Grade 7: A Life on Mission

Goal: Your student should develop life on mission by learning to share his faith, discovering his spiritual gifts and interests, and engaging in mission projects in his neighborhood and community.

Jesus commanded us to live on mission in Matthew 28:18-20. He said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” When Jesus gave us these words, He wasn’t making a mere suggestion, or giving us a choice, but commanding us to live life on mission for Him. As a Christ follower, we are called to use our God given gifts for the building up of His kingdom.

Living a life on mission for God is living out each day for His glory. The Great Commission is not only for Pastors, Missionaries, Evangelists, or even adults, but for every Christ follower, students included. It is not limited to a trip each year, or an occasional service project, or serving in our church. Each of those is a great way to help in and of themselves. But, “life on mission is about intersecting gospel intentionality into our everyday routines.”1

In order to be equipped for living a life on mission, your student needs to know:

1. How to share their faith with the people that they interact with on a daily basis.

• Sharing your story of how you came to faith in God is a powerful testimony for others to hear. Your story is really made up of three parts, your life before Christ, how you came to trust in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, and how your life is different now as a Christ follower. With practice, you should be prepared to share your story in as few as 2 minutes or as long as 10 minutes, depending on the situation and circumstances.  
  
• Parents, share your testimony or faith story with your student. This will help to encourage them to tell others how they came to faith in Jesus Christ. They will broaden this during their 8th grade year while they’re researching their spiritual history. 
  

2. How God has best suited them for His service by discovering their spiritual giftedness and matching that with the interest and skill sets that God has given them.

• Have your student take a spiritual gifts assessment. You can access one spiritual gifts assessment on our church website at: https://gifts.churchgrowth.org/cgi-cg/gifts.cgi?id=501114. 
  
• Another way is simply by taking the hobbies, abilities, passions, and interests of your student and using those things that they like to do as ways to be intentional with spreading the gospel around them. For example, they could use their ability to paint, by helping an elderly neighbor paint their storage shed. Or they could use their love of baking to make cookies for the men and women who serve Coffee County as police officers and fire fighters. 
  

3. How they can intentionally serve and love the people around them from the streets they live on, to the hallways of the school, to the extracurricular activities they are involved with, to the people they work with, and so on.

• The Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20) describes this ‘as you are going’ mentality. While you are at school, encourage your student to be others focused so that they will stop and help the hurting student in their Algebra class, to the student being bullied in the cafeteria, to their teammate who has gotten into some trouble, to a co-worker whose house was just destroyed by a fire. Daily, we can look for ways to the hands and feet of Jesus. 
  
• Help your student come up with proactive ways that they can serve others with the love of Christ. It might be ways they serve others alone, or it could be ways you serve as a family. The point is to live intentionally and with the mindset to share and to serve. 
  

You will notice that these three ways to be equipped are interrelated. It’s helpful to be comfortable sharing your faith story so that when the opportunity arises you are prepared to tell others how Jesus has changed your life. There is no better opportunity than when you are in the midst of serving others and using the gifts God has given you to expand His kingdom.

Below are some resources that will help you to be better equipped to live a life on mission!

Books:

• Life on Mission: Joining the Everyday Mission of God by Dustin Willis and Aaron Coe

• Share Jesus Without Fear by William Fay

• Becoming a Contagious Christian by Mark Mittelberg, Lee Stobel, and Bill Hybels

• One Thing You Can’t Do in Heaven by Mark Cahill

• How to Give Away Your Fatih by Paul Little

Web/Apps:

• 3 Circles: Life Conversation Guide at www.sendnetwork.com

• More Life App

• The Gospel App thru www.KnowTheGospel.org

• The Story at www.ViewTheStory.com