What is a Missionary?

What is a Missionary? The Story of the Missionary Penny Looking it Up: Romans 10:12-15, 17 [Ask a clubber to look up the verses and be ready to read when asked.] Thinking It is so important to make missions a priority for the children in your Awana® club. This is one of the most impressionable periods of their lives. Most of God’s servants on the mission field today and in pulpits committed themselves to the Lord’s work before or during their teenage years. In fact, 85 percent did so before age 16, with the largest percentage in the 10-12 age group – our T&Ters. Let’s capitalize on this time, maximize our influence and ignite this generation for missions! As a leader, let’s help develop global Christians who embody God’s heart. We can do this by raising sensitivity, burden, vision, appreciation and kinship to our distant brothers and sisters as well as our culturally diverse neighbors right across the street. We beseech you to develop a passionate heart for missions in the clubbers, to place a face on missions by getting to know missionaries your church supports, put hands and mind to missions as children learn, understand and experience missions first hand, and finally feet as they go, and serve others. See the missions booklet under "Other Mission Ideas" at www.awanainternational.org/MissionsMonth for ideas on how to incorporate missions throughout your Awana meeting. Begin with this lesson that helps explain what a missionary is, as well as what they do, in a fun, memorable way.

Focus: What is a Missionary? Scripture: Romans 10:12-15, 17

Getting It Ready  Penny – one per clubber  Wide-lined paper  Large penny (can be bought at Cracker Barrel® as well as other retail stores) Variation: (a paper laminated penny can be bought at a teaching supply store or print your own from the one supplied with this lesson)  Prayer requests from your church’s missionaries and the Awana missionary  Items for games chosen

Awana Missions Month

[Helping to Change the Ending for Children Locally & Worldwide]

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Showing Give each clubber a penny and a sheet of paper with lines. Use lined paper used for kindergarteners which is wider and has more room to write. Allow the clubbers to work as individuals, partners or in teams to write down as many things as they can that they notice about the penny. It can be words, shape, etc. Try not to lead them – allow them to discover as much as they can on their own. You will be going over what a missionary does using the penny.

Telling [Note: throughout sharing this lesson, use real life stories from missionaries you know to make it come alive to clubbers.] Share that the word missionary means one sent. Point out that on the back of the penny is imprinted with the words “one cent.” A missionary is to go and tell others about God’s Son, Jesus Christ. Who can tell me a verse that tells us to go and tell others? What missionary has our church sent out? Where do they go? Is right around the corner part of the world? Notice the penny is round just like the world. Jesus said “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel …” (See Matthew 28:18-20 and John 3:16.) In what parts of the world do we support missionaries? [Point out areas on a world map. Be sure to share the location of your church’s missionary bulletin board if you have one. Encourage the clubbers to check it out.] Can you find the words “In God we trust?” As missionaries go into the world, they must trust God to take care of them. Also missionaries teach others what it means to trust in God for salvation and to trust God for each day (Acts 16:31and Proverbs 3:5). What are

some of the things that missionaries must trust God for each day? Share and pray for some of the missionary requests your church has received. [Also contact your Awana missionaries for their requests as well.] Liberty is another word that is found on a penny. Who can tell me what liberty means? Missionaries are sent to liberate or set free those who are held captive or are in bondage to sin and to Satan. Only the blood of Jesus can set us free. (See 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 and Hebrews 9:22.) Whose image is on the coin? That’s right ‒ Abraham Lincoln’s! He was all about freedom for all! Like the penny we too are stamped with an image, the image of God! Can anyone tell me the verse where we read that we are made in the image of God? (Genesis 1:26.) There is a date imprinted on the coin. This is the date the penny was made and put into circulation. What is the date on your penny? You all have a physical birthday. That is the day that you were born, that you went into circulation. When I count to three I want you all to yell your birthday ‒ 1, 2, 3!

Your Mission - should you choose to accept it . . . is Be a Missionary in Your Community!

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Do you have a spiritual birthday, when you were born again? The Bible tells us in John 3:3-6 that if we are going to get into heaven we must have a second birthday – the day when we trusted Jesus as our Savior. If you do not understand what this is, talk with your leader after our lesson. Missionaries help children, youth, moms and dads hear about Jesus so they can trust Jesus. These two dates are the most important dates in your life. The penny is made from metal mined from the earth. The first man, Adam, was taken from the dust of the earth. We are all descendents of Adam, that first man. Who knows the verse that tells us that Adam was taken from the dust? (Genesis 2:7) E Pluribus Unum is also on our penny. Those are Latin words that mean out of many, one! The USA is made up of many people, yet it is one nation. In a similar way, Christians are one body, the body of Christ. We have many members, yet one body (1 Corinthians 12:13). United States of America is also imprinted on the penny. It means that the penny was made in the USA and belongs to the USA. It is our currency, how we buy things. Once we trust Jesus as our Savior, we are citizens of heaven (Philippians 3:20). Heaven is our kingdom, our home, where we belong. Through the power of the Holy Spirit we are able to do things for Jesus. We cannot buy our salvation or buy our works – it is all by the power of Jesus

and the Holy Spirit. (Only share what is age appropriate for your clubbers.) Missionaries go to many countries to share the gospel of Jesus. There is coming a day when we will all be citizens of heaven or of hell ‒ only two places to live, not many countries. Do you know where you will live forever? An image of the Lincoln Memorial is also on the back of the penny. This monument has been and will continue to be visited by millions. It stands in honor of Abraham Lincoln. Missionaries speak of a different monument that stands on a hill – the cross of our Savior! It stands for our freedom forever, for all eternity, for all people, from all sin (2 Peter 3:910). Thank you, Jesus! Early editions of the penny did not have the Lincoln Memorial, instead they had waves of grain … two stalks of wheat. [Show large penny with wheat.] Wheat stood for life, abundance and harvest. Missionaries share with others how to have abundant life through Jesus. Missionaries go to sow and reap God’s Word. The Bible tells us the fields are white unto harvest. Missionaries also go to help gather in the harvest God has brought (John 10:10 and John 4:35). When you see a penny, remember all the things a missionary is and what they do. Share your penny and what you learned with a sibling or parent tonight. Why does a missionary do what they do? Please read Romans 10:12-15, 17.

Your Mission - should you choose to accept it . . . is Be a Missionary in Your Community!

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Challenging Awana missionaries as well as other missionaries are sent ones. Are you willing to be a sent one? You can only be a sent one, representing Jesus, if you know Him as your Savior. Do you? If not, speak with your leader. Find out more what it means to be a missionary by reading mission biographies. Talk to your pastor about what it means to be a missionary. Any time a missionary comes to your church, listen and learn as much as you can. Maybe God is calling you to be a missionary! How could you be a missionary today?

Your Mission – should you choose to accept it ... Be a Missionary in your Community. Family Follow-up “Not only do our children need to be enriched by godly heroes through books and videos, they need to be around real, live, flesh-and-blood people.” ‒ John and Susan Yates in Character Matters Invite missionaries into your home for a meal or even to stay overnight. Children gain so much from spending time with missionaries. Visit mission headquarters in your area or when on vacation. Be willing to allow your children to follow God’s call when they are called into missionary service. Consider trying food from another country that you have not tried before. Go to an ethnic food market and choose a couple of foods. As the children pick their food item talk about how it felt to see, smell and taste the different foods. Did they like them? Not want to try them? Choose something very different from what was familiar? Choose something that looked similar? Discuss that when missionaries go to a foreign land, food is one of the major adjustments they must make. Discuss other adjustments – like home, sleeping, climate, language, customs, and so forth.

Teaching Ideas Missionary Night – Try to have a missionary available at club meeting for the clubbers to meet and to share during Large Group Time (or schedule a Skype session with a missionary). If not, have a photo or prayer card to show the children. Share their prayer needs. Consider recording a message from the clubbers to send to the missionary. If not, have them make cards or write letters to a missionary.

Your Mission - should you choose to accept it . . . is Be a Missionary in Your Community!

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Game Ideas 1. Penny Stacking – See how many pennies clubbers can stack before they fall over. Give each team pennies and let them build their tower. Largest tower wins. 2. Penny Spinning Relay – For older clubbers. Run around circle and into the middle stopping in their triangle area. Pick up the penny and spin it on its edge. Once spinning, run back out the circle, tag the next clubber in line who repeats the action. Continue play until all play or decide on a number of clubbers to compete. When the last clubber per team runs into middle, spins the penny, they grab the pin instead of running back out of circle to next clubber. Team with the pin wins. 3. Penny Hide and Seek Relay – Have pennies hidden in a bin of rice. The first clubber runs around the circle into the middle to the table with the bin of rice. Clubber finds a penny and runs back to the line, touches the next clubber who repeats the action. If that’s too easy – have the clubbers use chopsticks to pick up the pennies. 4. Penny Wrap – Each team will have a bowl of pennies. The object is to be the first team to fill up all its bank penny wrappers. 5. Penny Baton Relay – Play any of the Awana games that need a baton to pass. Replace the baton with a roll of pennies. 6. Penny Pinching Game – Pennies are scattered on the floor in the circle. Each color team stays in their quadrant of the circle. The object is to pick up the most pennies before the game is over. Each time the whistle blows, a new clubber runs into the circle to pick up pennies, while the previous clubber runs out. Teaching Options Penny Theme Night All clubbers are encouraged to bring in as many pennies as they can. Make it into a contest and collect by club or gender or team color. Involve the church as much as possible. Have the pennies go toward your Missions Month collection.

Additional Resources See missionary biographies that are included in the Awana Ministry Catalog. Check out your church library for missionary biographies.

Your Mission - should you choose to accept it . . . is Be a Missionary in Your Community!

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