Ten Tips

On Developing A Heart For The Lost In Kids

by Sandy Galea

1. 01

   Your family is your first mission field. Share Jesus with your kids. As you read the Bible and pray with your children, balance between talking to your kids about turning to Jesus and living for Jesus. As children grow it’ll become clearer whether they’ve understood God’s good news - it’s not what we’ve done, but what Jesus has done for us.

2. 02

   As a family pray for opportunities to share Jesus with friends and family. Pray as you go to parties, go to extended family gatherings, go to the park…

3. 03

   Share with your children every opportunity God has given you to talk about Jesus. Encourage your children to do the same. Share your joys when things go well. And share your failures - when you’ve failed to open your mouth, when you’ve not known what to say, when you regret what you’ve said. Be real and honest.

4. 04

   Adopt a missionary as a family. Write letters to, draw pictures for, send gifts to, skype/zoom, pray for, read newsletters from, place their picture on your fridge, learn about the country they live in and what they do there…

5. 05

   Do mission together as a family. Look for a mission-focused program you can become active members of as a family: Playtime, Music & Movement, Kids Club, Holiday Club…

6. 06

   As a family sponsor kids (not your own) to go on Christian camps and holiday clubs so that they’ll get to hear about Jesus. Set aside time and petrol money in the family budget to be the family that transports kids to and from the holiday club. Ask open ended questions in the car so that the kids (yours and those who you’ve offered to transport) talk about what they’ve been learning.

7. 07

   Learn simple gospel outlines as a family. An easy outline can be a simple drawing (e.g. Bridge to Life), a series of colours (e.g. The Wordless Book) or an action chant:

   • God made it (one thumb up)
   • He owns it (both thumbs up)
   • We broke it (both thumbs down)
   • He fixed it (both thumbs up again)
8. 08

   Talk about how to answer difficult questions that may be asked when sharing Jesus. Open the Bible and role-play possible answers.

9. 09

   Memorise verses of scripture that summarise the gospel as a family. Purchase Kidswise memory verses or take out a Kidswise Audio Membership.

10. 10

    Remind your children that no one can make another person a Christian - God does that. Nor is anyone the reason why someone does not turn to Jesus. But we can make Jesus look attractive if we live our lives loving and obeying Jesus.

by Sandy Galea