Preparing Your Kids To Be Mission Minded

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Mission Minded Kids Mashburn 2013

Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations,

baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 28:19 NLT

Missions trips will change your life. They will wreck you. You will never be able to look at poverty the same again. You will be compelled to do something about it. Your days of sitting by thinking there’s nothing that I can do to help will quickly be erased from your thought process…you will be determined to make a difference. One day. One child. One step at a time.

That’s what has happened to me. It started about five years ago when we started sponsoring Ericka, a sweet little girl in Guatemala, through Compassion International. It was a big first step for our family, but looking back now I can see that it was even bigger than we knew at that moment.

I never set out strategically to prepare my kids to be mission minded, but in a way that only God can do He set our family on a crazy awesome adventurous path in the world of missions. The funny thing is that both my husband and I are from small rural towns in the south. We both grew up with a small view of our world.

As more missions trips started to open up for him (Cuba, Haiti, Guatemala, possibly Nicaragua) I knew things were changing in our home. We started talking to the kids about these trips. Showed them pictures. Got them involved in writing letters and by planting those small seeds God grew a heart for missions in them as well.

Looking back I can see there were these four steps in preparing our kids to be mission minded.

1)  Show your kids that the world is bigger than right where they are.

  • Read to them about things going on in other parts of the world,

  • Educate them on ways to get involved,

  • Talk to them about how kids grow up in other countries

2)  Pray with, for, and over your kids that they will see the world around them.

  • Go to Compassion.com or other missions organizations and find ways that you can pray for them as well as having your kids pray for them.

  • Ask God to enlarge your heart for missions.

  • Plant the seeds of serving in the hearts of your kids while you pray over them.

After the earthquake in Haiti, the Kids Ministry at our church prayed together with the kids, we let them know what what was going on and asked them to join us in prayer for the people of Haiti. We heard from so many parents that their kids were talking about and praying for Haiti even at home.

 

3)  Look for ways your kids can serve and make a difference.

  • Sponsor a child as a family (here’s a link to sponsor through Compassion International) and talk about, pray for, write letters to and incorporate this child as a part of your family.

  • Talk to your church and find out what ministries and organizations that they support, both locally and globally.

In our Kids Ministry we are collecting toys throughout the month of November for an organization that serves single moms in Broward County, FL. These toys are a tangible, actionable way for kids to get involved and serve in a missions minded way.

 

4)  Read and find out more about missions for yourself and for your family.

 Listen, it will change your life as well as change your child’s life. It did for me, for my husband and for both of our sons. I tell parents all the time, at my church where I lead the Kids and Women’s Ministry, that before their kids graduate they should go on a missions trip. It helps to give them a better and bigger perspective on life.

Maybe your kids are still little and thinking of them going on a trip like that right now seems so far off, but you can start right where you are…today. Show, Pray, Look, Read — these are all steps to prepare your kids to be mission minded. I can’t wait to see how God starts working in your life when you start taking those steps.

Which of the four steps (Show, Pray, Look, Read) can you start doing with your kids? What other creative ways are you preparing your kids to be mission minded? I can’t wait to hear from you! 

Seeking JOY on the Journey,

Melissa Mashburn

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Stephanie Shott
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