KidzPlace - North American Mission Board, SBC @ NAMB.net

1. All you need is the MissionKids Leader Book and a Bible.

2. MissionKids is designed for boys and girls in grades 1-6. See grouping options.

3. MissionKids can be taught effectively by one or more leaders, depending on the size of your group. See teaching options.

mklettk.gif (3570 bytes) 4. MissionKids can be used in a variety of settings. Although MissionKids was originally designed for coeducational mission education for smaller churches, it is now being used by home schoolers, during adult retreats, and for neighborhood clubs--just to name a few options.

5. Each session of MissionKids is self-contained. You can move through the book in any order you choose. Be sure to mark sessions as they are used so a session won't be repeated accidentally.

6. MissionKids has eight overarching goals:

(1) To introduce children to the exciting ways God's people are on mission around the world.

(2) To help children understand that we help others because we are grateful for what Christ has done for us and because we want them to come to know Christ as Savior.

(3) To guide children to become personally involved in ministering to lonely, hurting, and needy people and in actively sharing Christ in age-appropriate ways.

(4) To help children commit God's Word to memory, to understand the Scriptures they've memorized, and to apply the truths of the Scriptures to their lives.

(5) To help children learn about the countries, cultures, and environments in which missionaries serve.

(6) To provide opportunities for children to accept Christ, to grow to be mission-minded adults, and to be ready to recognize and answer the call to career missions when appropriate.

(7) To serve as an outreach for unchurched children. Throughout MissionKids sessions, workers will find suggestions that children bring their friends to MissionKids.

(8) To give missions education the excitement it deserves. Reaching people for Christ is exciting and fun, and MissionKids provides an atmosphere that demonstrates this.

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MissionKids—How Does It Work?

MissionKids is missions as seen through the eyes of MKs (missionary kids). The stories are by or about children of Southern Baptist missionaries.

MissionKids helps children understand what volunteer and career missionaries do--so that they can do it, too!. It helps them feel an urgency for sharing Christ. And it gives them the training and the Bible knowledge they'll need to be mission-minded adults.

A year's material is provided in one book. Each session is self-contained.

Teaching Options:

Sessions are divided into three parts: Missions Story, Advancement or Bible Activity, and Missions Activity.

One leader can lead all three parts, or two or three leaders can divide responsibilities.

Option 1:

MKldroptions.GIF (14264 bytes) If you have enough children and leaders, children can rotate among three groups. For instance, while group A is hearing the missions story, group B is working on Bible memory or advancement, and group C is completing a missions activity or playing a game.

After a third of your meeting time (20-30 minutes—if you have longer than 1½ hours, see option 4), the children rotate, with group A working on Bible memory or advancement, group B completing the activity or game, and group C hearing the missions story. After another third of your meeting time, the groups rotate again, with each group completing its remaining activity.

With this method, one leader repeats his or her activity (e.g., Bible memory activity) three times, each time with a different group.

Option 2:

If you have two leaders, rotate three times, with each leader repeating his or her activity twice. Combine groups for the third activity.

For instance, leader 1 can lead the Bible memory and leader 2 can lead the mission story, with the children combining for the activity or game. Or leader 1 can lead the Bible memory and leader 2 can lead the activity or game, with the children combining for the missions story.

Option 3:

If you are the only leader, lead all three activities in any order.

Option 4:

Include a large-group time at the beginning or close of the session. Use this time to plan mission action projects, to work on advancements in books, to make general announcements, to learn the songs on the audiotape, to repeat the MissionKids pledge, to serve a snack, and/or to recognize individual and team achievements in areas such as Bible memory.

Shared Leader Responsibilities

MissionKids meetings should be planned and led by responsible adults who love children and are dedicated to helping them become mission-minded adults.

The following positions are necessary to lead MissionKids. However, a person can fill more than one role. It is possible to have an effective and exciting MissionKids club with only one leader.

Pray about each person you consider as a MissionKids leader. Enlist leaders who have a genuine concern for missions and a love for children. Make them aware of the necessity of being prepared, on time, and faithful in attendance.

MissionKids Director

The director is responsible for coordinating the MissionKids group. This person enlists workers, formulates a budget and submits it to the church, promotes the MissionKids group, and coordinates outreach and enlistment.

The director is responsible for coordinating missions activities that are conducted outside meetings, selecting themes (if you choose to use them), and leading a large-group time (if you choose to bring the entire group together at the beginning or close of the meeting). He or she also coordinates If There's Time if the group usually has time to complete these additional activities.

The director should serve on the church council to (1) inform church leaders about MissionKids, (2) inform MissionKids leaders about church-wide events, and (3) give input on activities and programs that affect MissionKids.

Missions Story Leader

The story leader reads or tells the missions story and guides children to complete the activity on the Children's Page.

Activity Leader

The activity leader guides the children to complete the Leader-Led Activity. He or she is responsible for gathering materials and preparing the activity.

Advancement or Bible Leader

Only one of these activities—advancements or Bible memory—will be part of your meeting. This leader should decide with the director whether children will work on individual advancements (using individual advancement books) or Bible memory (provided in session plans).

If the group will work on individual advancements, the person working with this group will be called the advancement leader. The advancement leader supervises children's individual work and helps them keep track of their progress.

If the club decides to work on Bible memory, the person leading this group will be called the Bible leader. The Bible leader guides the children to complete the Bible activities described in the sessions.

Here's the Grouping:

Divide your children in the way most effective for your particular group. Here are a few suggestions.

1. To divide by gender: If you have two groups, have a girls' group and a boys' group. Or have three groups, divided according to the number of boys and girls. For example, if you have more girls than boys, have a group of boys, a group of younger girls, and a group of older girls.

2. To divide by grades: Have two groups, grades 1-3 and 4-6, or three groups, grades 1-2, 3-4, and 5-6.

3. Children can be divided into helper groups: Pair a younger and older child together and place them in the same group. The older child can help the younger child with reading activities.

If you prefer different groups for each session or for special occasions, try one of these methods to divide the children:

1. All children with birthdays January-April in group 1, all children with birthdays May-August in group 2, and all children with birthdays September-December in group 3.

2. All children who have dogs for pets in group 1, all children with cats for pets in group 2, and remaining children in group 3.

3. Place three colors of paper strips in a lunch sack. Have children draw strips of paper from the sack and divide into groups according to color.

4. Divide children according to the first letters of their last names. For example: A-I in group 1, J-Q in group 2, and R-Z in group 3.

5. Have children count off (1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, etc.) until everyone has a number. Children whose number is one will be in group 1, those whose number is two will be in group 2, and those whose number is three will be in group 3.