Do you have children or grandchildren you’d like to share missions with? Would you like to find resources for sharing both the history of missions and the stories of modern missionaries serving today? Are you looking for meaningful gifts you can make at home without any special crafting or artistic skills? We’ve got a gift guide for you!
Asia: Its People and History. Is the land of Asia a mystery to your kids? Do they know who lives there? Do they know how to pray for them? Asia is home to more than fifty countries and territories and roughly three-fifths of the world’s population. Could you use some help introducing your family to this vast land? This sixteen-week devotional presents a brief picture of six nations. It is by no means all encompassing. Its purpose is to introduce children to the people of Asia, share their stories, and spark curiosity.
I pray that it does much more than that, however. I pray that through meeting just a few of our brothers and sisters who live in cities and villages with names that are hard to pronounce that your children feel more connected with those who are suffering for their faith in Christ. Through stories and activities, we’ll meet the people of Laos, Bangladesh, Nepal, China, Iran, and Vietnam. We’ll get to know the children of these lands and hear about their experiences. Most of all, we’ll pray for them and their families.
Won’t you join us?
This book is designed with children ages 8-12 in mind but can easily be used with older students as well.
Christian Heroes: Then and Now series written by Janet and Geoff Benge
This series of books by Youth With a Mission (YWAM) Publishing is written for 10-14-year-olds, but I confess I have read—and enjoyed—many of them as an adult. Each book traces the story of a missionary’s life from childhood through the current day or the end of the missionary’s life. The difficulties and trials he or she faces are not minimalized but they are shared in a sensitive way that is appropriate for children. One of the many things I love about this series is that it shares the stories of missionaries past and present. It also shares stories of well-known missionaries as well as those that are not as commonly taught. It circles the globe numerous times, sharing stories from Mexico to Burma and back again.
Unit Study Curriculum Guide
Some of the Christian Heroes: Then and Now books also have companion unit study curriculum guides you can purchase separately. These are wonderful ways to bring the stories to life and help learners of all styles internalize the truths of the stories. There are writing assignments, hands-on activities, Scripture memorization, field trips, current events, projects, and more!
Even Donkeys Speak
Even Donkeys Speak is a wonderful book by Mary McDonald and Gospel for Asia that talks about God’s work in India today and over the past few decades. What makes this book extra-special to me is that it breaks the stories down by where in India each takes place, bringing to life the various regions of India.
History Lives series by Mindy and Brandon Withrow
This series of five books recounts stories of Christians from the days of Paul and Polycarp to the days of Christians who bravely served Christ during the rule of Idi Amin in Uganda, They are incredibly engaging stories that can draw children of all ages in.
Trailblazer series by Dave and Neta Jackson
Dave and Neta Jackson’s series of Trailblazer Books was originally published in the 1990s and is being re-released today. These incredible books for 8-12-year-olds introduce heroes of the faith such as William and Catherine Booth, William Tyndale, Adoniram and Ann Judson, Hudson Taylor, Martin Luther, Peter Cartwright, and many others through fictional stories and characters who cross paths with these famous men and women.
The Torchlighters
The Voice of the Martyrs, Inc., also has children’s books that look at the lives of heroes of the faith such as Corrie ten Boom, William Tyndale, John Bunyan, and others. Some stories are available as DVDs as well.
Giants Walked Among Us: The Story of Paul and Ina Bartel and To China and Back, books in the Junior Jaffray Collection of Missionary Portraits written by Anthony G. Bollback
These two books are on my Christmas wish list! These books share the stories of men and women called to serve in China, Japan, and Hong Kong, and they are written by one of the men who lived it.
Jack and Jenny Series by Anthony Bollback
This is a fast-paced series of stories for kids set in Hong Kong and China and involves smugglers, armored-car robberies, an envelope full of money, an abandoned mine, an important archaeological discovery, and gold!
Gifts You Can Make
If you’d like to make your own missionary-themed books for the children in your life, it might be easier than you think! All you need is a 3-hole punch, a printer, and plastic notebook binders with clear covers similar to these.
Then, choose from a huge variety of FREE resources you can assemble for the kids! Kids of Courage has a collection of more than two dozen Bold Believers activity books. These 40+ page books include recipes, games, and snippets of the daily lives of children around the world who suffer because of their faith. There are also true stories, shared in a sensitive way, about the persecution these children and their families face as they work to share the Gospel with their friends, neighbors, and even enemies. Bold Believer books currently cover the following people groups and nations:
| China’s Uygurs | Eritrea | Nepal |
| Hmong | Ethiopia | Nigeria |
| Khmu of Southeast Asia | Gaza and the West Bank | North Korea |
| Afghanistan | India | Pakistan |
| Algeria and Tunisia | Indonesia | Saudi Arabia |
| Bangladesh | Iran | Sri Lanka |
| Burma | Iraq | Turkey |
| China | Malaysia | Uzbekistan |
| Colombia | Mexico (Chiapas region) | Vietnam |
| Egypt | Morocco |
There are additional activity books and downloads available on the Kids of Courage website.
Wycliffe Bible Translators also has kid-friendly resources such as coloring pages, service projects, interactive activities with fun activities about Bible translation, and more, and they are also FREE for families, church groups, and ministries.
Praying Through the Produce Aisle
In Praying Through the Produce Aisle, you’ll find study questions, notebooking pages, and coloring sheets to help you turn your next trip through the produce aisle into a missions trip. This 80-page booklet will help you learn about 16 different fruits, the places they come from, and how you can pray for people in every corner of the world.
A Martyr’s Christmas by Bonnie Rose Hudson
A Martyr’s Christmas is a unit study written for elementary-middle school aged children. It is a simple way to explore Colombia, India, Turkey, and Algeria while meeting men and women who have suffered for their faith in Christ at Christmastime.
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I pray you and your family have a very blessed Christmas. May we all remember to pray for those who have yet to hear that the Savior has come.