Sharing Jesus’ love with the people around us is at the heart of being a disciple of Christ. We want to help the children we serve come to know Christ, and we also want to lead them in making Christ known to others. Here are ways to help even our youngest kiddos develop a heart for growing the Kingdom!

Create or discover opportunities for serving:
-Decorate bags or cards to include in homeless ministry toiletry or food packs.
-Assist in a church-sponsored neighborhood clean-up mission with parents and older siblings.
-Serve or help to serve a holiday meal hosted for local homebound or elderly people.

Participate in outreach without actually traveling:
- Pray for your church members who are serving on mission trips or who are career missionaries.
- Serve as the “ushers’ for special mission offerings (giving children opportunities to participate even if they may not have the money to donate).

Teaching with an outreach mindset is also a way to continue to develop and stretch the “mission” muscles of your children. Whether you teach specifically on Paul’s missionary journeys or focus on stories of Jesus, you can help children see how they can serve God and help others as they tell them about Jesus’ love.
- Include activities where children tell each other what they know about Jesus (even preschoolers can learn to tell others that Jesus loves them!).
- Prepare “homework” where children tell you about someone at school they helped this week as a reminder that Jesus served people around Him to share He loved and cared for them.
- Include activities, crafts, and puzzles that teach stories of Jesus and His disciples as they served people around them.

Your ministry can also be “on mission” for kids in your community through summer day camp or Saturday “block” parties. Showing your children how to serve their community can be one of the biggest ways to reflect a missions heart!
- Provide water bottles for an outdoor community event and let your kids help to distribute them.
- Plan an afternoon or weekend day camp or sports camp for children in your community and include lessons, Bible stories, and crafts that are fun and tell about Jesus.
- Bring your VBS into a neighborhood park so neighborhood children can participate.

There are so many ways we can teach our children their part in helping to fulfill the Great Commission to go into all the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ! Make it your goal to choose one each month through the coming year.

Jane Robinson is the brand manager for CTA – Christ to All (ctainc.com). Jane’s background is in Christian education, children’s choirs, and product development. She enjoys meeting new friends in ministry and spending time with her husband, Paul, and three grown children.