As an attempt to assist with the goal of helping children understand and obey the Great Commission, the International Department of Youth and Christian Education is developing an emphasis called KidMission. This emphasis will eventually be a year round resource for all children’s ministry leaders to assist them with suggestions, teaching materials, ideas, updates, etc. with regards to helping children understand their purpose in response to the Great Commission of our Lord to go and make disciples.
The website will eventually include information about discipleship for kids, evangelism, what it means to be a Great Commission kid, missionaries, updates about what’s going on around the world, pen pals for missionary kids, as well as various other resources and ideas for local church children’s ministry leaders. This new website will be located at www.kidmission.org [1]. There will be several aspects to the site, which is being developed.
Each year, one month will be designated as KidMission Emphasis Month. March 2009 will focus on the annual missions project fundraiser. This year’s emphasis will be a focus on the kids living at the orphanage in Kibera, Kenya. This is a part of the 2009 YWEA project. There are a variety of resources are being made available to assist all children’s workers in sharing the story of this mission. Curriculum resources include lesson plans written by Church of God children’s pastors, to use each Sunday during the month of March. There are coloring books which include the stories of some of the orphans at the orphanage. A DVD is available to show the children so they can see the ministry.
The designated fundraiser will consist of the collection of change during the month of March. It is the goal for children throughout the Church of God to collect change weekly for the orphanage and take it to their church to deposit weekly in a container. The suggestion is to have a 5 gallon water container in which the children can deposit their change each week. Sunday, March 29, has been designated as KidMission Emphasis Sunday encouraging a strong effort for all children to collect change to be brought in that day. Some churches may want to use a wheelbarrow to collect the change. Hopefully, it will be a lot of change!
Then, after the change is counted, it is requested that this special children’s ministry offering for the kids in Kibera be sent to the state youth and Christian education director on Monday, March 30. The state director will then forward a report of all children’s ministry groups responding to the International Department of Youth and Christian Education. There will be reserved seating at Kidfest for the children’s ministry group in each state/region raising the most offering for KidMission Sunday. This information will be sent by the state director’s office.
Kids can make a difference in the world! Believe it! For information about KidMission, contact the office of Tony Lane at 423-596-2374.
YWEA resources can be obtained by going to www.ycechurchofgod.org [2] or www.hopeforthehopeless.net [3]. Or, you can call the YWEA office at 423-478-7232.