How can a mother reach out for Jesus?” Perhaps you ask yourself this, or perhaps you are wondering how to encourage outreach in your church family or homeschool groups?
In this video, Dr. Cynthia gives us advice. STEPS:
- Disciple them. If we don’t the world will train them its way. Raise your children as a good Christian mother would do. Teach them age-appropriate Bible stories, worship songs, and memory verses. Teach them to pray and take them to church.
- Create Awareness. It is a good idea to explain to children the Great Commission, and bring them into reaching out with you. As a result of being taken on special and outreach, and everyday outreaches, Dr. C’s young daughter became aware and sensitive to the needs of those around them and would automatically bring them to her mother’s attention for ministering. Now grown, her children still help out in outreach and ministry.
- Involve them. When you meet with internationals in the street, or go out with them, ask your children along. Let them feel part of it – not excluded. Grandmas, dads, and grandpas can do the same!
- Another option is to take your children on a short-term mission in the USA or overseas. But, if you are asking other Christians to support you in this, do check in advance that it is a true mission trip – not simply a vacation with a little “vision” added to it. As a former deacon of missions, Dr. C knows how limited mission funds are and how great is the church’s need to be accountable with them.
QUESTION: Can you ever leave your children to reach out yourself?
Dr. C relates a time that she examined her motives for reaching out. She asked herself, “Would you want your children to leave their children to do this?” Her answer was, “Yes!” She then realized that in living this way we are setting an example and pattern for our children to follow later in their lives. This is teaching by example, not just talking the Christian talk. We show them that life is not just about having fun and getting a good job.
(Note: this in no way means to neglect our families or put them at risk. It is simply giving you permission to make God the center of your life, not them.)
In closing, Dr. C reminds us that Jesus said if we “lose our life we will save it.” Although this is not the reason we reach out, we will find that obeying in this way will make life richer for ourselves and our families.