Stories from the Mission Field | CGO Blog

Filling Those Needs

So now’s the time when you get to talk with your children about how they can fill the spiritual and financial needs of those around them! Hopefully by now they have a somewhat complete understanding of financial and spiritual needs and have begun to think about ways they can help others.

Filling Spiritual Needs

Spiritual needs can be filled by sharing the Gospel with others. (It sounds simple, but we all know it’s much harder than it sounds!) Talk with your children about real ways they can share the love of Jesus with their classmates, friends, and teammates. Do they know anyone who isn’t a Christian? What are some easy ways they can talk about Jesus with people they know?

Encourage your children to volunteer at church too—leading or participating in Vacation Bible School, assisting in Sunday School, and helping in the church nursery are great ways for children to fulfill spiritual needs.

Filling Financial Needs

Filling financial needs is also challenging, especially for children. As a parent, you have to decide how you’d like your children to donate to a charitable organization or church. If you give your children allowances, you can have them tithe 10 percent. If your children don’t receive allowances, brainstorm ways they can raise money they can give back to a worthy cause.

If your child wants to donate money to an organization, check out these worthy causes:

• Concordia Gospel Outreach (https://www.concordiagospeloutreach.org/donate)
• Lutherans For Life (http://www.lutheransforlife.org/give/)
• Lutheran Church Charities Comfort Dog Ministry (http://lutheranchurchcharities.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=25&Itemid=95)
• Lutheran World Relief (https://lwr.org/donate)
• LCMS Missionaries (https://www.lcms.org/missionarysupport#)

You can also use this as an opportunity to engage your child with an activity that interests them. If they like helping you cook, help them organize a small bake sale to raise money. If they like to make bracelets, help them come up with a way to sell their crafts. Or maybe your child wants to do some extra chores to earn money (bonus: your house will be clean too!).

Wrapping It Up

Cultivating a love of giving in children requires regularly instilling these values. Both parent and child must commit to consistently loving and serving those around them. One of the best ways to instill a love of giving is demonstrating that love yourself!

We hope you enjoyed this series of blog posts. Let us know what you do to encourage your children to serve others!

Read How to Cultivate a Love of Giving in Children (Part 1)

Read How to Cultivate a Love of Giving in Children (Part 2)