Welcome to Knowing Jesus in a New Way 5: Known in Making Him Known.

 What an important lesson this is, the scripture from Matthew 28:16-20 in which Jesus tells his disciples to go everywhere and tell His story, teach people to be disciples, and baptize them. As the story script says, the disciples had been followers and now they had to be leaders. They had been sheep and now it was time to be shepherds. But they didn’t need to be afraid, because Jesus says he will be with them always, to the end of the age.

There are several different aspects of the story that you may choose to emphasize:
1. The meeting itself of Jesus with the disciples on the mountain.
2. Jesus’ command to go to people everywhere and make them disciples, baptize them, and teach them to obey his commands.
3. Jesus’ assurance that He will always be with us.

You may want to try letting the children gather items from the materials that help to tell the story this week.
Here are some wondering questions to also use:
1. I wonder what was your favorite part of today’s story is.
2. I wonder how the disciples felt about Jesus telling them to go everywhere and tell Jesus’ story.
3. I wonder how you would feel if Jesus asked you to go to a new place and tell Jesus’ story.
4. I wonder where we are in Jesus’ story. I wonder how we become part of it.
5. Jesus said he would be with disciples forever. I wonder how he was with them. I wonder how we find him with us.
6. I wonder how you and I can share Jesus’ story with others.

Ideas for Our Gift to God Time

The more they make their own ideas into their projects, the more ownership they have, and the more excited they will be about their work. 🙂
You may choose to focus on the Great Commission, Jesus’ command to go everywhere, make disciples, baptize them and teach them the way.
1. Children could make the craft seen here, a world made out of clay, studded with flags from other countries. You could have a print out of flags from different countries that the kids could work from, copying the flags, putting them on toothpicks and dotting the clay world.

  2. Kids could make a suitcase out of construction paper like the one shown here, and inside write or draw what you would need to take to go places to tell Jesus’ story. Where would they could choose to go if they could pick? They could draw a pretend photo of themselves as a missionary in a foreign land.

3. You could talk about how we are missionaries every day, right where we live. Children could draw a list of ways they share Jesus’ story in their own lives. (Operation Inasmuch, mission projects that they’ve taken part in, bringing food to church to donate to Mission Backpack, etc.)
4. Children could  color a map that shows Paul’s missionary journeys, and then color a world map, highlighting places they’ve learned about in Children on Mission. I’ll have some world maps available to you.
5. Children could make a self portrait, titled “I’m a Disciple.” They could do this with pencil and then color with watercolors or paint. Or they could use butcher paper and have someone trace their whole bodies and color it in with markers or paint.
6. They could focus on Jesus’ promise to be with us until the end of the age. Children could draw a picture of themselves with Jesus –or show ways that Jesus is with us (as we read the Bible or pray or serve others.)

For more art response ideas, see my Pinterest page on this story, here. 
Thanks, y’all!