Missions learning is the foundation of missions sending. That’s the conviction of the North American Mission Board’s Mission Education Team as they seek to help every church create missions-learning opportunities for its members.
ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP) – Missions learning is the foundation of missions sending. That’s the conviction of the North American Mission Board’s Mission Education Team as they seek to help every church create missions-learning opportunities for its members.
“People don’t typically respond to what they don’t know about,” said Jim Burton, Missions Education Team leader at the North American Mission Board (NAMB). “We believe the missions challenge is as compelling as ever.”
Fresh off the celebration of 100 years of missions heritage through the ministry of Royal Ambassadors, Mission Education is expanding at NAMB. One of NAMB’s nine major ministry assignments, Mission Education is exploring and developing new avenues for missions learning in Southern Baptist churches. Whether through online delivery of drop-in mission education (DIME) or creation of state convention customized Kids4Christ Around the World, NAMB Mission Education is pushing back the boundaries of traditional missions learning.
The result? Southern Baptists have more options than before to create missions-learning environments.
“The SnackPack and BackPack lessons have been wonderful. We use them every Wednesday night at our mission club ‘God’s Kids,’” said Amy Robinson, children’s ministry volunteer leader, First Baptist Church, Ceredo, W.Va.
“In the summer, we had a camp each Wednesday night. The BackPack lessons were just perfect – short and to the point,” said Robinson. “The children couldn’t wait to see what was in our BackPack each week. The SnackPack lessons are invaluable. I don’t know what I would have done without them.”
BackPack Missions, 10-to 15-minute studies for children containing object lessons that teach both missions and the Bible, debuted in 2006. The lessons are great for children’s sermons and even sermon illustrations.
“We’ve realized one size doesn’t fit all when it comes to Southern Baptist churches,” Burton said. “Because of that, we’re now producing resources that meet the diverse mission-learning needs of Southern Baptist churches. We want to see all of our churches make missions learning a priority. These new resources will help churches do just that.”
In 2007, NAMB began producing SnackPack Missions, a 15-to 20-minute children’s lesson on missions that could be dropped into any children’s learning environment. Currently, 36 new lessons are available for teachers to choose from. In the past two years more than 2,000 people have completed the free registration for BackPack Missions and SnackPack Missions.
For most of the last century, missions learning for males in Southern Baptist churches has occurred through weekly or monthly ministries like Royal Ambassadors, Challengers, and Baptist Men On Mission. NAMB inherited these ministries from the former Brotherhood Commission with the implementation of the Covenant for a New Century in 1997.
In the past two decades, many Southern Baptist churches have moved away from midweek events on the church campus. Southern Baptist churches have also turned to nondenominational educational ministries that don’t include missions learning.
While traditional missions-learning ministries have gained a new vibrancy in recent years, NAMB has begun exploring other opportunities as well.
The diverse new line of resources coincide with a new vision for Mission Education at NAMB: “…to develop Acts 1:8 Christians by establishing in every Southern Baptist church missions learning that equips Southern Baptists for mission action.”
Next to debut will be a Spanish version of SnackPack Missions to be released in August of 2009.
Recognizing yet another need in small churches and church starts, in August 2008 NAMB launched coed, monthly, customizable missions-learning lessons for children. These lessons, called Kids4Christ Around the World, contain a Bible study, mission study, games, and other activities.
State conventions can choose whether or not to customize the material and include their own missions emphases.
Starting in January of 2009, NAMB will begin producing a weekly, missions e-newsletter called BMEN Online.
The focus on new ways to engage Southern Baptists in missions learning won’t detract from the traditional missions-learning ministries resourced by NAMB – Royal Ambassadors, Challengers, and Baptist Men On Mission.
More information is available at www.sbcmissioneducation.com.