Training for Missions (Teen Version)

Monday:	Training for Missions
Bible Lesson:	Red Cord of Salvation: Rahab was saved because she believed in God, and we are saved the same way.
Memory Verse:	Ephesians 2:8-9
Missions Concept:	Missionaries Need Training.
Missions Example:	Nigeria: Samuel Ngum
Bible Passages:	James 3:1, 2nd Timothy 2:1-19

[Distribute Monday's packet, with the map of Cameroon.]

Introduction: Samuel Ngum

Samuel Ngum is from Cameroon, but he wants to be a missionary in Nigeria [Refer to map.]. (Ask for a definition of a missionary. Accept some answers. Discuss.) Missionaries are trained men and women whose job is to take the gospel to the people in an area and start churches.

Before Samuel could go to Nigeria as a missionary, he had to be prepared. He couldn't just leave immediately the first time he thought about doing this. He wasn't prepared.

The Point: Missionaries Need Training

One of the things Samuel needed was good Bible training. If he's going to tell people about Jesus, he'd better know what he's talking about! Just going to church all your life isn't enough. If he's going to start churches, and wants them to have a good start, he should know his Bible inside and out. The Bible says teachers will be held accountable. (Look at James 3 together.) That means if you're going to teach people, you should be responsible to make sure you are teaching them the truth.

Story: Samuel's Studies

Samuel studied at a practorium – a school for pastors and missionaries, run by the church at Keyon in Oku, Cameroon [refer to map].

A practorium is a higher level of education, like seminary: a Master's-level program. In the United States we usually do this sort of thing after college. Samuel had to study hard, do homework, write long papers, ... He learned Greek, Hebrew, Hermeneutics, ... To be a missionary, Samuel needed all the classes that someone has to take to be a pastor. He studied for several years, until he finished all the classes that he needed.

Secondary Point: Language Training

Samuel already speaks English, the major language in Nigeria, so he won't need language classes to go there. But sometimes a missionary has to study language and culture before he can go. How can you tell people the good news of Jesus, if you don't speak their language? Anyone who wants to go as a missionary to a place where they don't speak the same language, needs to learn the language that they speak in that place.

Conclusion: Churches Must Provide Training

Samuel's not the only missionary who needs training. When churches want to send missionaries, one of the things they have to do is find ways to provide that training. The churches in Cameroon have the practorium in Keyon, where Samuel was trained. We have them in the United States too, places where people can study to be pastors and missionaries. Sometimes even Sunday School teachers receive training.

[As time allows, go over the discussion questions together.]

Invitation: Missions Training

Close in prayer and invite any teens who want to consider training for missions, or to help train others, to stay after the lesson and discuss it further.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.