Why Do We Send Missionaries?

Tuesday:	Why Do We Send Missionaries?
Bible Lesson:	Daniel and the Satraps: God expects faithfulness.
Memory Verse:	1st Corinthians 15:58
Missions Concepts:	We work together with other believers to fulfill the great commission.
Missions Examples:	The Macedonian Call
Bible Passages:	Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 16-17

Introduction: Missions Marathon

[Perform the Missions Marathon Skit by way of introduction.]

Today we're going to talk about why we send missionaries. In the skit, Earnest wasn't sure at first why he was going to run the Missions Marathon, but he learned that we send missionaries because Jesus said to go and make disciples from every nation. The church works together as a group to fulfill this commission, because every person can't go to every place.

Example: The Macedonian Call

In the Bible, when the apostle Paul was traveling as a missionary, he had a vision of man from Macedonia (a place north of Greece) saying, Come over to Macedonia and help us! Paul and his companions went to Macedonia, because God wanted them to, and they shared Jesus with the people there and started several churches.

Paul went to Macedonia because there were people there who needed to hear about Jesus, and God sent him as a missionary to tell them. If Paul hadn't obeyed, they might never have heard.

Application: Today

So today we decide to send missionaries based on the fact that people need to hear the gospel. If they need to hear, then somebody needs to tell them. God told us to tell people all over the world, to make disciples from all nations, and to teach them to obey everything he has commanded. That's why we do missions.

Invitation: Missions

Invite any children who want to be involved with missions to stay after the lesson and discuss it further.