During my first years as a Christian, I knew very little about how to steward my money. When I joined a small group of like-minded brothers and sisters, they taught me the importance of being a steward of all that God had given me, including my money. At my first church, I learned how to tithe, but I also learned the importance of giving to missions.

For many years, I believed missions were overseas. I dropped a small portion of my income into the offering box designated for missions and thought I was doing a good thing for the Kingdom. While money is an integral part of proclaiming the gospel to the nations, I believed that because I didn’t have the gift of evangelism or wasn’t called into the mission field, I didn’t have to participate in missions.

But I was wrong.

I believed that because I didn’t have the gift of evangelism or wasn’t called into the mission field, I didn’t have to participate in missions.

As an adult, I raised my children to believe in this same sentiment. We participated in many churches with missions as a primary emphasis, which relegated missions to simply a once-a-year conference or check in the offering plate. If I could go back in time, I would have embraced missions as a family. I would have infused missions into every framework of our lives as Christians.

How can we, as parents and grandparents, teach our kids not only to have a missional mindset but also to maintain it throughout the year?

Here are some ways to maintain a missional mindset all year long:

Daily

Each night before bed, choose an organization, a worker going into the mission field, or missionaries your church sponsors. Make it a point to pray for their needs daily. Enlist the help of a missions team member or a pastor at your church who knows the needs of the people that they support. Communicate with them regularly, asking them for prayer requests. Make it a point as a family to pray for these needs and that God would protect, heal, and meet every need for the missionaries who have dedicated their lives to spreading the gospel to the nations.

Weekly

Each week, designate a small portion of your income and give it to a particular missionary couple or nonprofit organization. For teens newly in the workforce, this can be a small portion of their check. Parents and grandparents should also participate by giving a portion of their income as well. Even grandparents on a fixed income can contribute whatever portion they can afford. This is a great way to demonstrate to kids how to give with freedom above and beyond their regular tithe.

Monthly

Each month, designate a portion of time to make an impact in your community. It can be as small as volunteering in a ministry at your church or helping a neighbor improve their yard for no charge. Teens can also donate time to a local organization that needs volunteers. Encourage your teen to do some research on organizations within their community that may need their help. Allow them to choose the cause that they feel most passionate about.

If there’s no one in the local community that needs help, do research on the internet about nonprofit organizations that meet the needs of the cause for which your teen wants to contribute. It can be a cause that most aligns with your family’s values, such as freeing children from child slavery, helping women know their options at a pregnancy crisis center, or spending time feeding people experiencing homelessness.

No matter what cause you choose, consistency is key when it comes to making a definite impact. Giving money once to a cause is great; giving consistently to the same cause will have even a more profound effect. Help your team maintain a missional mindset by asking them, “What will it be like to have someone approach them in heaven, thanking them for their hard work and dedication to meeting their needs here on earth?”

No matter what cause you choose, consistency is key when it comes to making a definite impact. Giving money once to a cause is great; giving consistently to the same cause will have even a more profound effect.

This question may help them see the eternal significance of their actions. Because churches sometimes de-emphasize missions, being a family that values the everlasting impact of professing the gospel to others helps keep their mindset focused on others.

Seasonal

Think about the holidays celebrated throughout the year. Each season has at least one holiday that could be turned into a mission opportunity. For example, many churches hold trunk or treat events. You can participate in that activity, or you can wrap Gospel tracts with candy and give out candy at your home. Halloween is the one day a year when people come to your door expecting something. Give them a sweet treat but also give them the true thing that always satisfies—Jesus.

Christmas is an easy and creative opportunity to help proclaim the gospel. Go to your local store and pay for a person’s order behind you or in front of you. Engage in conversation with the person when they thank you for your kind gesture. Tell them why you’re doing it and who you are doing it for. Having a missionary mindset may lead to conversations about Jesus that you wouldn’t have had before.

Springtime and Easter present many opportunities. Easter, rooted in the resurrection of Christ, offers numerous opportunities to reach out to the neighborhood.

Summertime can also have its opportunities as people are outside enjoying the warm weather—engaging in conversations with someone at the local dog park, the beach, or other activities. Even though you may be on vacation, the gospel never takes a vacation!  Jesus can be proclaimed anytime, anywhere. Being ready for that is the key to an effective missional mindset.

Having a missional mindset means embracing both small and large opportunities God presents. Teach your teens to be in tune with the Holy Spirit, asking him to direct them to those who need to hear the gospel the most. They may be surprised to find the people who are the most lost are the ones sitting next to them at school, at the adjacent table at the coffee shop, or cheering on their friends at the football game. Help your team shift their minds to a missional mindset and watch God work.

1 Peter 4:10 “As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” (NASB 1995)