6. HOW YOU CAN HELP...
BECOME INFORMED, PRAY, GIVE, AND GO!
Did you know that I have been a missionary for about twenty-five years? My family and I have been a "missionary family" for fifteen years right here on this south Louisiana bayou. Did you know that we depend on the help that comes from people like you, people who do not live where we do?
Sometimes people wonder how they can help missionaries to do their work. There are lots of things that you can do, even if you are very young (or any age). Here are just four things that you might think about and pray about doing to help us and other missionaries around the world.
(1) BECOME INFORMED... You won't know what missionaries need if you don't try to find out! You can read books about mission work and about missionary's lives. Ask your teacher or pastor for books or magazines about missionaries and mission work. Or, you could even write to Joseph, my son. He has some good ideas, too. You can read about particular missionaries in far away places, or you can ask your teacher to invite a missionary to come and speak to your class. You might ask your pastor to invite a missionary to speak to the whole church. There are also many videos available about mission work.
Yes, there are many missionaries who will be glad to do this. Sometimes a missionary or missionary family that lives far away may be staying in your area for a while. They are always happy to share with others about what God is doing through their lives. Also, there probably are missionaries who live close to you wherever you may be. Did you know that I used to be a missionary in Lincoln City, Oregon? And I often spoke in churches all around the state of Oregon. Now, I live in Louisiana, and I speak to people and churches in our state. Sometimes I also visit churches in other states like California, Oregon, Texas, Mississippi, and North Carolina. There I tell people about what God is doing in south Louisiana where we live and serve the Lord.
(2) PRAY... Well, if you know Jesus then you can pray for missionaries. This helps them a lot because many of the problems that they face and the work that they do is more than just physical work; it is spiritual work. Praying is a spiritual thing! Talking to God is something beyond just talking to your friends; God is in charge of everything. You can help missionaries thousands of miles away by praying for them, talking to God about their needs and problems and thanking God for all the wonderful things that He does.
If you will write to the North American Mission Board or the International Mission Board of the SBC, they will mail you a list of all the missionaries that your church helps to support. There are missionary families with children just your age who would love to get a letter from you. By having a missionary pen-pal you can keep up with what is going on with the Lord's work in another place. This will help you to know how to pray for these missionaries.
When you pray at mealtimes and at church and before you go to bed, you can remember to talk to God about your missionary friends all around the world, both those close by and those far away.
(3) GIVE... It also takes money to support missionaries. Part of what you give at your church goes to support missionaries through the Cooperative Program. Sometimes there are special missions offerings like the Annie Armstrong Offering for mission work here in North America, and the Lottie Moon offering for mission work in other countries. There is also a mission offering for work in your state. You can give to all of these offerings, and you can encourage others to give too. In this way you can help to support God's work all around the world.
You might think that you only have a little and it won't make much difference. But giving to God's work is also a spiritual thing. Remember the little boy who only had five loves and two fish? Jesus took this boys little lunch and fed thousands of people. Jesus can do the same thing with your offering for missionaries! The main thing is not how much you can give, but just obeying the Lord... He will take care of the rest.
(4) GO!... God may want you to be a missionary. You can begin to prepare for this even a long time before you can actually go anywhere. There are people right where you live who need to hear about Jesus. You should be faithful to tell people about Jesus where you live now, so that God will trust you with telling people about Jesus someplace else! In this way, everyone who is a Christian is supposed to be a missionary... telling people about Jesus wherever God puts them.
There are people who serve as missionaries in many different ways. Our sons have gone on short mission trips every summer for the past several years. Because of their experience and abilities, sometimes people call and ask them to go on mission construction trips with church groups around the United States or even in other countries. Helping with VBS or Backyard Bible Clubs in your own community is something that the Lord may want you to do.
Some missionaries are supported through the Cooperative Program, but a lot of missionaries have to earn their own way. You may have to earn money to participate in a mission project, but don't let this stop you. If God wants you to do something, then He will make a way for you to be able to do it.
When I was just a young boy, the Lord began to show me that I would one day be a missionary. The Lord prepared me in many ways over many years. I am still learning a lot! Pray, read your Bible, listen to the preaching of God's Word, ask God to show you His will for your life. Be sure that you give your life fully to Christ for whatever He wants you to do or be. You don't have to worry; if you are listening and willing to obey, then God will show you what He wants you to do.
Do you think that the Lord wants you to be a missionary? Talk to your teacher and pastor about this. They will encourage you and pray with you about this decision.
For your convenience, here is the Table of Contents of the VBS pages.