• FEATURE: Village Baptist Church in Beaverton, OR hosts an annual Global Outreach Fair to teach children about missions (see below).
• TOOL PACKAGE: Village Baptist Church shares five tools to help a church educate children in missions and to facilitate implementation of a Global Outreach Fair for children.
• GREAT IDEAS: Discover 21 ways other churches have used to help children develop a heart for missions.

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HELPING CHILDREN TO UNDERSTAND GOD'S HEART FOR THE WORLD
For the children of Village Baptist Church in Beaverton, OR, one of the highlights of the year is unquestionably the Global Outreach Fair. Children have even made their parents change vacation plans to make sure they will be able to attend this popular celebration!

Long before the October event takes place each year, the staff is praying and preparing. Their goal is that children (from the first through the fifth grades) will "enjoy a positive introduction into Global outreach concepts through games, crafts, cultural activities, and ethnic snacks that will enhance their interest in learning more about what God is doing in the world." Through intentional planning, they work to introduce missions ideas and vocabulary, finding or inventing hands-on activities that will allow the children to discover and learn about unreached people, the 10/40 window, or specific people groups. Then they collect supplies, plan decorations, train workers, and organize snacks, games and crafts to help them teach these basic concepts.

The Fair
Excitement is high as children enter the fair! Twenty attractive activity centers bid them to participate in learning about the world and God's plan for missions. Everything is set up to engage the senses and teach.

Upon arrival, children obtain passports and are allowed to freely explore and discover. In one corner they try on international clothing. A table is set up for them to learn simple calligraphy and how to write their names in Korean. A large fabric map is taped to the floor. Children fly paper airplanes or toss beanbags onto the map, and if they land in the 10/40 window, they are awarded with candy! At another center children are challenged to quickly put together world map puzzles because "the world needs to hear about Jesus, and time is running out". Face painting is offered, with choices of different cultural designs. Craft centers invite children to discover Japanese origami, make paper fans, or assemble paper totem poles. At the African hut, children make African necklaces or learn to count in Swahili. In other stations they play simple games from around the world--or snack on international delicacies! Children love the freedom and independence of being "on their own" to visit the centers at will.

The 70-80 children have about an hour and a half to circulate and visit the 20 attractions. At each center they are given stamps in their passports to document their visits. Trained adult leaders guide the intentional discussions at each place. 5th graders are allowed to be volunteers (which they love to be!), and middle school and high school students come back each year to participate and help!

God's Global Village
Preschool children of Village Baptist Church are not forgotten! They are treated to a separate event, God's Global Village. This village of child-size homes from around the world emphasizes the fact that God loves people living in all different kinds of houses. The village is open for two weekends in October. For more details see God's Global Village.

Children Respond
When asked whether other churches should try this idea, children are enthusiastic.

Eight-year-old Katie says, "I think this would be good for other churches to do because they would learn about people that need to know about Jesus."

Jonathan, age 10: "They would learn about different cultures and what you need to know before they go there. They would learn what a missionary does and why."

Dennis, age 9, says, "Kids learn what they need to do to become a missionary."

The church is blessed with creative and high energy staff members who have made this one of the most highly anticipated events of the year in the children's program. They are convinced that it is never too early to start teaching children about missions!

Village Baptist Church has willingly shared some of the tools to help other churches plan for events like this. See Tool Package for specific ideas and helps in planning. For more information about the Global Outreach Fair, see the Village Baptist Church website at http://www.vbconline.org/global or contact the Village Global Focus office at vbcm@vbconline.org.

Educating Children in Missions

Great Ideas offers a collection of suggestions that other churches have effectively used in educating children in missions. These 21 ideas are available for free at Great Ideas.