Q. How do you set up a strong missions program in your Sunday school?

1. The best start is to have a pastor that is very missions minded for he will set up the mechanics in the church organizational structure to insure that it will come to pass.

If this is not the case, and it will be all too often, then you should do the very best that you can with those that you can find that are interested.

Begin to see what you can find in the way of backing and then what you can find in the way of possible roadblocks. Evaluate your possibilities and do what ever you can without getting yourself into trouble.

2. If you have a missions committee let them know you are interested in using any missionaries that come to the church in the Sunday school hour. Also let them know that you would like to have any local missionaries to come in if it can be set up.

3. When you get a real live missionary in your control PUT HIM OR HER TO WORK! They will love it. have them show pictures, slides, snake skins, coins, stamps or anything else that will help the kids know that they are working in a foreign country telling others of Christ.

Have a map available to help them visualize how far away the country is from your church.

Have them tell of the people that they work with - how they live on a day to day basis - what kind of problems their people face in their lives.

Possibly the missionary could dream up a craft for the kids to do that relates to his country.

4. Until the missionaries start coming through you have some other options that can be effective.

Use missionary stories from time to time (flannel graph or flip chart type stories).

Filmstrips are available that are from missions or about missions.

Start a prayer card file and pray for a different missionary each Sunday in opening exercises or in the classes.

See if classes would like to adopt a missionary to write to and pray for.

Anything that will keep missions before the kids.

Start missions offerings either in opening exercise or maybe once per month in the classes. Make this for some tangible project that can be given to a missionary. This will give the kids incentive to get involved.

Have missionaries the students know send tapes now and then that you can play in opening exercise or class.

Have the missionaries children share if they will. This could be a real challenge for the students. It would help the missionary children to feel a part of his parent's ministry as well.

5. Profits will be a long time coming however you can, even if you don't have a missions minded leadership, have a strong missions minded church in about 15 years -- when the kids grow up!

6. If the leadership is behind you you can do even more!

Try a missions conference banquet geared for kids one year. Have the missionary or missionaries prepare their thoughts on the kids level so they can be involved. You could even have a separate dinner in another room for the kids if the leadership is uncomfortable with the original suggestion. Have the speakers alternate between rooms so that the kids are being fed from the Word and challenged with missions.

7. Using missionaries for a week of daily vacation Bible school would be great. Have a live missionary telling the missionary story! Most missionaries would enjoy it and it gives them a good solid contact with a church at the same time. The pastor might be able to use him in some way as well when he isn't involved with the Bible school.

8. If your church has a missions conference see if the leadership would allow you to have a night or two of evening times for the kids using missionaries in different ways.

Use your imagination. Ask missionaries for ideas when the come through.

Just begin with what you have and do all that you can.