The Sending Family

How can you raise your covenant kids as senders?

In recent years, God used the pleas of several friends to awaken me to the need for missionary senders. Along the way, it’s become a whole-family ministry for me, my husband, and our little ones, ages six and under. I was asked to share some suggestions for incorporating young children into the work of sending.

My biggest tip is simple but powerful: Lead by example. Get excited about serving as senders and include your kids in what you are doing. This one premise undergirds all the specific ideas that follow.

Who are your missionaries?

Capitalize on existing personal connections to fuel why you should care. Is there a missionary from your church? From your presbytery? Tell your kids about these connections just like you’d tell them about their own extended family. Put their photos on the wall. Hang a world map that shows where they are.

What is daily life like for your missionaries?

Take time to learn about their place of service, and bring it alive for your kids by imagining you are there. Be excited about reading their updates or blog posts, and share them with your kids, if appropriate, especially any photos! Prepare and eat a meal using only ingredients common to their region. Set a clock to your missionaries’ local time. Look up what weather they’re having and compare it to your own. Find their home on Google satellite. Your ability to encourage your missionaries will grow as you are better able to understand and care about their day-to-day lives.

Pray for your missionaries with your kids.

This doesn’t need to be exhaustive or complicated. Faithfully praying for one or two matters can have huge results. Prayer is crucial for your missionaries, so this is an important habit to instill in your kids, as well as in yourself. Be sure you are getting their prayer letters so that you are updated on their needs as well as answers to prayer! Let the matters on their hearts be on yours, too.

Write your missionaries with your kids.

This can be a great way to use time on the Lord’s Day. Respond to their prayer letters so they know they are heard.  If their internet can handle it, send them photos. Tell them of the ways you are praying for them and thinking about them. Bless them with Scripture. If they are from your church, keep them updated on the goings-on at home. 

Give to your missionaries, and let your kids see you doing it.

Talk with your kids about the important place of giving in financial stewardship. Let them know about giving opportunities like RPGM’s “Student to Student” Bible campaign last year; perhaps God will move them to give some of their own money. 

Treat Presentations as must-see events.

When your missionaries are in the states, treat the presentations they give on their work as must-see events. Welcome them into your home to share their stories. Offer them a place to stay. If they are coming off the field, read about the important but oft-neglected work of reentry care, and stay involved and available through the transition.

We have been surprised by the ways in which our own family has been blessed through partnering in the gospel as senders. We’ve made new friends, celebrated answered prayers, and heard first-hand accounts around our dinner table of God’s work in distant lands. One of our children finds great joy in hearing updates and writing emails; another liked a missions-inspired dish so much that it was chosen for a birthday dinner. Our participation in the Great Commission as senders strengthens our own faith in Christ whom we desire to see proclaimed to all nations. 

“How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!’” (Romans 10:14-15, ESV - emphasis added)

To learn more about the work of sending, I suggest reading Serving as Senders Today, by Neal Pirolo. He outlines six areas of care: Moral Support, Logistics Support, Financial Support, Prayer Support, Communication Support, and Reentry Support. Find the needs that fit your family’s strengths.