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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.
Spotlight Update: Jim and Mandy Wells in Peru
“¡Tengo un amigo que me ama, su nombre es Jesús! I have a friend that loves me, His name is Jesus!” Jim and Mandy Wells listen to the sweet sound of children singing this simple song at their Saturday morning kids’ meeting. The children attending receive a good meal and learn about Jesus. Jim and Mandy are able to do this because of the support of Southern Baptists through Cooperative Program giving. Pray God would continue sending families to this meeting so they can hear the good news. Another way Southern Baptists can help is by serving. Jim is looking for students who would be willing to serve for summers or semester terms in Peru. Young adults are also needed for mid-term opportunities to serve as Journeymen and fill needs as the Wellses are looking to plant more churches throughout the Andes Mountains. Continue to pray God would send people to serve alongside the Wellses in ministry. Jim believes prayer is the key to God’s continued work in the Andes. “Pray and ask others to pray,” he encouraged. “God may call you to live a quiet life of obedience where you are. He may call you to live a life that most think is crazy. He will make it clear in His perfect timing.” Christy M. Bell
Comforted to Comfort Others
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” —2 Corinthians 1:3–4 (NIV) When I read 2 Corinthians 1:3–4, I think to myself, what does this mean and how do others feel about it when they read it? We all need comfort, but not all of us are aware that our one and only God can give us the comfort we need. Yes, people see things like drinking, smoking, partying, and other things as comfort, but I don’t see a good outcome from those things. I believe that we should seek God daily, not just when we need Him or when we experience bad times. God gives us the ability to read His Word, and by His Word, He gave us the comfort to share with others. Verse 4 states that God, “comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” This verse warms my heart because our Father tells us He will always be with us. He will be with us when we feel alone, when we struggle, when we experience loss in this life, when we are betrayed, and even when we are wounded. God comforts us. When someone we know is hurting, we can stand with them, place our hand on their shoulder, or even embrace them. These are ways to comfort others. This is what God does for us. When I am struggling, I ask people to pray for me. When I see people struggling, I ask how I can help them and then pray for them. A simple question can have a positive impact on a person’s day. God places opportunities in front of us in our daily lives. It is important to look for these opportunities. I pray for everyone who is going through affliction to be reminded that God is the God of all comfort. We live in a world full of affliction, but when we walk in affliction, He is not distant from us. He is with us. I want others to see Jesus in everything I do. We can apply 2 Corinthians 1:3–4 verse into our daily lives by helping our brothers and sisters in Christ. We lift up each other in our easy times and hard times. Our goal is to spread the gospel and let others know Jesus loves them. He died for us because of the sins we commit, but we can have eternal life through faith in Jesus. Our greatest comfort is to praise the Lord. Isavela Montanez, a 2023 National Acteens Panelist, is from Garland, Texas, and attends Freeman Heights Baptist Church.
Peace Is Possible: Living with PTSD
The good news is PTSD has effective treatments. With proper mental health care, including talk therapy and sometimes medication, coupled with the support of family and friends, people with PTSD can know relief. The treatment and level of healing is different for everyone.
A Series on the RA Virtues: Responsibility and Teamwork
Missions is a team effort. We can do more together than we can separately. Mr. Earl taught us we can catch more fish, whether they be of the people variety or the fishy-fishy variety, when we work with others.
