Mission Education for Children
Tips and Resources for Leaders
Tips for Children's Leaders
Children's leaders often contact the General NMI Office wanting ideas for how to involve kids in missions. One question we hear a lot is "Where do I start?"
Ideas for Involving Children in Missions
- Use the Children's Mission Education Curriculum during children's worship services, mid-week services, and children's activities.
- Encourage kids to read the Children's Missions Books. Have children present book reviews, puppet plays, or skits. Record their reviews on video.
- Involve children in adult missions events by including activities specifically designed for kids.
- Allow children to participate in missions offerings. Children usually participate enthusiastically in offerings. Explain the purpose of the offering (emphasize the need) and give examples of how it will be used. Urge children not to ask their parents for money, but to earn it themselves. Make it a contest--kids loves competition!
- Encourage children to pray for missionaries, missionary kids, and mission needs. Share with them prayer requests from the NMI Prayer Mobilization Line. Provide prayer requests cards with pictures of missionaries or missionary kids. Always print the names.
- Help children connect with missionaries by encouraging them to correspond with their LINKS missionaries. Children can give LINKS offerings, write letters to missionaries, or provide items for missionary children, schools, Vacation Bible School, or hospitals.
- Create an insert for your church bulletin (worship folder) designed for kids. Include interesting information on missions in the form of activities--puzzles, word searches, connect-the-dots, color by number, etc.
- When your church has a missionary visitor (example: deputation service) include the children in the service. Invite the missionary to address the children directly during the service. Or, have the missionary speak to the kids during their children's worship service. Allow the children to ask the missionary questions.
- Children are impacted by experiencing missions first hand. Encourage children to participate in Compassionate Ministries to your local community. For example, encourage families to volunteer at a local shelter.
- Encourage families to experience missions by going on a Work & Witness trip together. Trips are available in the U.S.A. and Canada, as well as overseas.
Resources for Children