God's heart beats for the entire world. From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible tells the story of a God who pursues people from every nation, tribe, and language. When we teach our children about missions, we are not just adding another topic to the Sunday school curriculum. We are inviting them into the grand story of what God is doing across the globe.
Children have an incredible capacity for compassion. They care deeply about fairness, they are fascinated by other cultures, and they want to make a difference. Teaching kids about missions channels those God- given instincts toward the Great Commission.
"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you."
— Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV)
Starting with the Big Picture: God's Heart for the Nations
Before talking about specific missionaries or organizations, help your children understand why missions matter to God. The Bible is a missions book from start to finish. God promised Abraham that through his family, all nations would be blessed (Genesis 12:3). The Psalms repeatedly call on the nations to praise God. Jesus commissioned His followers to go to the ends of the earth. And Revelation shows us the final scene: people from every nation gathered before the throne, worshiping the Lamb.
When children grasp that God loves every person on the planet, not just the people in their neighborhood or church, it expands their understanding of who God is. He is not a local God. He is the God of the whole earth, and He wants everyone to know Him.
"After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb."
— Revelation 7:9 (NIV)
Missionaries Who Inspire: Stories for Every Age
Children love stories, and missionary biographies are some of the most thrilling stories ever told. These men and women left comfort behind to follow Jesus into unknown places, and their lives demonstrate courage, sacrifice, and the power of the gospel.
For Younger Children (Preschool and Early Elementary)
- •Gladys Aylward — A small woman with enormous faith who served children in China and led over 100 orphans to safety across the mountains.
- •Eric Liddell — An Olympic runner who gave up fame to serve God as a missionary in China, eventually dying in a Japanese internment camp.
- •Amy Carmichael — Rescued children from temple slavery in India and cared for them for over 50 years without ever returning home.
For Older Children (Upper Elementary, Preteen, and Teen)
- •Jim and Elisabeth Elliot — Jim was killed attempting to reach the Auca (Waodani) tribe in Ecuador. Elisabeth later returned to live among the very people who killed her husband.
- •Hudson Taylor — Founded China Inland Mission and pioneered a model of missions that respected and adopted local culture.
- •Adoniram Judson — Spent decades in Burma (Myanmar) translating the Bible and enduring imprisonment, yet persevered until a Burmese church was established.
- •Lottie Moon — Southern Baptist missionary to China whose sacrificial life and letters sparked a missions movement that continues to this day.
💡Use Biographies and Books
The "Christian Heroes: Then and Now" series by Janet and Geoff Benge offers excellent, age-appropriate missionary biographies. Reading one per month as a family gives your children a steady diet of real-life faith stories. Many libraries carry these books.
Practical Ways to Teach Missions at Home
"How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?"
— Romans 10:14 (NIV)
Missions Is More Than "Over There"
While global missions often captures the imagination, help your children understand that the mission field is also right where they are. Their school, their sports team, their neighborhood, these are all places where they can share God's love. A child who learns to care about unreached people groups will also learn to care about the lonely kid at the lunch table.
The Three Levels of Mission
Teach your children about three concentric circles of mission, drawn from Acts 1:8. First, "Jerusalem" represents their immediate community: family, friends, neighbors. Second, "Judea and Samaria" represents their broader region: their city, state, or country. Third, "the ends of the earth" represents global missions. All three matter equally, and God calls different people to different circles.
✨Missions Month at Home
Dedicate one month each year to a missions focus at home. Each week, learn about a different continent and the missionaries serving there. Cook meals from those regions. Pray for specific unreached people groups. End the month by deciding as a family how you want to support missions financially and prayerfully for the coming year.
When Your Child Expresses Interest in Missions
If your child says they want to be a missionary, take it seriously. Even young children can have a genuine call from God. Encourage that interest rather than dismissing it as a phase.
- •Affirm their heart. 'That is wonderful that you want to share God's love with people who haven't heard about Jesus.'
- •Provide age-appropriate mission experiences. Many churches offer short-term missions trips for families or youth groups.
- •Expose them to missionaries in person whenever possible. Invite visiting missionaries to your home for dinner.
- •Help them develop skills that serve missionaries: language learning, medical knowledge, teaching, technology, and agriculture are all used on the mission field.
- •Pray with them about where God might be leading them, both now and in the future.
"The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."
— Matthew 9:37-38 (NIV)
✅Every Christian Is Sent
Not every Christian is called to move overseas. But every Christian is called to participate in God's global mission through prayer, giving, going, or sending. When you raise children who understand this, you raise children who see their lives as part of something much bigger than themselves.
Sponsor a Child Together
Organizations like Compassion International allow families to sponsor a child in another country. Your family can write letters, pray by name, and see how God is working in a specific child's life. This makes missions personal and tangible, especially for young children who benefit from a concrete connection.
"Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples."
— Psalm 96:3 (NIV)
Growing a Heart for the World
Teaching your children about missions is not just about geography or history. It is about helping them see the world through God's eyes, a world full of people He loves and is pursuing. When you pray for the nations together, support missionaries as a family, and serve those around you, you are shaping children who understand that the gospel is for everyone, everywhere. And who knows? The next great missionary might be sitting at your kitchen table right now.