Who Can Be a Missionary?

Monday:	Who Can Be a Missionary?
Bible Lesson:	The Finish Line: Rewards in heaven await believers who finish the race. (John on Patmos)
Memory Verse:	2nd Timothy 4:7-8
Missions Concepts:	Foreign missionaries are sent out by the church, but any believer can do the work of a missionary locally.
Missions Examples:	[personal, from the group]
Bible Passages:	Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 13

Introduction: Missions Marathon

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

In the skit, Earnest was confused about who could be a missionary. He wasn't sure if just anybody could be. Kristina helped him to realize that part of following God for every Christian is to teach other people about how to follow Jesus.

Explanation: Full-Time Missions versus Everyday Missions

While some people are missionaries full-time: it's their job, and they travel to far-away places and spend all day doing just missions, all of us are responsible to help share God's teachings with other people who don't know.

Application: Being Sent

For people who want to be missionaries all the time and move far away, they probably have to be sent by a church, or sometimes by a group of churches. If the churches are going to send offering money to help pay for the work that they're doing, then they definitely have to be sent by the churches.

However, all of us can do a little missions work right where we are: telling people about how to follow Jesus. Nobody has to tell us to go tell our neighbors and our friends. Jesus already told us to do that.

[As time allows, let some of the kids give examples from their own lives, of people that they have shared with or would like to share with about Jesus.]

Invitation: Missions

Invite any children who want to do missions work to stay after the lesson and discuss it further.

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.

What is a Missionary?

Monday:	What is a Missionary?
Bible Lesson:	David and the Lord's Anointed: Jesus should be Lord and Master of our lives.
Memory Verse:	1st John 2:3
Missions Concepts:	Missionaries tell people about God, what he expects of them, and how they can be forgiven for their sins.
Missions Examples:	Paul in Athens
Bible Passages:	Acts 17

Introduction: Missions Marathon

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

In the skit, Earnest didn't seem to be real sure exactly what missions is. That's what we're going to talk about today: what is missions, and what is a missionary?

A missionary is a Christian who tells other people the good news of how Jesus came so that we could be forgiven of our sins and go to heaven.

Example: Paul in Athens

In the book of Acts, we read about a time when the apostle Paul came to a city called Athens, which is in Greece. He found a whole city full of people who had never heard of the true God. They didn't know who Jesus was, or how they could be forgiven of their sins. They didn't even know that God had created the world.

So Paul got up and told them about God, about how he had created the world, and about how God expected certain things of them, and that they needed to change their beliefs, change the way they were acting, and follow God. Some of the people did believe, and Paul helped to start a church.

Paul was being a missionary in Athens. He was running his missions marathon for God.

Application: Today

If you are going to be a missionary, you might not have to go to Athens, but you do have to find people who don't know about God and about what he expects of them, and tell them.

Invitation: Missions

Invite any children who want to do missions work to stay after the lesson and discuss it further.

Matthew 4:19

Friday:	Matthew 4:19
Bible Lesson:	Fishers of Men: We should tell others about Christ.

Introduction:

[Needed]

Explanation: Matthew 4:19

Matthew 4:19: Come, follow me, Jesus said, and I will make you fishers of men.

[Show the verse and read it aloud.]

How can we follow Jesus when we can't see him? (We see his life in the Bible, and we see his commands and obey him.) What does Jesus mean when he tells the disciples he will make them fishers of men? (It means, they will teach other people to obey and love Jesus; instead of catching fish, they will catch men.) How can we catch people? (We tell them about Jesus, and about the Bible.

One way to tell people about Jesus is by using the wordless bracelet, like this one [show one]. You'll be making wordless bracelets for your craft today.

Game: Sign Gestures

Display posterboard of verse. Read through the verse together.

Teach the children the sign motions together with the words, and have them say the verse and perform the motions at the same time. Either use a real sign language (e.g., ASL), or an improvised set of gestures and motions, like below:

Come	Hand beckons toward self.
Follow	Fingers walk along other hand.
Me	Point to self.
Jesus	Middle fingers point out nail marks in hands.
Said	Hand moves out from mouth.
I	Point to self.
will make	Set left fist on right, then right on top of left, as if building.
you	Point away from self, toward your audience.
fishers	Cast like with a fishing pole.
of men	Point to several persons as if counting.

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

2nd John 1:6

Thursday:	2nd John 1:6
Bible Lesson:	Following God

Introduction: Love

Who remembers what the Bible means when it uses the word "love"? (Love is an action, something you do for another person.) Who is the person we are to love in this verse? (It is God.)

Explanation: 2^nd John 1:6

And this is love: that we walk in obedience to God's commands. (from 2 John 1:6)

[Show the verse and read it aloud.]

In this verse, how are we to show love for God? What does it mean to walk in obedience to his commands? (It means, we do what he commands.) Where do we find God's commands? (In the Bible.) What commands is it talking about? Is it just the ten commands in the Old Testament? (No, it means all the commands in the Bible.) Who can give some examples of God's commands from the Bible? (Accept answers from the children. e.g., Love the Lord your God, obey your parents, pray continually, preach the gospel, make disciples, etc.)

Game: Faster & Slower

Read the verse through twice together at normal speed. Then, "Let's read it a little bit faster." Go faster, faster, faster until the words are indistinct and the speed absurd. Then, "Let's see how slooooowly we can say it." Read the verse through more and more slowly until this becomes absurd as well. Then take away the posterboard of the verse and say it through at normal speed together.

Announcement: Verse Points

Read announcement about saying the verse the next day:

Tomorrow, when you come to Bible School, if you can say your memory verse without looking, you can earn 100 points for your team's score. Each person who can say the verse can earn 100 points. So, if you want to help your team win more points, go home and practice your verse a few times. Don't forget the reference! On your way out the door tonight, you will be given a slip of paper with your verse on it. Don't lose it, because if you learn your verse, your team gets 100 more points!

You can say your verse for points tomorrow when you check in at the registration table. Remember, tomorrow is the last day of Bible School, so it's your last chance to score points for your team.

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

God Loves Us

Friday:	God Loves Us
Story:	The 99 and the 1 lost sheep
Objective:	God loves each one of us.
Main Passage:	Luke 15:3-7
Other Passages:

Jesus told a story about sheep. Would you like to hear it? Jesus said that a shepherd had 100 sheep. One day he noticed that one sheep was missing. That means he still had 99. That's a lot. So, do you think he just said, Oh well, i still have a lot. No. He didn't say that. He left the 99 sheep and went out and looked and looked until he found the lost sheep. He was so happy when he found the lost sheep. He picked it up, put in on his shoulder, and happily carried it home. When he got home, he told his friends and neighbors, Be happy with me! I found my lost sheep! The shepherd loves every one of his sheep, doesn't he. Jesus loves every one of us too.

Copyright © 2004—2007, Jill Eady and the Galion Grace Brethren Church. See licensing for information about rights and permissions. Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.