Lessons help little ones develop big hearts for the nations

By Jayne Russell

SEND theological educator in Ukraine

I met my first missionary when I was 7 years old. I still remember a startling claim she made: that a child attending Sunday School in the West has more biblical training than most pastors in Africa.

I’ve spent 16 years serving cross-culturally in Ukraine, my own life a demonstration of the power of teaching children about missions.

Now I’m focused on writing a missions education program for children. The program aims to introduce Slavic children to different cultures and to missionaries who have worked in those countries, while also developing each child’s Christian character.

The idea for this curriculum, which eventually will be translated into Russian and Ukrainian, was sparked in 2007 while I was in graduate school. Now it finally has a name: “Blessed to Bless.” This concept is taken from the Abrahamic Covenant when God said He would bless Israel and that through the Israelites, people throughout the earth would be blessed. We are part of that covenant by faith. Believers are blessed and they, in turn, are to be a blessing to others and to share with those who have never heard what God has done.

I envision a program in which, upon arrival, children will step into a “culture museum,” where they will explore food, customs, greetings, maps, flags, clothing, crafts, music and other learning centers relevant to the culture at hand.

During large group time, children will practice songs about missions, learn a memory verse and experience a missionary story, told conventionally or through drama or another method.

Afterward, in small groups, children will discuss the activities of the day in a review fashion and make personal application. The leader will read a devotional about the Christian character emphasized in the unit, then children will respond individually in a journal throughout the week. The character study will have self, home, peer and church application.

SEND International’s work in Ukraine involves encouraging the Ukrainian church to participate in cross-cultural missions. This ministry — 3M, or Missions Mobilization Ministry — teaches teen-aged and adult believers about the Great Commission through a curriculum called Kairos. But graduates of the Kairos course have expressed a desire to see the children in their churches also learn about Jesus’ heart for the nations. I hope “Blessed to Bless” will meet this need by planting seeds about missions in the hearts of children.