Upload
kathy-goss
View
242
Download
2
Tags:
Embed Size (px)
DESCRIPTION
Kids Serving Kids Resource from Forgotten Voices International to help parents teach their children about tithing and fasting.
Citation preview
www.forgottenvoices.org
Forgotten Voices International demonstrates the love of Jesus Christ by
equipping local churches in southern Africa to meet the physical and
spiritual needs of children orphaned by AIDS in their communities.
Kids Serving Kids of Forgotten Voices International is the outreach of the
organization that is committed to equipping parents, kids and families to
know, love, give and serve kids whose voices are forgotten throughout
their communities, southern Africa and the world. Kids Serving Kids
connects parents with resources, materials and opportunities to empower,
inspire and serve side-by-side with their kids to demonstrate the love of
Jesus Christ to children throughout the world.
This material contained in this booklet is one such resource. It is intended
to be a launching point for further discussion, creativity and spiritual
growth. We pray that it blesses and inspires you and your family. As you
use and build upon ideas contained in this resource, please contact us to
tell us about your experience. With your permission we will share your
story to inspire and encourage other children and their families.
Blessings,
Kathy Goss
Kids Serving Kids Coordinator
“When you a
re harvesting in yo
ur field and you ov
erlook
a sheaf, do not go
back to get it. Le
ave it for the alien
, the
fatherless and the
widow, so that the LORD your God may bless
you in all the work of yo
ur hands. When you b
eat the olives from
your trees, do not
go over the branche
s a second time. Leave
what remains for the alien,
the fatherless and
the widow. When
you harvest the gra
pes in your vineyard
, do not go over th
e vines
again. Leave what remains for t
he alien the father
less and the
widow."
What is Tithing?
Deuteronomy 24:19-21
Tithing means giving part of your money to God. Everything
that we have comes from God, and we are merely stewards of these
things, including monetary blessings. In the verse above from the
book of Deuteronomy, God lays a plan of tithing to help orphans
and widows, called gleaning. Gleaning is the process of collecting
crops left behind by the reapers of the harvest. God commanded
harvesters to only pick the crops from their fields, vines or trees, one
time. Then the landowner could invite widows, orphans or
foreigners into the fields to harvest the remaining crops to keep for
themselves. Gleaning was God’s provision for orphans and widows
in Jewish society. Today’s farms are commercially owned and
operated, and most of us do not grow our own food, so gleaning is
not part of our culture. However, God’s command is still true today.
In today’s world, we can give with our money AND our time. We are
fortunate to live in an age where we can send our resources not
only to our local community, but also to widows and orphans all
over our own country, or to faraway places like Zimbabwe and
Zambia. Although the method has changed, God’s desire is still for
us to care for widows, orphans, and those in need in our
community.
What is Tithing?
So What Can You Do?
NEWSLETTER TITLE
Giving
Generosity
Kindness
Faithfulness
Financial-
Responsibility
Tithing means giving a portion of your income to God. It is very important to teach your child to tithe at a young age. The Bible says that if you raise a child in the way he (or she) should go, then later on in life he (or she) will not depart from it. One of the best ways to teach is by example. Many children love to emulate their parents and ask for a coin or dollar of their own to put in the
offering basket. You can build upon this by explaining the percentage you give and why you do it. Parents often give their children an allowance each week. To teach financial responsibility and good stewardship from a young age, an effective method is to have your child divide their allowance into different categories with three separate containers ....SPEND, SAVE, and DONATE. Christian financial counselors suggest allocating 10% to SAVE, 10% to DONATE and then allowing your child to choose how he (or she) divides the rest between the three containers. There are many ways to teach your child responsible money management and good stewardship over the gifts God gave he (or she). Whichever way you choose, helping your children to form these habits at a young age can have lasting impacts on the choices they make for the rest of their lives. This link will take you to a Forgotten Voices International tithing box that can be decorated. You and your child can print out the box and decorate it together, and your tithe to Forgotten Voices can be put in the box www.forgottenvoices.org/resources/downloads. Look for the Thanksgiving Cube Kids Version 1 & 2.
Personal
Tithe
“In our family, we have four containers. SPEND, SAVE, DONATE, and one for our favorite charity, Forgotten Voices. My
children give the money in their DONATE containers to our church. Each week they choose an amount to put in their
Forgotten Voices container. We also collect loose change and put this in the Forgotten Voices container.”
~A Forgotten Voices supporter
CHARACTER QUALITIES
Phone: 555-555-5555 Fax: 555-555-5555 E-mail: [email protected]
This is an opportunity to teach your children about God’s biblical command to tithe, as well as responsible financial management. Through this activity, children can learn from first-hand experience the Scriptural principles of using their allowance/money for more than just their own personal use and pleasure (toys, video games, movies). Children can learn that through donation, they have the ability to positively impact the lives of others. There are many scriptures in the Bible that discuss tithing and donating our resources to provide for those in need. Reading these scriptures with your children can encourage and remind them of the lasting importance God places on a generous heart. One such passage is 1 Timothy 6:17-19: “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be
arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.”
Teachable Moment
Invite your child’s friends to make Forgotten
Voices boxes, and give regularly to Forgotten Voices.
Do more weekly chores or chores for relatives to earn additional allowance
money to donate to Forgotten Voices.
Your child can invite their Sunday School class to make a Forgotten Voices container for the
class to bring in loose change from home. The more often a child does something, the less he
(or she) forgets about it. If you foster an attitude of giving at a young age, your child will carry
that attitude into young adulthood and beyond.
WAYS TO GO FURTHER
So What Can You Do?
NEWSLETTER TITLE
You can take tithing a step farther by having a one-time sale or on-going campaign to benefit Forgotten Voices. Some ideas are in the box to the right. Encourage your child to briefly write about his or her experience and then email your story to Forgotten Voices. We will post it on our website so that other children and par-ents may be encouraged by your efforts. Forgotten Voices staff may even be able to help to provide resources. Here is a story about a young girl who was so moved by a Forgotten Voices presentation she heard at Vacation Bible School that she asked her parents if she could have a lemonade stand and bake sale. Her family has now turned this into an annual event.
Personal Fundraising
Bake sale
Garage sale
Candy sale
Lemonade stand
Car wash
Or feel free to come
up with your own
creative idea!
At a 2010 Vacation Bible School, 6 year old Eliana
watched a video about a child’s life in Zimbabwe and learned
about the ministry of Forgotten Voices International. The
speaker said that God could use anyone to show His love to
kids in southern Africa. She asked her parents for help running
a lemonade stand fundraiser. The project grew as Eliana’s
family was joined by several others to host a lemonade stand
and bake sale in the center of town. As a result of Eliana’s
compassion and initiative, over $400 was raised to help
children orphaned by AIDS through the ministry of Forgotten Voices International. Equally valuable was the way Eliana saw
first-hand how her actions could directly show God’s love to
kids in need. Her second bake sale raised over $800. This year
Eliana held her 3rd annual bake sale and she raised over $1900!
Phone: 555-555-5555 Fax: 555-555-5555 E-mail: [email protected]
Leadership
Financial Responsibility
Organization
Giving
Generosity
CHARACTER QUALITIES
Often it is not a lack of their children’s ideas that keep parents from taking action, but rather the additional
burden this places on the parents’ to-do list. Children have big dreams, big ideas, and big visions without time or resource constraints. Parents are left with the task of trying to turn big dreams into reality and this can often seem overwhelming, daunting or too difficult to accomplish. Parents are also challenged with trying to pick and choose which activities are worthwhile to pursue, while not overburdening themselves or their children. In the midst of trying to find the right balance, it is important to include activities that encourage children to respond to the call of God on their hearts. Working with your child on a God-inspired idea/project can be instrumental to their spiritual development, as well as an invaluable experience for parents. Conducting a fundraising event to benefit Forgotten Voices International, whether small or large, is one such opportunity. Seeing the excitement and passion evoked in children as they respond to God’s call and learn that they too can have a role in caring for widows, orphans and the poor, makes the activity immeasurably worthy of your time and effort. In addition to knitting Biblical commands into the hearts and lives of your children, these events also provide the opportunity to teach your children about leadership, organization, and management. Teach your children how to plan, advertise and organize the sale. During the sale, children can learn or reinforce the principles of counting money and making change.
Teachable Moment
Children can invite friends in their neighborhood,
church, small group or school to help.
Kids could also inspire their friends to start their
own sale, or all work together to organize one larger
fundraising activity.
WAYS TO GO FURTHER
So What Can You Do?
NEWSLETTER TITLE
Fasting is a spiritual discipline that God desires for us to integrate into our lives and the lives of our children. Often we think of fasting as going without eating for a certain period of time. Abstaining from food is only one type of fasting. Fasting can also be giving up something valuable to us, such as entertainment, a material possession, a habit or an activity. God calls us to fast because when we give up something valuable to us, we learn to depend more on God and loosen our grip on things that might mean more to us than God does. These items or activities might consume our lives to such an extent that they dull our hearts from hearing God’s voice. When we temporarily set these aside, we have the opportunity to rely on God to satisfy our “cravings” and “hunger” and in the process refocus our hearts and minds on him. Encouraging our children to temporarily sacrifice their desires helps them appreciate and be grateful for the abundance they have, while at the same time helps them identify with children around the world who face this challenge every day of their lives. Incorporating periodic fasting into our lives and the lives of our children will reap many spiritual and character rewards.
FASTING
Giving up one meal. Explain that many children around the world are not
able to have 3 meals a day.
Giving up sugary foods, desserts, chocolate, soda or a favorite food for
a period of time.
Rather than going out to eat one night, eat at home instead and do-
nate the money to Forgotten Voices.
Fast video game time, television time, or watching movies. Replace some of
the time with completing a service
project that helps a neighbor, church
or community.
Give up playing with a favorite toy for a period of time. Save loose change,
do extra chores or have a fundraiser
to purchase a similar toy for a child in
your community who does not have as
much.
Instead of asking for birthday pre-sents, request donations to Forgotten
Voices International.
Suggestions for Fasting:
Obedience
Prayer
Giving
Generosity
Compassion
CHARACTER QUALITIES
Engaging with your children in a fast offers the opportunity to teach them the spiritual importance of fasting. The Bible is full of examples of people whom God asked or who felt led to fast and pray. Read a Bible story about fasting with your children and discuss the purpose and impact of the fasting. One such example you can choose is found in the Old Testament in the book of Esther. Esther was the Queen of Persia and also a Jew at a time when the King issued a decree to kill all of the Jews. Esther asked her fellow Jews to fast and pray so that she might find favor with the King. Their fasting and prayers worked. Esther was able to approach the King and beseech him to save the Jews. God changed the heart of the King, and the Jews were saved. Fasting and prayer helped the Jews focus their attention on God, rather than on the circumstances they were facing, and to depend on him to save them. Similar to the Jews in the story, fasting refocuses our hearts and minds on God rather than on our desires. It is a way to trust that God will meet any need we may have. Fasting will also help your children experience, on a small scale, how most children around the world live on a daily basis. In our culture of abundance and excess, providing opportunities for your children to sacrificially fast and rely on God can create in them a heart full of gratitude and thanksgiving.
Teachable Moment
Each week children can give up
some television time or video
game time and participate
regularly in service opportunities.
The 10-together program is one
great example. Go to
www.tentogether.org to learn
more and sign up!
Children could regularly assist
the local food bank either by
volunteering or donating food.
Many food banks publish a list of
“greatly needed” items. Children
could go shopping for the items
on the list or each week could
add a few of these to the regular
grocery shopping list.
Children could ask for and collect
donations from their Sunday
school class, school class or
neighborhood to give to the food
bank.
WAYS TO GO FURTHER
So What Can You Do?
NEWSLETTER TITLE
Children learn more by the example of our actions than our words. Through-out the scriptures, God calls us to live out our faith both in word and in deed. James 1:22 states, we are to “Be not merely hearers of the word, but doers as well.” Working together on a tithing project provides an opportunity for your family to live out the words of the gospel of Jesus Christ in a tangible way. It also demonstrates first-hand to your children the importance and priority you place on reaching out to those in need.
FAMILY WIDE PROJECTS
Some ideas for family tithing projects include:
Adopting a family for Christmas and blessing them with gifts and/or a meal.
Adopting a family for Thanksgiving and giving them ingredients for their
Thanksgiving meal or taking them the meal already prepared.
Creating connections with a local family and assisting them one time or
throughout the year.
Serving together as a family at a local soup kitchen or food bank.
Adopting a Compassion International or World Vision child and corresponding
with them.
Weekly, monthly, semi-annually visiting a nursing home. If you are unsure of
where to go, or how to start, you could ask your church for referrals of people
who used to attend and now live in a nursing home.
GIVING
GENEROSITY
COMPASSION
KINDNESS
CHARACTER QUALITIES
Use this activity to teach your children about God’s desire for us to respond
compassionately and passionately to provide for those in need. In
Matthew 25:37-40 Jesus clearly explains this principle.
“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you
hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see
you a stranger and invite you in or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we
see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you,
whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did
for me.’
Jesus commands his followers to feed the hungry, clothe the poor, and care
for the sick. Jesus tells us that when we help the poor, it is just like we are helping
Him. Explain to your children that when we help to provide for the needs of
others, not only are we pleasing God and those we have helped, but also filling
ourselves with joy, peace and contentment at living out the words of Christ.
Teachable Moment
Sign up for Ten-Together as a family
www.tentogether.org
Make a family service project a part
of your yearly or even monthly
routine.
WAYS TO GO FURTHER