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A few months ago, I highlighted Kids On Mission, a video-based children’s resource of the International Mission Board (SBC). KOM helps children fulfill the Great Commission in practical ways. I love that, but this is really what makes my heart sing: it’s written by REAL missionaries who are photographers, writers, and videographers serving all over the world.
A KOM Producer contacted me after I wrote that post, and I was thrilled when she agreed to be interviewed for my Ministry Monday series. I’m calling her Cindy (not her real name), because she also travels overseas to many dangerous places with the Gospel in heart and hand. Cindy is the Producer of KOM and the leader of the IMB’s Children’s Forward Communication Team. I asked Cindy about some specific ways mothers can instill in their children a heart for the nations. Here’s what this veteran-video-missionary-turned-Producer had to say.
How to show a child their role in reaching the nations for Jesus
HIVE RESOURCES: How do you make such a big world seem small enough for a preschooler to understand?
Cindy from Kids On Mission: God is bringing the world to us! In every missions package created for KOM, there is a serving experience designed for leaders and children to start thinking about who lives around them. It may surprise many that so many people from different cultures live in their neighborhoods, go to their schools and work in their communities. The world is getting smaller but God’s creation is still so very diverse! Every KOM package also has a cultural experience to help develop a worldview. What do other parts of the world look like? What are the people like…what do they believe, what do they eat? We also explore what are some differences and what are some similarities between these countries and the United States. Praying is also a HUGE part of KOM. We can pray for people from every culture to have an opportunity to hear about Jesus and choose to follow Him! We can be a part of what God is doing across the globe right where we are by praying for missionaries, for missionary kids and for those people who have yet to hear about Him.
HIVE RESOURCES: Where do you start when you want to teach a child about God’s heart for the nations? Do you start with God, creation, the Bible, or do you pull out a map and talk geography?
Cindy from Kids On Mission: We start every KOM missions package with a cultural experience. We want kids to understand the people God will be using them to intervene for over the next few weeks. Understanding the countries may involve a map or a photo slideshow. Understanding the culture may involve sampling food from a particular place. Understanding the needs may involve an activity that helps the child identify with the people they will be engaging that month. The biggest need that is always highlighted is the need the people have for Jesus. We start with the Gospel. Everything else flows from that.
HIVE RESOURCES: What is one thing parents can do this very night to help their child know they play a role God’s redemptive mission for the world?
Cindy from Kids On Mission: A parent with a basic knowledge of the world can take every day experiences and provide a healthy worldview for their children. The next time your child asks for a glass of water take the opportunity to share that many people around the world don’t have access to clean water. Pray for those people. The next time you sit down for a family devotion, remind kids that many around the world don’t have a Bible, may not be able to find a Bible, or may be hurt or threatened if they were caught reading God’s Word. Pray for those people. Remembering to pray for the peoples of the world and the missionaries working with them during bedtime prayers is also an excellent way to get involved. Specific prayers are even better! There are many people groups highlighted in KOM. Choose a people to lift up and watch how God works!?
HIVE RESOURCES: What is your favorite resource currently available to parents through the Kids On Mission website, and why?
Cindy from Kids On Mission: KOMPray is a great and easy resource for parents to use. It is updated weekly with prayer requests from missionary kids. Kids can pray for kids living across the globe! Prayer is a great way for children to be involved in missions now but it’s not the only way. There are also projects for families to meet real needs available through OneLife Kids.
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What a great resource! Thanks for sharing more in depth the heart of KOM. It’s exciting to think how God can use our kids to spread the gospel to the world!
Christina – you’ll love this and most of them can be incorporated for homeschool missions learning! And much of it is free!