Praying with children

[Bernice Cousins]

I have been trying to show the children in small ways how they can serve their church community. We have had a load of fun doing this. For example: pouring and serving juice to the younger children; icing cup cakes and serving them to the parishioners at their end of service tea. Then the older children were introduced to mission work, non-intrusive and based more on relationships for now. I am now wanting to purchase HUGE maps of the world and to place these in our hall and we will be starting 'Mission Moment" where the children will pick a country, place their hand on that country and pray for that country. News articles will be updated and placed around the map so that they can pray specifically, this should also encourage them to read or listen to the news during the week for any updates on the country they prayed for. I feel that this will help them realise their world is huge and made up of more people than they know, and to care for their well being. Just an idea that I thought that I would share.

[Catherine Montgomery]

I, too, have been introducing the children to mission. I think that it is great if they get an idea of the needs of others and also that God is big enough to care for a whole world. I have introduced prayer in two ways. One is to throw an inflatable globe around a circle and pray for the country under your hand when you catch it. The other is to have cards with a picture of a particular type of need - it may be a tin shack house, a rather parched field, dirty water or a clinic and get the children to pray for these needs for other children just like them.