Releasing Your Family to God’s Destiny

January 9, 2010 by Harvest Ministry  
Filed under Mission-Minded Books

Often, parents and teachers ask their children, “What do YOU want to be when you grow up?” Even within the church, this present generation is fixated on obtaining fame, wealth, and pleasure. But shouldn’t we be encouraging our children’s willingness to surrender to God’s plans for their futures?

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In The Mission-Minded Family, Ann Dunagan presents a plan to transform the “Me Generation” into passionate warriors consumed with God’s glory.

The Mission-Minded Family

(Authentic, 2008) - By Ann Dunagan

Download a FREE SAMPLE! :)

BUY NOW (including discounts for BOXES of 12 or CASES of 48!!!) :)

What Others Are Saying:

GIVE YOUR FAMILY A DANGEROUS DESTINY! “I loved this book! In a time in our country where the tendency is to keep our money and time and children very safe, this book encourages - even pushes - us to get out in the world and make a real difference with the resources we’ve been given. Ann Dunagan is no arm-chair missionary…the pages of the book are filled with actual experiences that she and her husband and kids have done for many years. It totally inspired me to take some big risks and help my kids learn to love the world beyond our doorstep.” - Bo Stern - Bend, Oregon

EDUCATIONAL . . . AND THE COOLEST BOOK! - “The Mission Minded Family” by Ann Dunagan is the coolest book! It has everything: hymns, stories of missions, mini biographies of missionaries, skits, a calendar of international holidays and suggestions for how to pray on those days, tools for teaching mission-mindedness, and even practical tips for missionary travel. This is an educational and informative book whether you’re planning to be a foreign missionary, a local missionary, or just learn about the field.” - Stacey, Las Vegas, NV

ABSOLUTELY INSPIRING! - “In our busy lives, very seldom, do we stop to ask God if we’re truly fulfilling His purposes in our lives. “The Mission Minded Family” opens that line of communication between you and God to have a discussion about His will for your life…Don’t be surprised if you hear God speaking to you in greater ways than you ever imagined. If you are a church leader, I can’t imagine a better resource to promote to your congregation and a better gift to give to your missionary families. Ann Dunagan walks you through her and her husband’s lives as a missionaries and sprinkles it with wisdom coming from her young children who have experienced the power of God in and through their lives. The book is not only a resource that provides you with countless “how-to’s,” but it is filled with the Dunagan family’s missionary experiences that will inspire you and draw you nearer to God.”- CHERI HILL


Seeking First the Kingdom in a Self-Absorbed Culture

A Press Release - by The B & B Media Group

Often, parents and teachers ask their children, “What do YOU want to be when you grow up?” In a world that is increasingly self-seeking, self-centered, and self-absorbed, the answers are consistently more egocentric–”a movie star,” “a rock star,” “a dance star.” Even within the church, this present generation is fixated on obtaining fame, wealth, and pleasure. But shouldn’t we be encouraging our children’s willingness to surrender to God’s plans for their futures? Shouldn’t our question instead be, “Oh, I wonder what awesome plans God has for your life! When you grow up, will you do whatever GOD wants you to do?”

In her new book, The Mission-Minded Family: Releasing Your Family to God’s Destiny (Authentic, July 2008), author, teacher, and missionary, Ann Dunagan shows parents how to combat the influence of the “Me Generation” by giving readers the tools to revolutionize their families into ones dedicated to fulfilling God’s will and potential, instead of their own. In the first chapter of her book, Dunagan quotes David Shibley as he clearly addresses the current crisis within the church.

“We whine, ‘I just want to know my purpose; I’ve got to reach my destiny.” We race all over the country to attend ‘destiny conferences,’ and we devour tapes and books on ‘reaching your full potential . . . ‘ Even cloaking our self-centeredness in Christian garb and jargon cannot cover the nakedness of this cult of self that has infested much of the church . . . How can we ever hope to discover our purpose in the earth with little or no interest in His purpose?”

Dunagan, who also wrote The Mission-Minded Child, brings the same perspective to what it means to be a mission-minded family. Her goal is to equip today’s godly parents to train our next generation to make a powerful impact for Jesus Christ by directing their focus outward. “Every day, approximately 150,000 people die; the majority of these people are not saved, and far too many have never even heard God’s Good News of salvation,” says Dunagan. “How can we sit back and hear the Gospel again and again, while many are still waiting to hear it for the first time? [adapted from a mission quote by Oswald J. Smith]. Today’s Christian families desperately need to remember that our purpose in this world involves so much more than what we can attain for ourselves. We’re here to reach the lost.”

The Mission-Minded Family includes suggested activities for families to participate in missions together, as well as resources to help families develop the desire to become more missions-focused. Dunagan discusses the need for families to balance and prioritize their everyday lives and delves into what a family’s finances would look like if they were focused on missions. Families who read and practice principles from this book will receive a rekindled closeness as they participate in ministry together.

“In a mission-minded family, there’s a God-infused energy,” Dunagan explains. “There’s a focus on God’s worldwide purpose and a passion for the lost.” There’s a spiritual depth and hunger that reaches beyond the maintenance mode of cultural Christianity.”

Packed with motivating missions stories, hymns, and quotes, The Mission-Minded Family is a quick resource tool with examples of missionary family heroes, ministry ideas, exciting prayer projects, and even practical tips for international travel. Filled with passionate inspiration, The Mission-Minded Family will be picked up again and again, read aloud, and used as a reference for years to come.

You can also find The Mission-Minded Family at e316.com, ChristianBook.com, YWAM’s WorldChristian.com, Barnes & Noble, Amazon.com, CBN’s Parable.com, and STL - Authentic Books


Hand Commands - Some Great Reviews!

January 9, 2010 by Harvest Ministry  
Filed under Mission-Minded Books

A Great Homeschooling Review

We recently learned that Eclectic Homeschooling Online published a positive review about Hand Commands, Ann’s little book about teaching the Ten Commandments to children.

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Hand Commands: The Ten Commandments for Little Ones

Publisher: Kregel Publications
Author: Ann Dunagan
Format: Board Book
Ages: Preschool/Kindergarten (and older!)



Review by Jean Hall of Eclectic Homeschooling:

Fingerplays are a wonderful way to teach little ones, and not-so-little ones! In fact, our whole homeschool science class (students from age eight to eighteen and their parents) recently used a fingerplay to memorize the five species of Pacific salmon!

Hand Commands is a charming board book that will help you teach your little ones something much more important: The Ten Commandments.

The book’s introduction is sweet, winsome, drawing the reader gently into the book, and the conclusion encourages storing up God’s Word in the heart. The Ten Commandments are quoted from Scripture on the last two pages. Both the New King James Version (for all but one of the commandments) and the New International Version (just for one of the commandments) are quoted.

The text is simple but not simplistic, illustrated with bright pictures that bring a smile. For each commandment, there’s a photograph (or two) of a child’s hands illustrating the meaning of the verse, an explanation of what the verse means, and the verse as quoted in Exodus 20. The hand motions are quick to learn and easy to remember. (When I think how I struggled to keep all the Commandments straight, myself—I always got the first four in the right order, but it was hard to keep the rest straight for the longest time—I wish I’d had this book a long time ago, for my own sake as well as our little ones’!)

I’ll never mix up the order again. (Can you say the same?)

More Reviews:

Hand Commands

Customer Average Rating at ChristianBook.com:
5 out of 5 stars, (7 of 7 Reviews Showing):

5 out of 5 stars - Reviewed by Gretchen (Snoqualmie), October 25, 2008

We really enjoyed this book. Our whole family learned the 10 commandments in order this summer by reading this book at camp for 5 days. The kids from ages 4-12 can still tell you all the commandments and the older two can recite them out of order or while being questioned, “What’s the 5th commandment?” We have been able to witness to friends and family by sharing what the kids learned! What a blessing.

4.5 out of 5 stars - Reviewed by Stacy (Phoenix, AZ), January 20, 2008

Even though my kids are past board book age, we enjoyed using this book in our homeschool to learn the 10 commandments. We supplemented it with the CD, If You Love Me: Songs for the Ten Commandments, by Judy Rodgers.  We found the motion for the 8th commandment a little tricky — it requires motor and cognitive skills that kids of the recommended age (under 5) will find difficult. For the motion for the 10th commandment, we made a grabbing “give me” motion to accentuate the meaning of “You shall not covet.”

5 out of 5 stars - Reviewed by Elisabeth Dillon (Wichita, KS), October 19, 2007

We are using this book as a supplement to a curriculum for preschoolers and kindergartners on the Ten Commandments. All the children seem to really like the book, from ages 2 to 6. They are picking up the hand moves and having a fun time. One of the best unintended benefits is for the adults teaching and for the parents of the children. I have had numerous adults say that they have never memorized God’s commands and that this book is helping them! We have actually ordered numerous extras to sell to parents wishing to augment their learning and their children’s by having this book in their home. Highly recommended for ALL ages.

5 out of 5 stars - Reviewed by Ernest (Tulsa, Oklahoma), January 10, 2007

This tiny little book offers a whole lot more to “ALL” age groups. I am a 21 year old male, and learning the 10 commandments in order in a very simple way has been a joy to my heart. This book is easy to read, easy to follow, happy, and God-honoring, and its not just for kids, but adults as well!

5 out of 5 stars - Reviewed by Pam Hughes (White Salmon, WA), January 08, 2007

Sometimes wonderful, precious things come in small packages and this is exactly what you will find in “Hand Commands!.” Our church bought 75 books to put in “Operation Christmas Child” shoe boxes. We like having some for the children in our Nursery and Pre-school programs too! A great gift that children of all ages can treasure for eternity as they hide God’s Word in their heart!

5 out of 5 stars - Reviewed by Tiffany Westby (Aberdeen, SD), January 03, 2007

I love the book “Hand Commands”! We are a family of seven and each one of us who read the book ONCE was able to say the 10 commandments in order, using the hand motions! Did I mention that 4 of my 5 kids are teenagers and THEY think it’s neat? My pastor loves the book and we are going to use it for baby dedication gifts. You will be amazed at this little book.

5 out of 5 stars - Reviewed by Lorraine (The Dalles, OR), December 22, 2006

The bold colors and pictures of little children quickly caught the attention of my 21 month grandson Josiah. The ‘Hand Commands’ were very easy to follow and fun to learn. Josiah was able to imitate most of the commands, I know it won’t be long before he has them all down. These scriptures are so important to learn for our everyday lives they lay a foundation for our children to walk upon, and you have presented them in a way that children will not only learn from but enjoy reading over and over again. I’ve bought four copies for each of my grand children and my nephew.

To order Hand Commands, at Christianbook.com

Click Here!

What is a Mission-Minded Family?

December 31, 2009 by Harvest Ministry  
Filed under Mission-Minded Books

In a mission-minded family, there’s a God-infused energy. There’s a focus on God’s worldwide purpose, and there’s a passion for the lost. There’s a spiritual depth and hunger that reaches beyond the maintenance mode of cultural Christianity.

A mission-minded family emphasizes leadership, calling, and destiny. There’s a prevailing attitude of self-sacrifice and an emphasis on total submission to God’s will. And there’s an unmistakable and contagious joy.

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A mission-minded family . . .

  • loves to make God smile!
  • learns to be diligent, because there’s work to be done and many needs in this world
  • brings a stack of well-worn Bibles to church!
  • enjoys presents at Christmastime, but never forgets all the poor little children in Cambodia who have nothing.
  • is focused on eternity.
  • knows how to look up Afghanistan, Bolivia, Singapore, and Tibet, and imagines more than what they see on a map.
  • eats rice!
  • learns how to share the “gospel colors” and is excited about the miniature EvangeCube that can hook to a kid’s backpack.
  • dreams of traveling around the world and makes sure each person has an updated passport–just in case!
  • thinks about the Irish on St. Patrick’s Day–and all the people wearing green who don’t have a clue that Patrick was a missionary.
  • lives in SUB-mission!
  • shakes missionaries’ hands after church and invites their family over for dinner.
  • knows that when the Lord guides, He also provides.
  • keeps the lawn mowed, as a good Christian witness to the neighbors.
  • is strategically aimed for God’s purpose.
  • anticipates the excitement of the teenage years and looks forward to youth group mission trips.
  • keeps active and healthy in order to be physically able to do whatever God requires.
  • gives generously–even when it hurts!
  • enjoys carryon luggage with wheels, final boarding calls, and airline peanuts.
  • thinks beyond the box of what’s merely expected and hope to do something big (or something little) for God.
  • lives for Jesus!

t682047469_1919124_89151This article by Ann Dunagan, is an excerpt from her newest book, The Mission-Minded Family - Releasing Your Family to God’s Destiny (Authentic Media, 2008). It is also a featured article on The Christian Post’s “Better Parenting - Better Families” Blog.

Motivating for Missions at FamilyLife

November 23, 2009 by Harvest Ministry  
Filed under Mission-Minded Books

THE MISSION-MINDED FAMILY on FamilyLifeToday:
Ann Dunagan with Dennis Rainey and Bob Lepine - Click on each link for the broadcast and full transcript of each interview

DAY #1 of 3 on FamilyLifeToday - “Living a Life of Surrender”
DAY #2 of 3 on FamilyLifeToday - “Leading Your Family in the Great Commission”
DAY #3 of 3 on FamilyLifeToday - “Preparing for Missions”

More about Ann’s Mission-Minded books featured on the broadcast:
The Mission-Minded Family - Releasing Your Family to God’s Destiny
The Mission-Minded Child - Raising a New Generation to Fulfill God’s Purpose

Ann traveled to Little Rock, Arkansas to record six radio programs at the ministry studios of Family Life (three programs for Family Life Today with Bob Lepine and Dennis Rainey and three programs for the women’s ministry of Revive Our Hearts with Nancy Leigh DeMoss, which will broadcast at a later date). The shows focused on the importance of God’s Great Commission and being a “Mission-Minded Family.” It was an amazing experience! Thank you for your prayers (and thank you, Jesus!!!).

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Ann’s Books & Mission-Minded Resources

Books for Families and Children:

Click on each book cover for more information.

The Mission-Minded Child hThe Mission-Minded Family

The Mission-Minded Child and The Mission-Minded Family in cases of 12 - at Biblica

IMPACT FAMILIES FOR WORLD MISSIONS

The Mission-Minded Child and The Mission-Minded Family

Both books are now available in BOXES of 12 and CASES of 44 (TMMC) & 48 (TMMF)

to help you & your church or ministry to IMPACT families for MISSIONS!

See Biblica for special prices! :)

Free Teaching Materials and Curriculum:

(Mission-Minded Curriculum for Homeschool Families, Churches, & Christian Schools)

Be sure to see all of our FREE Mission-Minded Family Resources! :)

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Articles & Devotionals:

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On-Line articles:

Example of Ann’s speaking and preaching:

Combating today’s “Me-First” Culture

August 19, 2009 by Harvest Ministry  
Filed under Mission-Minded Books

Interview on “He’s Alive” Radio

Our kids need to know that there’s a world beyond ourselves; there’s a world beyond our house; there’s even a world beyond our local city. The whole world desperately needs to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ, and our children need to hear about this need and God’s bigger perspective.

In this audio file, you can listen to Ann as she talks about having a  The Mission Minded Family, and some practical ideas to combat today’s “Me-First” culture. As Christian parents, we need to focus our families on God’s Great Commission . . . and live for eternity.

Do Your Kids Know God’s Ten Commandments?

April 15, 2009 by Harvest Ministry  
Filed under Mission-Minded Books

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With Hand Commands, kids can learn God’s Ten Commandments using simple hand motions. It’s a fun way for all ages to discover how to LOVE GOD and LOVE OTHERS!


Ann Interviews with Kregel about Hand Commands

Kregel Publications: Where did you get the idea for putting together a children’s book that teaches the Ten Commandments through hand motions?

Ann: Actually, my husband, Jon, was out on a prayer walk one day, and strongly felt impressed that I should put these Ten Commandment hand motions into a little board book for preschool children. That very day, I took some spontaneous photos of our own little kids—just out in our front yard—added the simple verse, and originally titled it Oh, How I Love God’s Law! It took a long time to find a publisher—and I almost gave up—but during this waiting time, the concept was refined and retitled as Hand Commands. Surprisingly, the final book includes most of the original photographs taken that first day, along with a few other new favorites—including a photo of a little Ugandan boy from Harvest Ministry’s Osanidde Village orphanage.

You are a home-schooling mom and have experience with children’s ministry. How has that contributed to the concept of Hand Commands?

Years ago, I was asked to teach a ten-week series about the Ten Commandments to the children at our home church. However, as I began to prepare, I realized that I actually didn’t know them all—especially in order. Eventually, I wracked my brain and finally came up with all ten in some random, hodge podge order, but I was very frustrated at myself—especially because I grew up in a wonderful godly family and rarely missed a day of church throughout my entire life. I couldn’t believe that I didn’t really know something as vitally important as the Ten Commandments; and over the years, I’ve found that many other God-fearing people are in this same situation. We discuss the importance of keeping God’s Ten Commandments visible in public places, yet we haven’t always kept them in our hearts. . . .

In my frustration, I earnestly asked God to help me create a visual method to remember the Ten Commandments in a way that I could easily teach kids—and I believe He helped me. As a long-time homeschooling mom, I’ve used these Hand Commands to teach my own seven children, and as a kids’ minister and international missionary, I’ve used them to help share about “sin” and our need for the Gospel. As a mother and a teacher . . . I enjoy children’s books that convey a sweet tenderness (especially those that share the love between a parent and a child), and I appreciate books that convey the spiritual capability in children to deeply love God. In writing Hand Commands, I attempted to convey both.

Will your book help children with different learning styles learn the Ten Commandments?

Yes! The book’s hand motions work well for visual learners, and also for those who benefit from kinesthetic activities. It’s geared for very young children, yet I’ve actually used these same hand motions to teach older children, teens, and even adults. The photos in the book are engaging, colorful, and vivid; the wording is simple, yet thought-provoking; and the hand motions are easy to remember. It’s just a little board book, but this concept for teaching the Ten Commandments really works!

Are you hoping that kids will also gain knowledge of the “spirit of the law” as well as knowledge of what they are?

Absolutely! It’s not enough to just know God’s laws in our head. Instead, God wants us to personally know HIM as our loving Heavenly Father and our closest Friend, and He wants us to want to follow His purposes for our lives. Through this little book, I hope both children and adults will sense my deep love for God and His Word, and that they will be encouraged to obey His commands.

Why did you design Hand Commands to have parental involvement?

As teachers and ministers, we can impact the lives of children in a profound way; however, we need to remember that God has actually given the primary child-training responsibility to the parents. When I share in church or school settings, I do my best to make a lasting difference; yet, I realize that my influence as a teacher is more temporary and limited than that of the children’s parents. One of my greatest passions is to inspire and encourage parents, because as moms and dads, they have the greatest potential (for good or for bad) to influence their children. If a parent commits to godly child training, that influence can continue day-after-day and year-after-year. It isn’t limited to school hours on Monday-through-Friday or to service times at church. A parent’s influence continues all throughout a child’s life and even—as future grandparents—into the next generation.

There’s something special that happens when a mommy snuggles up on the couch with her little one to read a godly children’s book, or when a daddy lifts his kids onto his lap to share from his heart about why he loves God.

Can Hand Commands be utilized in a school, Sunday school, or VBS setting? How?

I’ve shared these Hand Commands in many settings—in elementary schools, family camps, Vacation Bible schools, and in churches. They’re very quick and fun to learn, and easy for all ages to remember. Each hand motion is mentally connected to the “concept” of the commandment (not to our English words), so these motions can even be used in cross-cultural settings. They’ve worked in remote African villages and with hundreds of inner-city kids in Brooklyn, New York. I’ve used them to teach adult Bible college students and pastors (you’d be amazed at how rare it is to find people—even among faithful church goers—who can recite all Ten Commandments in order). These Hand Commands “connect” each commandment with its particular number so children and teachers can always remember them—both in and out of order. Quick! Do you know the sixth commandment? What about the third? As a Sunday school teacher, VBS leader, or elementary school teacher, the Ten Commandments are always appropriate, and with these easy-to-remember finger motions, a teacher will always have a quick “stash” of instant lessons (with ready-to-use “visuals” and hands-on student interaction) if a class time goes unexpectedly long. These Hand Commands can be reviewed quickly—at a moment’s notice—or a teacher can take time to expand upon each commandment.

commandHow can parents help the Ten Commandments take root in their children’s hearts—not just their heads?

When I began to write this little book, the words, “Oh, how I love God’s law!” from Psalms 119:97 were ringing in my mind. I wanted to convey something much deeper than religious legalism with its “do’s” and “don’ts” and endless regulations. Instead, I wanted to convey—to both children and adults—an attitude of deep love for God and a heart desire to want to follow God’s word and His ways. Living for God is not just following rules or trying to not get caught when we do something sneaky. As parents and teachers, we should encourage children to live their whole lives (even when no one is looking) to bring God pleasure and glory. Jesus summed up all the law with just two commandments: “Love the LORD your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself”; but even these two simple rules could never be continually kept without God’s help. God gave His law to show us His will and how we’ve all missed it—and to reveal our desperate need for His salvation. In fact, that’s why Jesus came to die on the cross. Jesus died to pay the penalty for our disobedience to His laws. We’re all saved by God’s grace—not by merely “knowing” the rules in our heads and trying to keep them.

In Hand Commands, you use Proverbs 7:1, 3, which says, “My son, keep my words, and treasure my commands…bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart.” Why did you choose that verse?

I got so excited when I found this verse—and it actually served as a motivating Scripture that kept compelling me to share these Ten Commandment hand motions in a book form! This verse conveys the central theme of Hand Commands—of instilling in the hearts of our children a heart attitude that sees God’s Word and His commandments as incredibly precious. We all need to “treasure” God’s commands, and as parents and teachers, God wants us to convey this heart attitude with our children. I think it’s wonderful how God wrote His law—with His own great hand—on tablets of stone, and now He wants us to keep His law written on the “tablet” of our hearts. I also love how this verse says to “bind” God’s commands “on your fingers” because Hand Commands teaches finger motions to remember the Ten Commandments.

What is the one thing you hope Hand Commands accomplishes?

As with every area of my life, I hope Hand Commands will bring glory to God. I’d love to see the idea of these simple hand motions spreading like wildfire to help parents and ministers to teach the Ten Commandments—and to help share why we all need God’s salvation—because we’ve all fallen short of God’s laws. I also hope parents and teachers will catch my passionate love for God and His Word, and the importance of instilling this passion into the next generation.

hcad



Hand Commands

The Ten Commandments for Little Ones

By Ann Dunagan - Kregel Publications

Board book

“Oh, how I love God’s Law!”

“God’s mighty words He wrote on stone,
Carved with His own GREAT HANDS,
And with ten little fingers, you can learn
God’s mighty TEN COMMANDS!”


Original location of Ann’s interview with Kregel

A Review of Hand Commands by Eclectic Homeschooling

You can find Hand Commands at:
Christianbook.com, Kregel Publications, and Amazon.com

The Mission-Minded Child

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David Livingstone once said, “This generation can only reach this generation.” But will we raise our children to effectively impact their generation for Jesus Christ?

In The Mission-Minded Child, Ann Dunagan equips and motivates parents and teachers to raise a new generation for God’s mission, whatever that may be!

The Mission-Minded Child
Raising a New Generation to Fulfill God’s Purpose

By Ann Dunagan (Authentic, 2007)

Download a FREE SAMPLE! :)
BUY NOW (including discounts for BOXES of 12 or CASES of 44!!!) :)

Also, see Ann’s newest book:
The Mission-Minded Family: Releasing Your Family to God’s Destiny

Raising a New Generation to Fulfill God’s Purpose

The Mission-Minded Child is a practical book to encourage Christian parents and teachers placed in the strategic position of impacting the next generation. As a guide to world missions, The Mission-Minded Child is filled with facts, information, and tools for teaching. It focuses on the “why” of missions—including our Biblical basis, historical heritage and the world’s need—and contains over 25 mini-missionary biographies, motivational mission stories, classic poems, hymns, and hundreds of easy-to-use ideas.

The Mission-Minded Child will inspire teachers and parents to look for God’s potential in their child, “release” their little one to God for His purposes, and “raise” their child to fulill God’s specific mission. As a resource tool, this book will be referred to again and again.

Endorsements

Ann, you have done a fantastic job [in writing The Mission-Minded Child] . . .Just think, the mature (31-year-old) missionary of 2025 is 10 years-old-today! May this generation rise up and fulfill the Great Commission, hastening the coming of our LORD!”
– Dorothea Lander, Children’s Mobilization Coordinator for Wycliffe USA

May the Lord bless you in your publishing of this needed book. We are truly hoping the Lord will open our children’s eyes and hearts to the tremendous harvest field that they may be called to work in someday. I know that living in a Third-World country broadens our perspectives and helps us to see the bigger picture of God’s redemptive plan, so that’s what we’re praying for our children. May the Lord bless The Mission-Minded Child and your efforts for Him. – Mrs. Valerie Shepard, Pastor’s wife, missionary, homeschooling mother, and daughter of Jim & Elisabeth Elliot

We pray that The Mission-Minded Child will be a continued encouragement to your readers, to God’s glory. – Helen Davidson, assistant to the director, THE JESUS FILM

You can find The Mission-Minded Child at e316.com, ChristianBook.com, WorldChristian.com, Barnes & Noble, Amazon.com, STL - Authentic Books,

Chapter 1 - The Mission-Minded Family

February 8, 2009 by Harvest Ministry  
Filed under Mission-Minded Books

Recently, The Mission-Minded Family was featured in the “WILD-CARD Blog Tour” and on a wide variety of blogs (with quite a number of positive reviews!).

mmf1I hope you enjoy this sample chapter:

The Mission-Minded Family - Chapter 1 

Releasing Your Family to God’s Destiny

God has a destiny for your family. He has an individual plan for each member, as well as a “corporate” purpose for you as a family unit. God will help you, as parents, to train each child toward God’s mission for his or her life, and He will help you to focus your family toward making a strong impact for His kingdom—in your community, in your church, in your children’s schools, and in the world. The Bible says in Psalm 127:4, “Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth.”

This verse recently “hit” me in a new way as I was attending a graduation party. During the evening, a group of church leaders, led by the graduate’s father, gathered to pray for this young man. He had been raised to have a fervent heart for God and for world missions, and we prayed for God’s purposes to be fulfilled. As I laid my hands on the graduate’s mom (my dear friend Karen), I could sympathize with her mixed feelings: happiness and pride combined with a sad realization that this season in their family’s life was coming to an end. As we prayed, I “saw” (in my mind’s eye) her eighteen-year-old son as a straight arrow in a bow. Afterward, I leaned over and whispered in my friend’s ear, “You know, Karen, it’s not enough just to aim our arrows; to hit the target we’ve got to release the string!”

As our children grow, there will be repeated times of releasing each one to God: letting go of a little hand as a baby takes that first wobbly step . . . letting go of total educational control as a child steps onto that school bus or enrolls in that first college course. Or what about that moment when we let go of the car keys and an eager teenager plops into the driver’s seat of our car and takes control of the steering wheel?

Sometimes it’s very scary.

As I write this chapter, my husband and I have a nearly twenty-year old son climbing a dangerous mountain and then the following week heading to Oxford, England for a summer-long study-abroad program. Our eighteen-year-old son just graduated from high school and will soon be moving to a university two thousand miles from home. Our nearly sixteen-year-old daughter is just about to get her driver’s license.

No matter how many times I have released my children, I continually need to rely on God’s fresh grace for today’s particular moment. Whether it’s dropping off a little one into the arms of a church nursery worker or dropping off a young adult at an international airport, I need to trust God.

Just like Hannah released her little Samuel, I have surrendered each child to the Lord; yet I still have times when God convicts me that I need to rely on Him even more. At a deeper level, I need to continue to trust Him. With faith, I need to trust that God will direct each of my kids to fulfill His purposes (without me pushing them to do what I want). I need to trust that God will bring just the right spouse for each of my sons and daughters (without me trying to make something happen). And I need to trust God that He will protect my children as they begin to step out to fulfill His destiny (without me worrying or trying to figure it out).

As I have thought about this need to totally release each of my children to God’s purposes, I have tried to imagine—in my own finite way—what our heavenly Father must have experienced when He released His Child. God never struggles, but I believe He can relate to my feelings (and yours). He too had to release His Son—His only Son—in order to fulfill His plans for this earth.

Imagine with me:

What if someday God called one of my children . . . let’s just say, for an example, to go on a summer mission trip to Calcutta, India?

Would I be able to send him or her with confidence and joy?

If my husband and I prayed about the particular outreach and God gave us His peace about it, I know I would. My husband and I would uphold our child in prayer, and we would trust God’s direction. And as a mom, I would rely on Him for grace.

But the sacrifice God made was far greater . . .

What if someday a child of ours decided to move to Calcutta, India, for perhaps ten months . . . or ten years . . . or even longer? Could I handle that?

That would be much harder.

Although it would be difficult to live so far apart, I would do my best to support him or her through regular prayer and communication (and I would definitely hope for e-mail access!). If my grown child had a family, I would really miss getting to know my child’s spouse and his or her family; and I can hardly imagine how much I would yearn for time with those future grandchildren. Yet, if God was calling my child, I would let my child go . . . and rely on Him for extra grace.

But God’s sacrifice was still far greater . . .

So, to take the analogy one step further, what if my husband and I, back in time about twenty years ago, were expecting our first child, and God told us that He wanted us to surrender this precious newborn—right from birth? What if God said He had chosen a poor couple in Calcutta, India, to raise our baby? What if He said our little one would grow up in some obscure squatter village . . . would live among filth and poverty . . . would spend his life helping people . . . and, in the end, would be rejected, hated, and brutally killed by the very people he was sent to help?

Would I send my son to do that? How could I?

But (perhaps) that is a glimpse of what God did for us.

If we are going to raise a generation of world changers, it is likely that we will need to surrender our children into areas that may make us uncomfortable. He could call our child to pioneer a megachurch in a crowded inner city or to raise a large, God-fearing family in a quiet rural town. He may want our child to impact a corrupt political system or to redirect a greed-motivated business. He could call our precious son to enlist in the military or our pure daughter to have an effect on the media. He could call our child to Cairo, Egypt . . . or to New York City . . . or maybe even to Calcutta, India.

As mission-minded parents, will we “let go” of those arrows and encourage each child to fulfill the Lord’s plans? Or will we be God’s greatest hindrance?

It’s a heart issue, and it’s big.

Just as God released His Son for us, we need to totally release each of our children—again and again, every day—for His eternal purposes.

Pursuing God’s Purposes

An excerpt from The Missions Addiction, by David Shibley.

We whine, “I just want to know my purpose; I’ve got to reach my destiny.” We race all over the country to attend “destiny conferences,” and we devour tapes and books on “reaching your full potential.” It would be amusing if it were not so appalling. Even cloaking our self-centeredness in Christian garb and jargon cannot cover the nakedness of this cult of self that has infested much of the church. How can we ever hope to discover our purpose in the earth with little or no interest in His purpose? How will we ever know our destiny when we have so little identification with God’s destiny for the nations? It certainly is good to pray, “Lord, what is Your will for my life?” But even this can be a self-absorbed prayer. It is far better to pray, “Lord, what is Your will for my generation? How do You want my life to fit into Your plan for my times?”

Pursuing God’s purposes, not our own, is the path to personal fulfillment.

We’ve a Story to Tell to the Nations
A missions hymn, by H. Ernest Nichol (1862–1928)

We’ve a story to tell to the nations,
That shall turn their hearts to the right,
A story of truth and mercy,
A story of peace and light
A story of peace and light.

Chorus:

For the darkness shall turn to dawning,
And the dawning to noonday bright,
And Christ’s great kingdom shall come on earth,
The kingdom of love and light.
We’ve a song to be sung to the nations,
That shall lift their hearts to the Lord,
A song that shall conquer evil,
And shatter the spear and sword,
And shatter the spear and sword.

We’ve a message to give to the nations,
That the Lord who reigneth above
Hath sent us His Son to save us,
And show us that God is love,
And show us that God is love.

We’ve a Savior to show to the nations,
Who the path of sorrow hath trod,
That all of the world’s great peoples
May come to the truth of God,
May come to the truth of God!

Chorus:
For the darkness shall turn to dawning,
And the dawning to noonday bright,
And Christ’s great kingdom shall come on earth,
The kingdom of love and light.

“I have seen the Vision and for self I cannot live;
Life is less than worthless till my all I give.”

Oswald J. Smith


If you enjoyed the chapter (or if you’ve read the book), let me know what you think. And how can we encourage others to be more mission-minded?

Blessings to you and your family!
Ann