Four missions experiences on using daily activities to point to Jesus

Transcription

1 Leader s Guide Four missions experiences on using daily activities to point to Jesus Location: Birmingham, England Focus verse: Let no one despise your youth; instead, you should be an example to the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. 1 Timothy 4:12 (HCSB) Overall message: First Timothy 4:12 urges young men and women, regardless of their age, to set an example with their speech and conduct. Missionary kid Kennedy Wilbanks sets the bar high! As captain of her basketball team in Birmingham, England, Kennedy takes leadership seriously both athletically and spiritually. These missions experiences will help kids consider how they can draw attention to Jesus through their everyday activities and conversations. Before you begin: This resource is a collection of experiences to plug your kids into global missions. We hope you will take the ideas included here and expand your children s view of missions and their role in God s kingdom. KOM writer: G.G. Mathis is a veteran children s Bible study, missions and VBS writer, testing her teaching ideas on boys and girls at Forest Park Baptist Church in Joplin, Missouri. When she s not working or writing, there s either a cat, a book or a cup of tea in her lap. This is a product of IMB, 3806 Monument Ave., Richmond, VA For comments or questions, contact Kids On Mission at IMB by calling (800) Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture referenced is from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, Copyright 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

2 Experience 1 Prepare From the DVD-ROM or kidsonmission.org, prepare to show the Basketball in Birmingham video. Download and print the England map, British English cards, and the Kennedy on mission photos. Introduction Display the England map and playfully ask kids what the official language in Birmingham, England, would be. When you receive an English, of course! response, comment that differences in some terms can make communication a little tricky when Americans visit England. Scramble the British English cards and place them face down on the table. Guide kids to take turns flipping two cards over, attempting to find a match between the word or phrase and the picture. English phrase Articulated lorry Aubergine Biscuit Block of flats Candy floss Crisps Dummy Football Jelly babies Noughts and crosses Shopping trolley Zed American phrase Tractor trailer truck Eggplant Cookie Apartment building Cotton candy Potato chips Baby s pacifier Soccer ball Jelly beans Tic tac toe game Shopping cart Letter Z continued on next page

3 Experience 1 continued from previous page For a more active game, give everyone an equal number of cards. Allow kids to move freely around the room, calling out Cards to trade! if they want to swap some or all of the cards. The winner of the game will be the first player to present a handful of correctly matched cards. For non-readers, place the picture cards face up on the table. Read a British term aloud and challenge kids to point to the correct item. Kennedy on Mission Tell kids that missionary kid Kennedy Wilbanks takes communication seriously! She intentionally mentions her faith in God to friends from her school and her basketball team. Show the Basketball in Birmingham video and display the Kennedy on mission photos. Comment that Birmingham is the second largest city in the United Kingdom (U.K.). Of the 3.5 million people who live there, less than 1 percent are followers of Jesus. Pray Invite volunteers to suggest ways they can pray for Kennedy and her friends. Incorporate kids suggestions as you lead in prayer.

4 Experience 2 Prepare If kids have not seen it previously, from the DVD-ROM or kidsonmission.org, prepare to show the Basketball in Birmingham video. Download and print the Basketball in Birmingham focus verse. Tape several large sheets of paper to the wall (you ll need one for every 3-4 kids). Gather fine point permanent markers, plain or printed duct tape, scissors, and jumbo paper clips. (Optional: substitute hinged notebook rings or lanyard hooks.) Recap Missionary kid, Kennedy Wilbanks sets a godly example for her basketball teammates and friends in Birmingham, England. What makes a leader? Form groups of 3-4 kids. Direct each group to a blank poster. Direct kids to write their first and last initials in a horizontal column along the left side of the poster. Challenge kids to write words or phrases that describe a godly leader that begin with each of their initials. For younger grades or non-readers, play a rhythm game. Sit in a circle and begin a pat-pat, clap-clap, snap-snap rhythm pattern. On the snap-snap beat, supply a word that describes a good leader. The player to your right will continue the rhythm pattern, supplying another word on the correct beat. A team leader Show the Basketball in Birmingham video. Display the Basketball in Birmingham focus verse. Prompt kids to discuss how Kennedy sets an example for her friends and basketball teammates. continued on next page

5 Experience 2 continued from previous page Leadership lanyards Guide kids to work in pairs to create lanyards: 1. Cut a 3-foot piece of duct tape. Lay it sticky side up on the table. 2. With both partners holding the duct tape, fold one side of the tape to the middle. Fold the other side toward the middle, overlapping the tape so that no sticky is showing. 3. With a fine point permanent marker, write some of the leadership words or Be an example! on the lanyard tape. 4. Fold the lanyard in half. Connect the loose ends with a short piece of tape. Use another short piece of tape to attach a paper clip, notebook ring or lanyard hook. For non-readers, attach a card that says Be an example! to the paper clip or lanyard hook. Suggest that kids pray for Kennedy and her family each time they see or wear their lanyards. Pray Invite volunteers to pray that Kennedy s leadership points her friends and teammates toward faith in Jesus. Pray for your kids by name. Ask God to help them be godly leaders and examples in their schools and communities.

6 Experience 3 Prepare Download and print the Kennedy on mission photos if you have not done so. Bring grocery or department store ads from a newspaper (or print from a discount store website) and one or more calculators. Gather blank mailing labels or stickers, zip locking bags and pens or markers. Recap MK Kennedy Wilbanks sets a godly example for her basketball teammates and friends in Birmingham, England. Prices in pounds Use the Kennedy on mission photos to remind kids about her family s work in Birmingham, England. Form teams of 2-3 shoppers. Provide each team with a sale ad and stickers. Comment that the official currency in England is the pound, and that one pound is equal to about $1.40 in American money. (Option: use a search engine to check the pound vs. dollar exchange rate for the day that you teach.) If you have enough calculators for each group, show kids how to change the prices from American dollars into pounds (price on the sale ad divided by 1.40) and affix new price stickers to the ad. Otherwise, challenge kids to estimate the price in pounds. Use a calculator to spot check their accuracy. For younger non-mathematicians, calculate some product prices before the session. Point out an item in the sale ad and name two prices in pounds (one correct, one indicate). Let kids guess which one is correct. Pounds in pennies Distribute zip-locking bags. Guide kids to put a blank sticker on their bags and write the number of pennies it would take to equal one British pound. Encourage kids to gather a pound s worth of pennies they can give to missions. Talk with them about ways they can save or earn their own money to do so. Pray Ask God to help kids be diligent workers and generous givers.

7 Experience 4 Prepare From the DVD-ROM or kidsonmission.org, prepare to show the Every day share Jesus video. Download and print the Little questions game spinner. Poke a paper brad through the center of the spinner. Loop a paper clip around the brad so that it spins freely. Recap MK Kennedy Wilbanks sets a godly example for her basketball teammates and friends in Birmingham, England. On mission where you are Explain or review with kids that Kennedy Wilbanks family is on mission in England, where they choose to live and work in order to tell people about Jesus and plant churches. Show the Every day share Jesus video. Present these true/false statements. Allow kids to respond simultaneously by saying Oh, yeah! for true statements and No way! for false. Missionaries are just like you. (Oh, yeah!) You must go somewhere dangerous to be a missionary. (No way!) You can make a difference for God wherever you are. (Oh, yeah!) You should wait until a friend asks you about God to talk about your faith. (No way!) If someone doesn t like what you say about God, end your friendship. (No way!) Little questions Place the Little questions game spinner on a table. Lead kids to stand nearby and pile their hands in a stack, like a basketball team might do before the game begins. Call out a position (2nd hand down or 4th hand from the bottom). Guide kids to determine whose hand fits the description. continued on next page

8 Experience 4 continued from previous page The designated player should spin the Little questions spinner and compose a short question starting with the word or phrase on the spinner. The question should be similar to the ones Kennedy described in the video a brief inquiry that can lead to a conversation about spiritual things. Invite volunteers to suggest how they might answer the question. Continue in the same way until everyone has had an opportunity to compose a question. Pray Encourage kids to pray for one another as you pray aloud. Ask God to help them ask good questions and provide great answers about Jesus.

9 Going Further More ideas using this theme Download and print the Basketball in Birmingham parent letter. Give to parents so they can help kids extend their missions experiences through family activities. If you have efficient Internet access in your classroom, supervise older kids as they investigate a tourism site such as visitbirmingham.com. Allow them to plan the itinerary for a hypothetical three-day vacation in Birmingham. Invite members of a Christian athletics club to play an impromptu basketball game with your kids. (No gym? Play wastebasket ball and require the big players to stay on their knees.) Encourage them to talk with kids about the need for godly role models in their schools and on their teams. Read an anecdote about a Bible study for newbies in Birmingham here: You ll also be able to sign up for an newsletter to keep up with mission matters among European peoples. If kids enjoyed the British English match game, they might snicker at the names of some traditional British snacks. Find and bookmark pictures of these delicacies: haggis, bangers and mash, laver bread, black pudding, toad in the hole and stargazey pie. Don t forget to visit kidsonmission.org for more activities and KOM experiences you might have missed. Also, like us on Facebook and see how other churches are using KOM.