Scripture: Acts 12:1-19, Acts 9:19-25, II Thessalonians 2:15
Learning Objectives:
- Students will learn that God can provide protection for missionaries.
- Students will learn how the Apostles had to escape to continue to share the Gospel.
- Students will learn that sharing the Gospel doesn’t mean that nothing bad will ever happen.
- Students will learn missionaries may have to sacrifice a regular lifestyle in order to share the Gospel.
Guiding Question: How can God use encouraging friendships to share His love and the Gospel?
Materials: Paper, pencils, crayons
Procedure: Read the stories in Acts 12:1-19 and Acts 9: 19-25. Review with the students how God protected the Apostles and why it was important that the Apostles did not give up even during challenging times. Ask the students if they have ever had a friend or family member that encouraged them during a tough time. How did it make them feel? Why was that encouragement important? Explain that God often uses friends and family members to encourage someone who is feeling down and help them stay close to God.
Introduce the students to the pen pal service project. Prior to the lesson, find a mission team either in your congregation or in the community that serves children. Have each students write a letter to a child that the mission team serves. In this letter, have the students share who they are, where they go to church, tell about God, and provide encouragement. Explain to the students that the mission team will take their letters with them on the next mission and have the children there write them back.
Additional Questions:
- How can the students bring others to Christianity through forming friendships?
Supplemental Activity: Have interested students research how they could become a pen pal to someone in their country or in another country. Let the student begin the pen pal process and share God with the other person throughout the process.