God's plan for ALL THE NATIONS is a thread that runs from Genesis to Revelation. You may not be able to take your kids around the world, but you can bring the nations to them! God's love for all the people of the world should encourage us to grow this love in our families as well. Here are two articles to give you an idea of what this can look like:
How to Teach Your Children About God's Heart for the Nations
Raising Kids Love the Nations
How to Teach Your Children About God's Heart for the Nations
Raising Kids Love the Nations
Learn About Other Nations
- Have maps and globes in your home so your kids can be curious about the rest of the world. There are many kids' map murals to make it fun
- Coloring pages of flags can keep your kids involved!
- Learn about animals unique to a region.
- Learn about the missionaries that paved the way for spreading the gospel in that country. See Missions on the Topical Resource page for ideas!
Taste Their Food
- We have these three books in our GBC library:
- Tasting the World One Country at a Time Cookbook
- The World Central Kitchen Cookbook
- Cooking Class Global Feast!: 44 Recipes That Celebrate the World’s Cultures Cookbook Ages 5-11
- Global Table Adventure Blog Site with recipes from 196 countries
- Around the Globe in 80 Meals – Kid-Friendly Recipes from Around the World Blog post
- 41 Easy, Kid-Friendly Recipes From Around the World Blog post
Look at Their Culture
- Discover some of the ways people live differently and do things differently around the world.
- Listen to music from any country and any decade on this website and app. (Screen the lyrics!)
- Listen to their language by googling it!
Pray for The People
- The Top 50 Countries Counting the Cost of Following Jesus by Open Doors, World Watch List. This contains statistics, how the people are struggling, and specific ways to pray for them. It also has great family devotionals within it that relate to specific countries.
- Operation World Prayer Calendar for the World and an Alphabetical List of Countries with maps, prayer, and statistics. They also have an app. You can click that you are praying!
Hear their Stories
- On The Way To School Documentary about how kids in other countries get to school!
- The Most Dangerous Ways To School Series about the difficulties of going to school each day in different parts of the world.
- Hear the stories in these videos from within the most persecuted countries by Radical.Net
- Read and watch the stories of brave men and women who brought the gospel to different parts of the world! See Missions on the Topical Resource Page.
Shake Their Hands
- Introduce yourself and your kids to people you meet from around the world. Ask them their story! We have many international students at our church and GVSU.
- Be a Friendship Family for international students while they go to school in the US. Learn more at Neighbors International.
- Welcome missionaries into your home to hear about their work and the people they serve.