It all started in 2012 when God had called me out of formal ministry and home with my two little boys. I was crushed and even angry at God. For a year and half I pouted around and busied myself with my daily motherhood tasks. My heart was still out there: on the mission field, serving the missionaries, networking, and helping equip and send out new workers. Then a year and a half after leaving full-time ministry, I was presented with a challenge: nobody had been teaching the missions lessons at Vacation Bible School at my church in years. Well, I couldn’t let that happen! Not only that, but I had some ideas to improve it: I dressed up all week in an Indian saree and taught the kids about the country of India with tangible examples and interactive learning. I laughed when, for several months after VBS, kids would come up to me and ask if I was really from India.
The truth is, 85-90% of missionaries currently serving the Lord can trace their calling into missions back to a childhood experience. I saw that firsthand from testimonies I’d heard firsthand. Yet most churches are not telling the stories, inspiring the young minds, or even talking about the need to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth. Many kids’ ministries stick to God being your “helper,” or “friend.” And while yes, God is those things, if we leave Him there, our children will outgrow their need for God just like they outgrow their need for us to help them cut their food, tie their shoes, or go to the movies together on a Friday night. No wonder so many of our college-aged kids are not returning through the church doors! They were never given the full picture of God.
God is bigger than our childhood friendships and when you pass along a big picture of God, that becomes a God they want to serve, follow, obey, and watch move in their daily lives! In fact, when they see God’s work throughout history and in current events drawing people to Himself, it inspires their faith: God’s Not dead! God isn’t just for them, He’s also for the Rajput in India, the Nosu in China, and the homeless man on the street corner. He has been the God pursuing mankind since the fall: first through the Israelites and more fully through the life and death of Jesus Christ. He chooses to work through his bride, the universal Church.
So even more than showing our children how big our God really is, we also need to show them that He wants them to join Him in the work of reaching the nations for His glory and our joy! And even little children can get involved with His eternal purposes.
That is what MobilizerMom is about: helping your family join God in His work among the nations right where you are. I hope you’ll join me, be inspired, and see practical ways your family can have an eternal impact today.
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