Releasing Your Family to God’s Destiny
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 . . . ”
Introducing:
THE MISSION-MINDED FAMILY
Releasing Your Family to God’s Destiny
By Ann Dunagan (Published by InterVarsity Press)
Seeking First the Kingdom in a Self-Absorbed Culture
A Press Release by B & B Media Group, Dallas, TX:
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 book, The Mission-Minded Family: Releasing Your Family to God’s Destiny (InterVarsity Press), 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 ChristianBook.com, YWAM Publishing, Amazon.com, CBN’s Parable.com, and STL – Authentic Books
Inspire your family, and others, for missions!
Discounts for BULK orders or MINISTRY/CHURCH orders
(For sets of 2, 12, or 24)
It’s easy to mentor FAMILIES with The Mission-Minded Child & The Mission-Minded Family. Get a set for yourself and a few friends, and go through the books together. Take the FREE 40-Day Family Challenge, or start a mentoring group in your home or church (be sure to see our new FREE online Mission-Minded Families study guide for small groups…)
The Praying Mommas & the Screaming Babies
Finding God’s balance for motherhood and ministry is sometimes a difficult (and continually changing) tug-of-war; but I believe the struggle is healthy.
— By Ann Dunagan
As a homeschooling mother of seven, I place a high priority on God’s calling to care for our own children; however, I also feel a call of God’s heart for the needs of world missions, and for the lost. I know that multitudes around the world desperately need God’s salvation, and multitudes of orphan children are in need.
Most of the time, just doing another load of laundry . . . or drilling the kids on their grammar . . . or reading a bedtime story . . . doesn’t seem as vital. But God sees the big picture. He highly esteems motherhood, and He values a faithful mom who is willing to lay down her “big dreams” . . . to serve her family.
The “healthy” ministry/motherhood tug-of-war
If you’re a mission-minded mother (a Christian mom with a heart for others), I’m sure you’ve felt this tug-of-war between motherhood and ministry.
Our children need to know that we love them; but they also need to know that we have a heart for others. Our kids need to know that we care about their needs, but also that they’re not the center of the universe, and that others are also in need. Finding the balance can be a struggle; but I believe the process of finding God’s daily divine balance is a healthy evaluation process, both for ourselves and for our family.
We all face this struggle . . .
Perhaps the phone rings, and your friend begins pouring our her heart about a desperate situation. Maybe a fragile marriage is falling apart, or someone at church was just rushed to the hospital. These needs are real, and often urgent. How do we find the right “combo” for each day, and each season of our lives? How do we balance these pressing needs with the ongoing “everyday” needs of our own family?
This personal testimony of “The Praying Mommas and the Screaming Babies” is from one of our Africa mission trips years ago. The story has continually reminded me to seek the Lord’s divine calling for each day. I have found that the key to finding God’s balance is to stay in communication with God through prayer; however, He sees the full picture of both motherhood and ministry.
God sees the world’s needs, and He also sees our children. And if you’re a mom, God will speak to you, as a mother.
The Praying Mommas and the Screaming Babies
About five thousand women gathered for a week of ministry, teaching, and worship. The accommodations for our African village conference were humble. Bamboo awnings covered with tarps provided shade from the hot sun, and most of the women simply brought straw mats for sleeping. Many women also brought little children and nursing babies, whom they cared for as they listened to the sessions.
One morning, I got up and took an early morning prayer-walk, and I was blessed (and challenged) to see hundreds of women gathered for a time of fervent prayer.
As I walked quietly behind the group, I noticed a few women who were praying very hard and loud, but then I noticed that these women were totally oblivious to the needs of their little babies–sitting with bare bottoms in wet little puddles in the dirt, screaming at the top of their lungs. As I watched for a few moments, I wondered what God thought about their fervent prayers. One by one I picked up the babies and tried to help them stop crying, handing each one to his or her momma.
Later that day I shared with the women about the importance of balancing our ministry with our family priorities. Yet I was also challenge on a personal level. How many times does God see my own out-of-balance efforts, like when I’m at work on the computer or busy with a mission project–and my little kids are plopped down in front of one-too-many videos?
I want God to hear my prayers, and I want my efforts to be actions of obedience. I need to keep balanced.
“Ponder the path of your feet,
And let all your ways be established.”
–Proverbs 4:26
Mission-Minded Moms – on Revive Our Hearts
Interview on Revive Our Hearts — Nancy Leigh DeMoss (Wolgemuth) with Ann Dunagan
(The following is an excerpt from Ann’s interview about “The Mission-Minded Family” on Revive Our Hearts — a nation-wide radio program for Christian women.)
I WAS NAKED, AND YOU CLOTHED ME…
ANN: The Lord has dug deep in my heart about the need of orphans. There were times where we would be in an area, and there were all these little naked children around. I just remember it began to stir in my heart so deeply. There was one point in particular that reminded me of a Hudson Taylor quote. As a young man, he said, “I feel like I cannot go on living unless I do something for China.”
I had gotten to this point where I felt like I could not go back to Africa again unless we did something big for orphans. There was this burning desire that just kept burning deeper. I finally just got to the point where I felt like I was about to explode. “I can’t come back here again unless we do something for these orphan children.”
NANCY: There’s a passage in Proverbs 31 that I know has been meaningful to you that talks about having this heart.
ANN: When we look at Proverbs 31, we usually start in verse 10. Proverbs 31:10 begins, “Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies” (KJV). Well, if you read the whole thing in context, some of my favorite verses in the Bible are Proverbs 31:8-9, which say, “Open your mouth for the speechless, in the cause of those who are appointed to die. Open your mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and the needy.” (NKJV) The Lord began working in my heart about the importance of opening up my mouth and sharing, pleading the cause. Being ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading though us. God is seeing the injustice in this world. He sees children who are dying. He sees all of these needs. He wants for us to open our mouth and plead the cause of the poor and the needy.
NANCY: And it goes on in Proverbs 31:20, “She opens her hands to poor, and reaches out her hands to the needy” (ESV). So she doesn’t just think about this. This isn’t a burden she carries on her heart. It’s something she actually does something about in some practical, tangible way to help to meet these needs of the needy and poor around her.
ANN: There was this one time that my kids and I had done this major closet purging effort. We had gotten some sacks of clothes. The kids’ closet was a major disaster area. I thought, “Okay, we are going to conquer the closets.” So we took a couple days and organized the closets. W e picked up all the hangers. We had the giveaway pile and the throwaway pile. It was a major effort to get all these clothes organized.
It was shortly after that that I headed over to Uganda. I was doing this one women’s conference, and there were children everywhere around that place that were naked. There was one little boy in particular that had this ripped up shirt. He was the same age as my son Daniel, who at that time was thirteen years old. This boy had a ripped up t-shirt, no shorts, and no underwear. When I would go by, he would pull his shirt down so I couldn’t see. It just dug in my heart because I was thinking of even how proud I felt of my ridiculously conquered closets.
I went back to this little room I was staying in under the mosquito net, and I just said, “Lord, what do you want me to do?” I remember that God just dropped in my heart and said, “Ann, I am the one naked on these streets. Are you going to do something about it?” I just remember thinking, “What can I do?” We had a little bit of money, and we went and bought armloads of clothes. I thought, “This will be fun. We’ll clothe all these little naked kids running around.”
So our family started passing out these clothes and were trying to match up boy with boy clothes and girl with girl clothes. I thought this was a little, noble fun thing; this will be great. As we began, mothers came running from different areas of the village. Then word began to spread, and people came running, holding up little naked children, asking, “Can we have some of some of these clothes?” There was such a swarm of people around us that we ended up getting in the back of the truck. That didn’t work. I ended up on top of the cab of the truck, trying to pass out these clothes.
What I thought was going to be a wonderful thing ended up in pathetic pandemonium. It did something deep in my heart where I thought, “You know, the Bible says, ‘I was naked, and you didn’t clothe me'” (Matthew 25:43). I just came home, and I got a bunch of kids’ churches together with our own family to be a part of this. We thought, “What can we do to clothe the children in this village? All those kids that weren’t able to get something.” That was exciting.
NANCY: What did you do?
ANN: We did! We got a bunch of kids’ churches together, put up these little thermometers, and said, “We’re going to clothe a few of these villages. Who wants to come and help with $5 or $10?”
Our son, Daniel, during this particular time, God moved in his heart in a very real way. He had some savings. He had some money he was trying to save up so he could open up a checking account. He kept thinking about that little kid that was his age that didn’t have any shorts, only had one ripped up t-shirt and not even underwear. It just moved his heart in a very deep way. I remember, he went and dumped out all the money on his bed and came and gave us all of his savings and said, “I want to help those kids.” It was exciting. It was something that God had moved in his heart.
NANCY: So his faith is becoming his own faith, not just riding the spiritual coattails of his parents.
ANN: When God does something inside the hearts of our children, it is so precious.
Missions and Family Finances
If you’re needing some help or ideas about raising money for missions, here is a chapter from The Mission-Minded Family. (Note, this is personally sent from Ann Dunagan. Out of respect from my book publisher, please do not share this publicly. Thanks.)
Money Chapter — from The Mission-Minded Family
Missions and Family Finances — click here < < <
Blessings to you!
Ann
Hot off the press preview of THE SCARLET CORD!!!
It’s a dream coming true . . .
The Scarlet Cord: Nothing but the Blood of Jesus is a concise call to world missions. This brand-new little book, co-authored by Jon & Ann Dunagan of Harvest Ministry, has been a dream of our hearts for many, many years.
And it’s finally becoming a reality!
An Excerpt . . .
From the Preface of The Scarlet Cord . . .
Jesus Christ allowed His hands and feet to be pierced by Roman nails.
As His blood flowed down that rugged cross, it was God’s love that was poured out for you and for this world. As we were writing this little book, we prayed for those of you who would someday read these pages, and as we prayed, that word “pierced” kept coming to our minds.
Our Lord was pierced because of God’s perfect love.
As you take hold of The Scarlet Cord: Nothing but the Blood of Jesus, may God’s passion pierce Your heart.
–Jon & Ann Dunagan
A Review . . .
“I have just finished reading The Scarlet Cord: Nothing but the Blood of Jesus. This powerful book has put a fresh fire in my heart for world evangelization.
To those serious about world missions, I recommend this book strongly, and to those not serious about world missions, I recommend it even more.”
— Timothy Johnson, Dominican Republic:
foreign-based missionary for over 25 years
Click here for a closeup preview of the COVER . . .
Please pray for us . . .
We would appreciate your prayers as we are beginning to share this new book with others.
Our preliminary vision is for it to be used in churches (especially in congregations where we will be ministering) to instill a passion for world missions and reaching the lost for Jesus.
If you are interested in learning more, please CONTACT US.
Balancing Missions & Motherhood
Finding God’s balance for motherhood and ministry is sometimes a difficult (and continually changing) tug-of-war; but I believe the struggle is healthy . . .
(Photo: Ann Dunagan encouraged many women in ministry from Uganda, Rwanda, Congo, and Tanzania at the recent HMFI – Harvest Ministry Fellowship International leadership conference in Uganda, East Africa.)
Most of the time, just doing another load of laundry, or drilling the kids on grammar, or reading a bedtime story . . . doesn’t seem very important. But God sees the big picture. He highly esteems motherhood and He values a faithful mom who is willing to lay down her “big dreams” . . . to serve her family. And at the same time, He sees the lost and the reality of heaven and hell . . .
God cares about my kids and God cares about the lost. As a mission-minded mom, how can I keep these two “pulls “on my heart in balance — in a way that will truly please the heart of the Lord?
Screaming Babies & Praying Mommas . . .
Today, Ann is leading a discussion about balancing missions and motherhood over at Passionate Homemaking (a great site especially for young women and moms, focused on simple, natural, and intentional living).
The featured article is: Screaming Babies & Praying Mommas. Come see . . . > > >
A Mission-Minded Family Legacy
Today, the Christian Post is featuring a fascinating article about the generational legacy of a wonderful mission-minded family hero.
Hudson Taylor, the legendary missionary to China, is an outstanding example of how to effectively balance a passion for ministry and for family. Hudson Taylor was known as a man of consistent prayer and daily devotion to God’s word. Along with his world-impacting ministry, he was consistent at home and believed in the spiritual training and discipleship of his own children.
And what a difference this balance made, not only during his own lifetime, but even today, three complete generations later. Hudson Taylor died in 1905, yet over 100 years later, his godly legacy is still making Christian news headlines. What a beautiful mission-minded family example!
Take a look at this: Great-Grandson of Legendary Missionary to China Dies.
Ann’s Speaking Information & Topics
No matter what the forum, as a motivational speaker and minister, Ann Dunagan is called to “BRING FORTH LIFE!” The following are sample speaking topics and frequently requested themes; however, if you have a different idea or need, just contact Harvest Ministry.
For Missions Conventions:
- The Mission-Minded Child – Raising a New Generation for God’s Purpose
- The Mission-Minded Family – Releasing Your Family for God’s Destiny
- Our Godly Tug-of-War – Learning to Balance Dual-Passions – for Missions & our Family
NOTE: Along with mission-minded workshops for parents, teachers, and families, Ann can also be available to lead special kids workshops at mission conventions:
- Glorifying God as a Mission-Minded Kid!
- Using Hand Commands to Share the Good News of Jesus!
For Women’s Events:
- Living in SUB-Mission – It’s under the surface that matters!
- Get Me in Alignment! – Living a Life of Balance and Fulfillment with JOY!
For Mother-Daughter Retreats:
Ann and the Dunagan’s college-age daughter, Christi, often minister together for mother-daughter events. Two ideas are:
- Pillars in God’s Palace – A princess-theme event for little girls, based on The Princess and the Kiss and The Little Rose of Sharon and focused on the Faith of Anna, the True Beauty of Esther, the Purity of Mary, and the Excellence of the Proverbs 31 Woman.
- iPlead – an inspirational theme for older girls – about surrendering ourselves to let God “plead” through us . . . for missions, orphans, and the lost.
For Youth, College Students, and Christian Schools:
- C.L.A.S.S. Destiny – Christian Leadership and Speaking Skills
- Preparing Now for a Mission-Minded Family
Ann also leads an energetic mission-minded team of kids and youth called “The Flood” for Christian school chapel services. This special 45 minute presentation includes drama, music and dance, and a power-packed world missions theme.
- The Scarlet Cord – A Concise Message on the “Why?” of World Missions – God’s Enduring Passion for Souls – The Blood of Jesus . . .throughout time, throughout the Bible, throughout the world.
For Homeschool Conventions:
- The Mission-Minded Family – Teaching With God’s Heart for the World
- Training Teens On-Target – Making the Most of Homeschooling High School
- Playing the College Game: Winning Admissions and Scholarships . . .for God’s Glory!
Can “Tension” be Good in the Missions-Family Balance?
Just because we feel an inward “tension” between God’s heart for missions and His heart for our family does not mean the tension is bad.
In fact, this tension can be healthy . . . and even beautiful.
Balancing Missions & Family
As a mission-minded family, do you ever feel that trying to find God’s proper balance can seem like never-ending tug-of-war? There are so many “pulls” on our lives, and at times, various areas of tension. Can this on-going struggle for balance possibly be good?
Today, Ann is blogging over at The Heart of Simplicity, with a new article for Christian women, entitled “Fine-Tuning the Balance for Missions & Family.” It compares the process of finding God’s daily balance, and the “tension” that we can feel in the different areas of our lives, to the continual process of tuning the strings of a piano or a guitar.
Come join the discussion over at The Heart of Simplicity
. . . and leave a comment if you can!
Good Friday Series – GOD’S PASSOVER LAMB
Jesus is the Lamb of God. It is only through His blood–His perfect sinless blood–that we can receive forgiveness for God for our sins.
Follow the full GOOD FRIDAY series
Do you know why every year Good Friday and Easter Sunday is always on a different calendar day (usually in March or April)? The date changes in order to coincide with the yearly Jewish feast of the Passover (which is on the Jewish calendar system).
Do you know (and do your children know) that Jesus Christ was taken to be crucified on the night of the Passover? And do you know why this is so significant?The Old Testament feast of the Passover is filled with symbolism and prophecies — all pointing to Jesus Christ and His crucifixion on the Cross. He is our Passover Lamb!
Our Passover Lamb: JESUS!
This Jewish celebration is to remember how God delivered the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt and how the death angel “passed over” their homes.
A special dinner called “Seder” includes unleavened bread (Matzah), lamb, and bitter herbs.
Jesus celebrated the Passover every year, and through His death on the cross, He fulfilled it. God has provided freedom from the bitterness of sin and eternal death, for:
“. . . Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us.”
(1 Corinthians 5:7 NLT).
An excerpt from The Scarlet Cord
After Jesus died on the cross, the Bible says that Jesus took His own blood and sprinkled it on the mercy seat of heaven. He did not have to repeat this daily, weekly, or yearly, as required in the Old Testament sacrifices.
Once, and one time only, Jesus offered His blood.
Jesus’ blood is more powerful than all the sacrificial blood combined throughout history. Hebrews chapter 9 declares that Christ came as our High Priest, with a greater and more perfect sacrifice, not with the blood of bulls and goals and calves, but with His own precious blood. Jesus’ offering on the cross was once and for all.
As we see in Hebrews chapter 10, the blood of Jesus Christ was the final sacrifice for sins:
“By that will we have been sanctified
through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”
–Hebrews 10:10
“But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever,
sat down at the right hand of God.”
“For by one offering He has perfected forever
those who are being sanctified.”
–Hebrews 10:12, 14
Before the cross, the children of Israel celebrated the Passover every year to remember how the death angel “passed-over” every believing home that was covered by the blood of the Passover lamb.
After the cross, we as Christians celebrate Christ’s final sacrifice by taking Communion, as we remember how Jesus Christ fully paid the final penalty price for our sins. All previous sacrifices, including the Passover sacrifice each year, pointed forward to the cross. Today, we look back to the cross of Calvary and thank God that no further sacrifice is necessary.
Jesus Christ’s blood was not the same as the blood of animals, which had to be offered up continually–over-and-over–as periodic coverings for sin.
It is by faith we believe and understand that Jesus’ blood was pure enough, life-giving enough, and strong enough. He only had to offer it up one time.
This excerpt is from Chapter 2, “God’s Only Way,” from
Jon & Ann Dunagan’s book, THE SCARLET CORD: Nothing but the Blood of Jesus. It’s a concise call to world missions, emphasizing God’s only way of salvation through the precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Passover Prayer Focus:
Pray for God’s blessing and peace for the people of Israel, and for Jewish people from all over the world. Pray for Jewish families, especially as they are celebrating the Passover, that they would recognize Jesus Christ (Y’shua) as their promised Messiah.
Jesus Christ was (and is) the
“Lamb slain from the foundation of the world”
(Revelation 13:8).
Even before God created our world, He knew there would be sin, and the need for the Cross. Yet out of His incredible love, He chose to create us anyway . . . and to die for us.
Thank God for the blood of Jesus Christ, our Lamb of God.
5 ideas – to remember JESUS as our Lamb of God
#1 – Celebrate Communion.
Partaking of communion, either as a family or even all by yourself during a quiet time, is a powerful way to remember Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. This week, perhaps on Thursday (to remember the Last Supper) or on Good Friday (to remember the day of the crucifixion), this communion time can be especially significant. Sing together a simple song you know about the cross or the blood of Jesus.
Read aloud I Corinthians 11:23,
“For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you,
That the Lord Jesus the same night
in which he was betrayed took bread…”
#2 – Watch a movie about the Passover.
The classic movie, The Ten Commandments, starring Charlton Heston, can be a great Holy Week tradition, especially as you focus on the scene of the Passover and the blood of the Lamb. Also, children’s cartoon videos about Moses and the Passover can help teach a child about the spiritual significance of this special day of the year.
#3 – Watch a film about the Cross and the Resurrection.
The JESUS Film by Campus Crusade for Christ (from the Gospel of Luke, translated into about 1000 languages and is utilized in missions and evangelism throughout the world). Also recommended is the Matthew Video, The Gospel of John, and (for adults and older children) The Passion.
#4 – Pet Baby Lambs.
Visit a nearby farm or petting zoo (or look online for a local 4H group). Think about how Jesus came as the perfect innocent Lamb of God.
#5 – Watch a Live Passion Play.
Search your local area to see if any church or Christian ministry is performing a live Passion Play to attend with your family (and invite a friend or a family to join you!).
