission field as a parent is my own family.

Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”

Acts 16: 30-31


God-Given Desire Parents have a God-given desire to see their children grow in the

knowledge of God and to fulfill His call on their lives.

Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. Psalm 127:3-4

Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6


God-Given Ability

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Eph 3:20-21

Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son. Genesis 18:14

For that which God gives us the desire, He also gives us the ability,through Christ.


Step 1: Pray

1. Pray for wisdom from God.

2. Pray for your child’s heart to be open to God’s call on his/her life.

Only God can truly instill a heart for missions into our children. It is our job to cultivate it with wisdom from Him.


Step 2: Study the Word

Don't forget to show hospitality to strangers, for in doing so, some have entertained angels without knowing it. Hebrews 13:2

For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Matthew 25:35-36

As a part of a comprehensive study of the Bible, be sure to include passages where God calls us to hospitality and charity.


Step 3: Start at Home

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

James 1:27

Jesus said we would be His witness “in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Start by asking your children who

they see around them in need. Donate clothes, make meals for neighbors, serve at a soup kitchen.


Step 4: Start with Interest

Four years ago, the Haiti earthquake left Douaren Nully trapped underneath her home. She survived, but couldn’t afford to clear away the rubble and start over. The

day our team arrived to help, she said it felt like being rescued again.http://www.samaritanspurse.org/article/lifting-burdens-for-haitian-homeowners/


http://www.samaritanspurse.org/article/lifting-burdens-for-haitian-homeowners/


Children in Cambodia enjoy pumping water from their new well. One well can serve up to 60 households.

http://www.samaritanspurse.org/article/freshwater-wells-provide-safe-water/


http://www.samaritanspurse.org/article/freshwater-wells-provide-safe-water/


Members of women's savings and credit group, celebrating their graduation from the project and the ability to now continue with activities independently. The

women have composed a song in the local language, Djerma, thanking Samaritan's Purse for teaching them new things and "opening their minds".

http://instagram.com/p/kFEvWeg2t8/


http://instagram.com/p/kFEvWeg2t8/

Step 5: Expand Horizons

A Long Walk to Water is a short novel by Linda Sue Park. It includes the true story of Salva Dut, a Sudanese Lost Boy, and

the fictional story of "Nya," a young village girl.


Of 900,000 people living in this fledgling country, South Sudan, 70 percent of them don’t have access to clean water sources. Prayerfully, we’ll complete another 80 boreholes by the end of 2013.

Step 5: Expand Horizons


Gift Catalogs offer a chance for children to see many options for giving and to practice hearing the calling of God.

Ask, “What do you think God is calling you to do?”

Step 6: Play and Learn

The bloggers of iHomeschool Network partnered with Samaritan’s Purse during a campaign called “Raise a village,” focusing on Guidan Gado, Niger. They created a unit study focused on Niger and wove the missions message

into the entire unit.


Step 6: Play and Learn• Amber, ClassicHousewife.com:

Niger Animal & Habitat Study• Amy, MilkandCookiesBlog.com:

Could You Live on $1.25 a Day• Carlie, BeautifulMotherhood.com

Niger Word Search, Traditional Food• Erica, ConfessionsofaHomeschooler.com

Niger Mini Unit Study


• Jimmie, JimmiesCollage.comTeaching Missions & Heart for the World

• Yolanthe, HomeschoolCreations.netNiger Geography Printables

• Mary, HomegrownLearners.comMusic of Niger

• Maureen, SpellOutLoud.comNiger Preschool Unit

• Jennifer, MamaJen.comNigerien Flag Printables

Focus In

When our family shops for Operation Christmas Child, we don’t typically make purchases for

our own kids at the same time.


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Cultivate a Heart for Missions in Your Kids