Opening hearts for mission: Getting tweens and teen involved in the Church with a capital C

Church can get a bit boring sometimes, especially when you are young and there are so many other things you can do. It is normal for older children to start to question the reason for church. Perhaps that is also the best time to introduce them to Church with a capital C. This massive body of people all over the world, of which they are a part through their faith in Jesus.

There is nothing quite like the Church. It breaks through the barriers that normally keep people apart. It unites us with people rich and poor, near and far, free and captive, of every shape and color, both those living on earth and living in heaven. In this great movement of God’s grace, we all have a part to play. God has his plans for us, and uses those of every age who want to get up and follow him.

That includes children and teenagers. Many of you know about our Fufu storybooks and workbooks for younger children. They are helping younger children to know about God’s work in other countries and help them to start praying for mission. Now we have prepared the next step up. A mission course for older children and teenagers, between the ages of roughly 9-13.

In eight chapters, this course explains the basics of missions, including sections on the Biblical story of missions, the 10/40 window, relating to different cultures, unreached people groups, the persecuted church, the Back to Jerusalem vision and even some Chinese church history. It helps these tweens dive deeper and really be challenged to become part of the story of mission that is still being written.

Every chapter has an introduction to the topic, relevant Bible verses, interesting discussion questions to get the young people thinking and talking, and activities ranging from fun and relaxing to challenging and academic. The final chapter has a number of creative assignments the young people can choose from to wrap up the course. If they send evidence of work completed, they can get a certificate of completion from Back to Jerusalem.

The course is ideal for Sunday school classes, youth groups, and home school groups. Teenagers can also do the course by themselves but it would be great if a parent can be their discussion partner for the questions. The course can be downloaded for free from our website at www.backtojerusalem.com . Since it has quite a few paper-based activities, it works best when printed out. But the participants will need internet access to look up information and suggested videos.

We are really excited to challenge this age group to step out into the worldwide church and see what adventures God has waiting for them there!

Nice to know: the graphics for this course were done by a teenager who has grown up on the mission field!

Also Available are resources for Adults and younger Children. You can check them all out here: Mission Workshops