Hundreds of young volunteers scattered to mission sites across the state on March 10 for a day of hands-on mission projects. Children’s Missions Day, held every spring in Illinois, mobilized almost 1,000 kids and leaders to visit nursing homes, prepare gifts for first responders, clean up local parks and zoos, and a host of other projects. At each site, the missionaries gathered in the afternoon to celebrate and share their ministry stories.
As the volunteers headed back home, Carmen Halsey, IBSA’s director of women’s ministry and missions, heard from some leaders about what the day meant to them and the children they brought:
– One leader admitted they didn’t understand at first why the groups gathered at one site, instead of staying home and doing projects there. Once the children got together, though, their energy was contagious and they realized they weren’t serving alone.
– Another volunteer described the impact of seeing children share their most valuable resource—themselves—as they sat and read to nursing home residents.
– One church has used Children’s Missions Day to reach out to new children in their community and connect them to the church.
– Another congregation has caught the vision for how participation in hands-on missions at Children’s Missions Day can catalyze greater engagement from the whole church.
For more information about missions opportunities for children, students, and adults, go to IBSA.org/missions.