Ron Hutchcraft Ministries is offering this free resource (Photo courtesy of RHM)
USA (MNN) — Just because they’re young doesn’t mean children can’t be involved in missions.
Kids are often passed over in consideration when ministries ask for help. But the reality is: children are just as important to the great commission as any other group of people.
Ron Hutchcraft Ministries recognizes this and is acting upon it in a practical way.
On Eagles’ Wings is a ministry of RHM to Native America. They are offering a resource called, “Hope for Native America — Missions Kit for Children.”
Brad Hutchcraft, who’s worked with On Eagles’ Wings for 20 years, says, “We have found over the years that there are a lot of people who are still learning just about the needs in Native America.”
These needs are heavily related to the staggering alcoholism, suicide, and abuse statistics in Native America. The despair that comes along with these issues provides an especially dark place for the light of Christ to shine.
However, after centuries of evangelism in Native America, only an estimated 5% of the population professes Christianity.
Hutchcraft says, “It’s just hard for us to see, year in and year out, but what we have found over the years is that there are a lot of people in the Body of Christ who, when they learn about this, they immediately want to become prayer warriors as a part of the effort.”
With the growing knowledge, there are increased requests to get children involved in the churches.
RHM’s response to this call is the children’s mission kit. It connects children with the needs, prayer requests, and even the history of Native America. It tells them how they can help.
For Hutchcraft, this makes sense. He says, “I remember growing up just what it meant to me to be somehow connected with something bigger–you know, a missions experience, a trip, or just hearing more about the world and just the needs out there.”
The kit can be incorporated into Sunday school classes, VBS, or any other settings where children will benefit from learning about lost people around the world.
“We want to put this in a form where children can learn about Native America, about some of the needs in Native America, and how they can be a part of helping out,” Hutchcraft says.
It is important to emphasize the importance of caring for others in the world when children are still children.
Why? Hutchcraft says, “A lot of times if we don’t start to open up their eyes to the world around them, they get really locked into their own world, just what’s happening right around them in their town or in their family.”
A limited understanding of the world can lead to self-absorption: an undesirable characteristic for someone trying to live like Christ.
In this way, the kit is just as beneficial for the children praying as it is for the Native American community. “It gives a chance for parents and Sunday school teachers and church leaders to open up these kids’ world to see beyond the borders that they normally see,” Hutchcraft says.
The kit is also one way of getting kids excited about missions at an early age. This doesn’t mean that every child’s focus should be on international missions. However, all Christians should be burdened with the Great Commission, and this is one way to illustrate what that is.
The kit teaches significant aspects of Native America including history and culture. “They have this bigger perspective of what’s going on in the world and what God’s doing.”
The goal of the kit is to raise awareness, prepare the younger generation, teach them how to pray, and how to give back to God.
RHM desires “Hope for Native America” to be an interactive program. They desire feedback on how you use it to reach the children in your life.
You can register or order a kit here. Spread the word to your church.
