Many times you hear of supporting a “good cause”, from giving money to a children’s hospital to walking in a walk that raises money for cancer patients there are a world of “good causes” out there that you can be apart of and teach your children about, however there is no greater cause than the cause of Christ.  Don’t get me wrong, I believe that we should support great causes such as those I mentioned, but even more so, I believe we should teach our children to be “mission-minded”.

I grew up in a “mission-minded” church, today I attend and volunteer in another “mission-minded” church.  These church families believe in missions, “telling others the good news of Jesus Christ”.  We support missions through prayer, education and financial support, some of our members go on mission trips and we do our best to spread the good news of Jesus Christ.  As a child I attended a missions group for girls and I now direct a similar group for teen girls in my local church.

I hope to raise “mission-minded” kids.  It is my goal that they understand that missions is “every Christian’s responsibility” not just those who choose to give more by becoming a missionary and traveling to or living on the other side of the world, but we are all called to “live out” the Great Commission,

“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Matthew 28:18-20 (NIV)

Teach your daughter about missions, give her the opportunity to give to and pray for missions, maybe even take a “family mission trip” or allow her to go with a group on a missions trip. It will be a life changing experience. It will make an impact on her.

Never forget why we are saved, to carry on the news of salvation to others, and that involves being “missions-minded”, it is our Greatest Mission!

Photo credit: ba1969

This is the final post in a series on Stewardship. You can begin at the first post by clicking here. From there you can follow the links to each of the 5 posts in this series.

What else is it important to be a good steward of… what about your belongings, your possessions. Again we want to find out if you are a faithful steward. Do you remember what that is. Let’s review, Are you a STEWARD? Let’s find out what this word means.

A steward is a man who manages or takes care of another’s property. The word actually means “the manager of a house.” It does not mean the OWNER of the house, but it means the MANAGER of the house.

Most of us do not need to have a steward. We are not too rich, and the few possessions that we do have we can look after and take care of ourselves. But if a man has 10 houses, 8 boats, 150 acres of land, 500 head of cattle, 3 swimming pools, 25 cars, 8 trucks and one oil field, then certainly he would not be able to take care of all these possessions by himself. He would need men to help him manage all of these things. A steward is a manager–one who is responsible to take care of those things that belong to someone else.

Are you a STEWARD? Are you responsible to take care of those things that belong to someone else? You might say, “I’m not a STEWARD, I’m an OWNER. I do not own very much, but I do own some things. I own some clothes, some books and some other important possessions that are in my room. These things are mine and I own them. I own them and I take care of them.”

Suppose you were to save up some money and finally you buy an electronic or video game which you have always wanted. Would this game be yours? Would you be the owner of it? It is yours because YOU BOUGHT IT!

Usually when we own something, we also own everything that goes with it. For example, if your parents own a car, then usually they also own the radio that is in the car and the things that are in the trunk of the car and the spare tire and anything else that goes along with the car. Suppose you were to own a pet hamster. Probably you would also own the hamster’s cage and water bottle and food and exercise wheel and whatever else comes with the hamster.

The same is true with God and the believer. Not only does God own the believer, but He also owns everything that goes with the believer. Not only does God own ME, but He also owns everything that I have–my clothes, my money, my possessions, my body and everything else that is mine! It’s all His! He’s the OWNER!

If God is the OWNER, then this means that I am the STEWARD. I am the one who should take good care of these things that belong to God. I am the one who is responsible to be a good manager of my clothes, my body, my money, my possessions and all that I have, because all of these things really belong to the Lord!

One things for sure our teens need to learn about giving back to the Lord.  A good way to do this is to have them to complete a course in finances such as Financial Peace for the Next Generation by Dave Ramsey.