Especially for Older Students: My Role in God's Mission

(10 minutes, easy set-up)
Download the “My Role in God’s Mission” activity sheet. Provide one copy for your own use. Also provide a world map.

Begin by asking students: If you want to do well on an upcoming test, what is the best thing for you to do? (Answer: study) If you want to learn the plays for your sports team or the music for a band performance, what should you do? (practice) Spend some time discussing responses. Help students to see that the goal of these things is to know what they need in order to produce an attitude change in them. Next, ask: If this is how you approach doing well on a team or on a test, how should you approach understanding God’s purpose in the world and the part that you play in it? Explain that this too requires a shift in values and attitudes.

Read the two case studies from the “My Role in God’s Mission” activity sheet. Then say: In each case, the storytellers were missionaries—people who were committed to carrying the gospel of God to the world. Point to the two places on a world map indicated in the case studies. Then ask: How do you think these two missionaries came to realize the value of being part of God’s mission in this world? (They came to that point by studying His Word, realizing that His passion is so much bigger than themselves, and accepting their calling to be a part of His mission.) Say: God has blessed you with the knowledge of who He is according to His Word, the Bible. We will study in the next few weeks what it means to take up His call to be a part of His mission.