Rejuvenate Your Children’s Christmas in August Experience!
We all love our North American Mission Board (NAMB) missionaries … no doubt about it! And, if you’re like me, we all enjoy knowing we can support these missionaries during Christmas in August by collecting and sending much-needed supplies for their ministries.
But, in reality, you may be thinking that gathering and shipping items is expensive.
Or, maybe, because you’ve done Christmas in August before, you need a new spin.
So, what’s a children’s missions discipleship leader to do? We’ve got you covered with ways to update your Christmas in August experience!
Ways to Update Your Christmas in August Experience
Vacation Bible School
Use your summer Vacation Bible School (VBS) offering as a way to help fund a Christmas in August collection.
- Share about the missionary you are supporting and challenge VBS kids to help collect change each day to support sending needed supplies to the missionary.
- Invite the kids who participated in VBS to your missions group meeting in August to help pack the supplies purchased with the offering collected. This is a great way to follow up with VBS attendees and give them a peek into what missions discipleship is like!
Online Shopping and Shipping
When WMU releases the 2024 Christmas in August list this June, consider hitting up Amazon and shipping the items for the ministry you choose directly to the ministry. But wait … how are kids involved?
- Choose two or three types of items you are going to send (e.g., water bottles, notebooks, crayons).
- List the items on a whiteboard so children can see them. Also list your total budget for this project on the board.
- Ask children to choose the exact item based on price and it being within your budget. Record prices on the whiteboard and allow children to help you shop for the items needed. (Note: You’ll need to bring a laptop or tablet to your group meeting and have internet connection.)
- If desired, use the gift option when you check out, and include a note from your group! Missionaries love to know who is sending them supplies for their ministries.
Badges/Patches
It’s time to celebrate everything your kids have done to support a NAMB missionary by awarding the Christmas in August badge/patch!
- Choose a date and time to award badges/patches to your group.
- Decorate for Christmas and provide snacks, if desired. (Option: Make your Christmas decorations summery with palm trees instead of pines! Your local dollar store will most likely have luau-themed decorations during the summer.)
- Invite your WMU director, missions pastor, or someone from your local Baptist association to talk about the importance of supporting NAMB missionaries.
- Show pictures in a computer slideshow of what your group did to support a Christmas in August missionary.
- Ask kids to share something about the Christmas in August experience that was important to them.
- Share pictures on social media, with parent permission!
No matter what you choose to do this year for Christmas in August, the best thing you can do for the missionaries and the kids in your group is to make sure the kids understand why you are sending supplies to the missionaries and why you are praying for them. When you do that as a leader, you are helping kids create a lifelong passion for supporting missions. They see that their input, support, donations, and prayers do impact a missionary’s ministry.
And when kids catch a vision for supporting our NAMB missionaries through Christmas in August, they will look forward to it year after year!
Learn more about Christmas in August at wmu.com/christmasinaugust. Bookmark the Christmas in August page and revisit it in June when the 2024 list is available!
Heather Keller serves as WMU ministry consultant for Girls in Action, Children in Action, and Acteens, and manages missions discipleship online training. Heather enjoys empowering leaders to help children and teens realize just how much they can impact their world with the Great Commission.
