Parenting Points
When we typically think about missions, we think of teams and missionaries going to take the Gospel to the world. In today’s world of COVID, quarantines, and lockdowns, the opportunity to do a family mission trip this year may not be an option. However, God still reigns and His work in the world is not paused by pandemics. In Luke’s description of Jesus’ missional marching orders in Acts 1:8 ESV, we are called to be Jesus’ “witnesses in Jerusalem in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Christian families are to be on mission to the neighborhood, to the city, to the United States, and to the nations. We are to witness by sharing the greatness of Jesus’ grace and showing His mercy to others. In 2021, where serving as a family on mission looks different than it has in the past, here are three things you can do to be a part of Jesus’ missional call:
1. Look for Everyday Moments to Serve and Share with Others. We have opportunities every day to serve and share Jesus with others that we often miss. You can have a Gospel conversation with your neighbor. You can look for an elderly person in your church who your family can serve. Though relational connections may be temporarily masked and socially distant, we can still serve and share with others.
2. Connect to Kids Around the World through Child Sponsorship. Imagine connecting your child through a relationship with a kid the same age around the world. Through ministries like World Vision and Compassion International, your family can be involved as an encourager and prayer partner for a kid in poverty on the other side of the world.
3. Pray for the Unreached People Groups of the World. There are over 3,000,000,000 people around the world who will be born, live, and die without hearing the gospel. As families, we can join in praying for unreached people groups and missionaries on the front lines taking the good news to them. With the Joshua Project Unreached People Group of the Day phone app, you and your family can know the names of these groups, hear their story, and pray for them.
God is at work on His mission in the world. Let’s look for ways for our families to join Him in this work!
-Dr. Ben Birdsong
Missions Minister at Christ Church Birmingham
Writer and Speaker
