G.C. Kids Mobilized for Missions

By an Alliance Worker, serving at Appleton (Wis.) Alliance Church

God is at work and lives are being shaped for Kingdom commitment in the Great Commission (G.C.) tree house at Appleton Alliance Church.

Each week students ascend the stairs of the tree house and are taught Jesus’ Great Commission: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). Since the grand opening of the G.C. tree house last fall, our kids have been learning about what it means to participate in the work of Jesus Christ around the world.

Go!

This past Christmas the students filled 1,080 shoeboxes for Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child. Many of these boxes were sent to children at Appleton Alliance’s sister national church in Lima, Peru, where families from our church had the opportunity to go to pass out the shoeboxes.

Give!

Recently, the children raised money for Awana around the world, using the idea “Bottle the Change, Change the World.” They filled empty water bottles with spare change; the money collected was sent to an Awana club in another country.

One mother wrote: “In the past, we needed to ‘push’ our child, Nick,* to give to missions projects. This year, we were surprised that he took the lead and gave generously to this project. It was a joy as a parent to see the smile on Nick’s face as he gave to the Lord!”

Our G.C. kids generously gave $3,600—$1,000 more than last year!

Pray!

“God wants to use what you love to do!” has been the main theme in the G.C. tree house this year. The kids are encouraged to pray for international workers on the mission field and to ask God how they might take part in His work around the world. Several weeks ago, one student, Amy,* approached a Sunday school teacher after the lesson, said that she loves to draw, and asked if God could use that. Our teacher told her that God could use her love of drawing if she asked Him to.

It was obvious the wheels were turning in this little girl’s mind as she wondered aloud if she might one day draw pictures of Bible stories to share with those who can’t read. Running down the stairs of the tree house to catch up with her class, the child turned around and called back to her teacher, “I’m going to pray that God will make me a really good artist so that I can draw the Bible for people around the world.”

The G.C. tree house is a fun, safe place for children to learn about God’s mission to reach all nations and to ask how they might participate. It’s been inspiring to see them rise to the challenge of stepping outside their own comfort zones and committing themselves to serving Christ’s Kingdom first.

When talking about how God is at work among our kids in the G.C. tree house, Kris Smoll, director of the Discovery Land children’s outreach, said it best: “They’re getting it!”

* fictitious names

What You Can Do

Pray

Join in praying for Alliance workers worldwide who often encounter steep challenges while serving the Lord in hard places. Use the Alliance Weekly Prayer Requests to assist you.

Give

  • When you give to the the Great Commission Fund, you support international workers and help to provide grants to qualified U.S. church plants. Consider giving today to join The Alliance in completing Christ’s command to “make disciples of all nations” (Matt. 28:18–20).
  • Give now

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