One thing that is
crucial to teach our children in our homes is that life is WAY bigger than THEM! What I mean is that in their little minds and from their perspective, their lifestyle is THE way it is and they reason it must be similar for every other child in the world. Well, we as adults know this couldn't be further from the truth! Our children are so very
privileged, not only from a socio-economic perspective, but also from a spiritual perspective! Imagine living in a country that does NOT have access to the Gospel message and one where persecution awaits those who do follow Christ! But sadly, this is the story for many of our brothers and sisters in Christ around the globe. We, as parents, need to make our children aware of this sobering reality. We need to teach them that there are
many people groups around the world who have NEVER heard the Gospel message and do
not know about the love of Jesus. They need to be aware of religious persecution around the world (at an age-appropriate level). They also need to be aware of the poverty that many people experience both locally and abroad and the fact that many, many children in other countries do not have access to clean water and health care! Part of teaching them this is to make it a priority for
yourself and your
entire family. My children became keenly aware of the need for clean water wells in developing countries when we made it a point to give as a family to help build one in India and Mexico through
Living Water International. They also saw how important it was to us as their parents when they saw that Mommy and Daddy were raising money for clean water wells by running a
10K race...and they got involved by cheering us on from the sidelines!
There are so many ways you can get involved on behalf of the poor and needy as a family, especially around Christmas time! But I caution you to
always make the Gospel the focus of all you do and support financially. There are many humanitarian causes out there, but they miss the point if they only provide for people's
physical needs without meeting their greatest
spiritual need...that is forgiveness and reconciliation with Almighty God through Jesus Christ! In the words of K.P. Yohannan, a native of India and international director of Gospel for Asia, "There is nothing wrong with charitable acts--but they are not to be confused with preaching the Gospel....the trouble with the social gospel is that it seeks to fight what is basically a spiritual warfare with weapons of the flesh. Our battle is not against flesh and blood or symptoms of sin like poverty and sickness. It is against Lucifer and countless demons who struggle day and night to take humans souls into a Christless eternity" (
Revolution in World Missions).
There are also many great resources to use to teach your children about missions around the world and how to pray for various people groups. (I saved this discussion for last, as your
primary means of teaching your children is by what you
do...how you serve, how you give, and how you as a family pray!). The most exhaustive resource I have encountered is
Operation World by Jason Mandryk. I have used this with my daughter in our first grade homeschool geography course. Quite simply, for each country we "traveled" to, we would spend some time skimming the section of this book to understand the spiritual climate in each country and how to pray for the advancement of the Gospel specifically in that area. I also use
Window on the World: When We Pray God Works by Daphne Spraggett (pictured below) for our Bible time in the morning with all my children.
This book is much briefer, incorporates a little story about a child from select countries, and has full-color pictures, all of which make this a great resource for young children. Finally, I might mention that in the month of December, we use this missions-oriented Advent calendar to count down to Christmas Day.
It is handcrafted in India by
Global Partners in Peace and Development.
Each pocket holds a handmade doll with an attached story card representing a different people group. My kids really enjoyed discovering each doll and praying for that people group's needs each day leading up to Christmas. (You may order one for a donation
at this site if you are interested in adding this to your family's holiday traditions!)
Lastly, if you would like to teach your children about specific missionaries, I have heard wonderful things about the Christian Hero book series--you can scope it out
here. Each book tells the story of a specific missionary, such as Amy Carmichael, Hudson Taylor, etc. We will be incorporating these readers as a family soon!
Well, I hope I have given you some helpful ideas to use with your children to teach them about the needs of others around the world and how we are
all called to do our part in spreading the gospel to the ends of the earth!
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