7 ways to raise kids with a heart for global mission

What is your child’s current vision of overseas mission? Is it something they are even aware of? Could they name a mission partner? Do they know that many people across the world do not have access to a Bible in their own language?

I suspect as we consider these questions, most of us feel convicted that our children are relatively UK-focused. I certainly sense that if my children ever think about evangelism or mission, it is in the context of their immediate friends, family and neighbourhood.

For many of our mission partners, their ‘calling’ began in childhood – often sparked by reading books or meeting mission partners

At Crosslinks, we’re giving focused thought to how we equip churches and parents to raise the next generation of mission-minded people. We recognise that unless the local church inspires and disciples Generation Alpha in the Great Commission now, we will struggle in the future to raise up and send long-term global workers.

A journey that begins in childhood

Making the decision to serve the Lord overseas is a long process. We recently surveyed our mission partners about their pathway to the mission field: 39 per cent took between 7-10 years from initial interest in overseas mission to actually going; 12 per cent took 11-15 years and 15 per cent took more than 16 years! This is an incredibly long journey and shows how patient we all need to be! For many of our mission partners, their ‘calling’ began in childhood – often sparked by reading books or meeting mission partners.

We pray that through intentional parenting, the hearts of the next generation would be moved so they too want to play their part in serving the Lord

Rachel Symons, who now serves the Lord in Zambia, said: “Ever since reading The Jungle Doctor books in my childhood, I have felt drawn to serving God in Africa.”

Chris Redfearn, who serves in Portugal, said: “I was first inspired by my cousins who grew up in Muslim Africa as mission partners.”

Another mission partner who is now based in West Africa said: “I was inspired to consider overseas mission work having grown up seeing my parents working in Africa.”

Other than missionary biographies and introducing them to mission partners, what else can we do to sow seeds in the lives of the children we know and play our part in raising up the next generation of mission minded individuals?

Jesus commands all of us to “go and make disciples of all nations” - the challenge is simply working out our part in that mandate!

1. A first step is to cultivate a love for the world. Encourage your kids to pore over maps, fact books and encyclopaedias and discover how many different countries, languages and cultures exist around the world. Display a map in your house and talk about how big the world is and how many people are in it – all of whom need someone to tell them about Jesus.

Watch programmes like the BBC’s Race Across the World and eat food from other countries! When families join your school from another country, find out more about their home country. Invite them into your home and share traditional foods together!

2. Once children are curious about the world, you can explain to them the spiritual situation in other nations. Many children are probably unaware of just how privileged we are in the UK to have churches, buildings and resources to help us know Jesus better. Talk to your children about how many young people across the world have never seen a Bible, let alone a beautifully illustrated kids’ Bible or had access to Christian music, story books and summer camps. According to Wycliffe Bible Translators, more than 3,000 people groups don’t have a Bible in their own language and research from Joshua Project suggests that 7,000 people groups have little or no viable local church presence. Help your children grasp the enormity of the harvest field.

Rather than asking, “What do you want to do when you grow up?”, ask, “Where will you serve God when you grow up?”

3. Consider how you can pray for mission partners, the persecuted church and gospel needs in countries you have visited or heard about in the news. There are so many wonderful books and resources that can help you do this. I recently came across A Taste of Asia that OMF has published in conjunction with 10ofThose. It is the most beautiful resource, aimed at encouraging primary school aged children to learn about and pray for gospel work in Asia.

Open Doors also has a raft of brilliant resources to help you pray for the persecuted church including The World Watch List Prayer Passport and Activity Map.

And there is always Window on the World, the kids’ version of Operation World, that introduces you to countries and people groups around the world.

Read more:

6 ways to help children pray for the persecuted Church

6 things Christian parents can do to raise children who care for God’s creation

4. Don’t let the grown-ups monopolise the mission partners when they visit! It is quite common practice when mission partners visit UK churches for them to be interviewed in the main church service or prayer meeting or be invited to preach.

How about next time your mission partners visit, you invite them to take over the Sunday School session and share their experiences with the younger members of the church? We recently did this at our church in Bristol and it was so powerful for our young people to hear firsthand from Wycliffe Bible Translators. The mission partners were able to lead an interactive session about the country they are working in, and it has made it much easier for the children to visualise their ministry.

Similarly, when mission partners come to the UK they often end up staying with or having lunch with church leaders or mission committee members. Next time, why not encourage them to be hosted by a family in your church so that more than just the grown-ups get inspired by their work?!

5. Connect with the children – talk about the children of your mission partners and pin a photo of the whole family on your fridge. Encourage your children to write letters or emails to them. Help your children feel an affinity towards them.

6. Inspire them with stories of God’s faithfulness and work through ordinary people around the world! So many of our mission partners, when interviewed, mentioned the power and impact of reading mission biographies.

7. Finally, talk about your lives in light of the Great Commission. Jesus commands all of us to “go and make disciples of all nations” - the challenge is simply working out our part in that mandate! Encourage your children to think about how they can use their skills and passions to serve the kingdom. What part will they play in God’s mission to the world? Rather than asking, “What do you want to do when you grow up?”, ask, “Where will you serve God when you grow up?”

This is just a short list of ideas to help us introduce our UK-based children to the world of mission. The road to long-term overseas work is bumpy and long and only right for a few. We pray that through intentional parenting, the hearts of the next generation would be moved so they too want to play their part in serving the Lord, whether by staying or going.