The Project
While I don't feel called right now to pack up and become a full time missionary, I do want my children to understand that there are many people in the world who are hungry and in need and that God wants us to show them His love not only by telling them about Him, but by caring for their physical needs.
We eat a lot of eggs, so buying a starter brood of chicks to be given to a family in need through Samaritan's Purse seemed like a nice concrete place to start.
Of course, like most preschoolers, my kids don't have a lot of disposable income, so giving is often just bumming money from mom and dad. I wanted them to feel more ownership of their giving, more personal investment and sacrifice.
The Memory-Verse-A-Thon Plan
To get the kids actively involved in raising and giving money, I cooked up the idea of a memory-verse-a-thon. My plan was that the kids would ask adults to sponsor them, pledging to donate a small amount of money for each verse that the child memorized.
When I agreed to teach the 3-6 year old Sunday school class for the summer, I expanded my plan to make this a project for the whole class. We are three weeks into the project and so far it is going very well.
Each week in Sunday school I introduce a new verse, telling a Bible story that illustrates the principle of the verse and including crafts and games that help reinforce the meaning of the verse and story. The kids practice the verse throughout the week and then contact each of their sponsors to recite the verse. We have a tracking sheet with two columns for each verse: one to check off that the verse has been recited and one to check off that the donation has been received.
Four Reasons I'm Loving the Memory-Verse-A-Thon
So far, I love how it is working!
- The kids are motivated to learn their verses and learn them well.
- They feel ownership of the gift they are giving to God each week as they place money in the Sunday school offering basket.
- They are also building relationships with a lot of loving, godly adults.
- It has been a blessing to the adult sponsors to hear these truths on the lips of such young ones.
Details
Here are the two notes that went home to parents explaining the project and memory-verse-a-thon. I also made a very nifty sponsor tracking grid, but I'm not tech-savvy enough to figure out how to post it because of all the formatting.
Letter Explaining the Project
Dear parents—
Welcome to summer time Sunday school!
This summer we will be taking an offering each week. All of the money donated will be used to purchase chicks from Samaritan’s Purse. For $14, we can donate a dozen chicks to a family in need elsewhere in the world. Here’s what Samaritan’s Purse says about chickens:
Chickens are at the top of the “pecking order” when it comes to helping needy families. A small flock can produce hundreds of eggs each year, enough to eat with plenty left over to sell. Samaritan’s Purse works with local believers in developing countries to furnish baby chickens or ducks, and to help families raise them properly. For $14, we can supply a starter brood of a dozen chicks.
This project will give our children a chance to be cheerful givers and to have compassion for people in need. I’m hoping we will be able to donate one starter brood of chickens, but it would be exciting to be able to donate even more.
It is important to teach our children to be good stewards and generous givers from a young age, so here are a few ideas for how to make giving to this project meaningful for your child:
- · If your child receives an allowance, teach him/her about tithing and encourage him/her regularly to give a portion of the allowance.
- · Encourage your child to find extra chores for which he/she may earn extra money to give.
- · Help your child participate in our Memory-Verse-A-Thon.
Earlier this year when I was trying to think of a way to help my kids raise money to give to others in need, I hatched this idea for a memory-verse-a-thon. Now that I’m teaching summer Sunday school, I’d like to invite your children to participate. I want to stress that this is totally optional. If it does not feel like a good fit for your child or your family this summer, do not feel obligated to participate. It is also fine to participate partially, helping your child memorize some, but not all of the verses.
If you are interested in participating, check out the attached form for more information. Each week I will be introducing a short verse to the class as the basis of our lesson for the day. You may then work with your child on memorizing that verse throughout the week.
If you have any question, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I know that attendance will be hit and miss over the summer, but I look forward to learning with your children when they are here this summer.
Letter with the Memory-Verse-A-Thon Guidelines and Scriptures to Memorize
Summer Memory-Verse-A-Thon
Step 1: Find one or more people to sponsor your children, pledging to donate money for each verse that your child memorizes. There are 10 verses, so a donation of $.25 per verse would total a donation of $2.25 for the whole summer.
Step 2: Start Memorizing! Each week a new verse will be introduced in Sunday school. Your child will practice the verse and hear a story relating to the verse. Continue practicing the verse with your child throughout the week. I find adding motions to the verse really helps my kids.
Step 3: Master the verse. There is a great deal of flexibility here. Set a standard for your child that is achievable. A few of the verses are a little longer—please feel free to shorten a verse by dropping a phrase or clause (especially for Deuteronomy 6:5 and 1 John 1:9) if your child is struggling. Whether or not your child learns the reference is up to you.
Step 4: Recite the verse to each sponsor. When your child has mastered the verse, help your child contact each sponsor and recite the verse. Use the record sheet to keep track.
Step 5: Collect the donations. Donations may be collected as your child recites each verse or at the end of the summer. More frequent donations may be motivational, but if the sponsor is out of town, a single donation at the end of the summer would be more practical. Use the record sheet to keep track, so there is no confusion.
Step 6: Remind your child . . . that all of the money raised will help buy baby chicks for a needy family.
June 19: Proverbs 14:31 . . . whoever is kind to the needy honors God.
June 26: Deuteronomy 6:5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart.
July 3: Matthew 22:39 Love your neighbor as yourself.
July 10: Psalm 100:2 Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.
July 17: Philippians 4:6 . . .with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
July 24: 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins.
July 31: Luke 22:46 “. . .pray so that you will not fall into temptation.”
August 7: Philippians 2:14 Do everything without complaining or arguing.
August 14: Isaiah 43:5 Do not be afraid, for I am with you.
August 21: Ephesians 4:29a Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, . . .
August 28: Ephesians 4:29b . . . but only what is helpful for building others up.
Love this!
ReplyDeleteRandomly fell on your post seeking for inspiration toward what verses to use in my class. the whole post is delightful. thanks for sharing.