Oct 2024 preschool blog open house
Missions Discipleship

Let’s Have a Mission Friends Open House!

September 19, 2024 /

Hosting a Mission Friends open house is the perfect opportunity to welcome returning preschoolers and invite potential Mission Friends to join the fun.

Tips for a Successful Mission Friends Open House

Send out invitations.

    • Ask current Mission Friends to distribute invitations to friends and neighbors.
    • Share about the open house through your church’s media venues (slide shows, bulletins, newsletters, and social media).
    • Distribute invitations to families with preschoolers who attend Sunday School or other church events.

Choose activities from Mission Friends Leader.

    • Select several activities from the current month of Mission Friends curriculum. Keep in mind that preschoolers of different ages will attend, so choose a variety of age-level activities.
    • Set up the room to resemble a Mission Friends session so guests can get the feel of Mission Friends.
    • Ask a Mission Friends leader to be on hand specifically to greet guests at the door, answer questions from parents and other adults, and enroll new Mission Friends.
    • Make copies of “Mission Friends at Home” and “Mission Friends at Home for Babies, Ones, and Twos” from the current Mission Friends Leader. Give out copies to families as they leave.
    • Share information about your meeting times.
    • Display a copy of Mission Friends Leader and the Mission Friends Leader Kit, posting the pictures from the current month for preschoolers and their families to see. Invite parents to peruse the materials and ask any questions they might have.
    • Display the Mission Friends Christian Concept Area Posters from the Mission Friends Digital Package.

Invite a missionary to share their story in a child-friendly way!

    • The missionary can lead a game, share a snack, or tell stories of children learning about Jesus in the location where they serve.
    • If the missionary cannot physically be present, perhaps they can send a video to kick off the open house. Then you or other adults can lead a game or snack from the missionary’s location of service.

Play games and sing songs from around the world.

    • Teach a game from Mission Friends Leader or use a Mission Friends Leader Kit game or activity. You may also sing a song suggested in Mission Friends Leader or Sing to the Tune.
    • Search online to find videos of songs like “Jesus Loves Me” being sung in different languages. Tell parents that preschoolers often play games and hear words in other languages while they are at Mission Friends.

Taste test a food from around the world.

    • Find a tasting suggestion in Mission Friends Leader or search online for simple recipes from the area of the world the missionaries of the month live.
    • Encourage preschoolers to try small bites of the new-to-them foods.
    • Always post the Allergy Alert Chart whenever you serve food or include nature items for touching and smelling. The Allergy Alert Chart is available for download at wmu.com/preschool under Free Downloads.

Meet together for a simple time of sharing and praying.

    • Gather preschoolers to sit on the floor around you. Show a missionary picture from the Mission Friends Leader Kit and tell a little about the missionary.
    • Open the Bible and read: We want to tell people about Jesus (see Acts 4:20).
    • Tell preschoolers that in Mission Friends, they will learn about missionaries — people who go and tell others about Jesus!
    • Lead preschoolers and families in a short prayer for the missionaries as they tell people about Jesus.

Wrap it up.

    • Thank preschoolers and families for coming.
    • Encourage parents to enroll new Mission Friends by using the Mission Friends Enrollment Form available for download at wmu.com/preschool under Free Downloads.

by Lyndsay John