munity, outlying areas and even occasional trips to a distant mis sion field. Involvement b r in g s with it the consideration o f God’s will for an individual’s life con cerning service in full-time mis sions. This is a question to be faced by every Christian as God would have many more in service today! Missionaries, with a great er range o f specialties and voca tional skills, are needed. What can be done to insure a continued interest in m iss ion s with an ever-increasing emphasis on involvement? The following suggestions may assist in the for mulation of a program. Not all o f these will be implemented by a church but similar ideas or adap tations may help to elevate mis sions to its proper position: 1) In place o f a once-a-month “missionary day” in Sunday school, missionary education could be conducted for 10-15 minutes every Sunday. Reports, biographi cal studies, films, drama, research and tapes are some of the items that could be used. One church which has structured a three-hour Sunday school uses one hour each Sunday for missions study. 2) Instead of a sketchy survey of many mission fields, concen trate upon one area, such as In dia or Africa. Study the program and progress of missions in this locale for six months or a year. This in-depth study will give one a thorough knowledge and a deep er concern as the work is laid before them continually. Many Sunday schools are attempting to correlate their missionary study with the study program of the public school. Each year certain nations are considered in geog raphy and history classes and by studying missions in these same countries in Sunday school both programs complement one anoth er and add to the learning adven ture. (For a suggested program of correlation with specific aims, see M i s s i on s Education in a Changing W o r ld published by Gospel Light publications, 1968.) 3) The proverbial missionary slides that are shown upon the
missionaries’ return to the church have met with an array o f stock jokes and tongue-in-cheek com ments. Yet a pictorial presenta tion o f the actual work o f the in dividual missionary can be bene ficial! The church or Sunday school could provide the mission ary with an 8-mm movie camera and several rolls o f film during the year. These could be mailed to the church every two or three months with a taped narration, thus bringing to life consistently the work of the missionary in a fascinating manner. Even a plan ned phone conversation during the Sunday school hour with one o f the missionaries (and trans mitted to every Sunday school de partment) brings the work to life! 4) When businessmen travel to countries or areas where your missionaries serve, ask them to stop and visit. This does wonders for the missionary as well as as sisting the church in learning about missionary conditions on a first-hand basis. 5) Youth can be involved in short-range missionary activities. The study of a particular home mission field can culminate in a work project visit to that area. The involvement o f the students and their subsequent reports to those at home will aid in continu ing the interest o f all members of the church and Sunday school. 6) Youth who become directly involved in mission work at an early age may realize that God would have them commit their lives to this area o f service. Many churches have d ev e lop ed pro grams where several o f their youth would spend their entire summer vacation in a missionary venture either at a home mission station or on the foreign field. This does not have to be limited though to the larger churches. A small church could involve one or two high school-college students in a summer program. I f the high school or college department com mitted themselves to raising the support for one or two members and sent them to work with one
Inovations in Learning
EDUCATION for M ISSIONS by H. NORMAN WRIGHT
ost S unday schools in Ameri ca would answer in the af firmative when asked if they have a Missionary education pro gram in their Sunday school. But upon investigation and discovery o f what is meant by a “mission ary emphasis,” it is questionable whether missions are receiving proper recognition. Many Sunday schools operate on the premise that missions should be empha sized in each department once a month. Then the missionary obli gation has been fulfilled. The twenty minutes a month devoted to the work and place o f missions within the church are more of a token reminder than an educa tional thrust. If missions are so vital, they must be accorded suf ficient time and prominence on a regular basis. The purpose of missionary edu cation within ALL departments of the local Sunday school can be summarized by three words — Awareness, Support and Involve ment. All participants in Sunday school must be totally aware of the meaning and purpose o f mis sions. Missionary activities and personnel of past and present must be considered. Naturally the missionary program of the in dividual church will receive ma jor emphasis. Support of missions will be an outgrowth of the missionary em phasis, but support is not limited to a periodic offering. Prayer sup port, letters from departments and individuals, tape recordings and visits from individual church members to missionaries on the field are vital means of support. Involvement carries with it the implication o f direct contact with the work o f missions either at home or on the field. Youth and adults can easily carry on definite missionary projects in their com
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THE KING'S BUSINESS
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