This past Sunday we had an Easter Egg hunt for the kids. There were lots of smiling faces.
The hunt was over and the kids were going back to their classrooms (we did the egg hunt during service time - it's amazing how fast kids can pick up thousands of eggs...literally just a couple of minutes).
Anyways back to what happened. As the kids were walking back to class, two girls can running in. They had arrived late and all the eggs were picked up. They burst into tears. They were so upset that they were going to leave.
Then something amazing happened. I asked the kids if anyone wanted to share some of their eggs with the two girls. The kids started surrounding the two girls and giving them some of their eggs. Soon the two girls' baskets were full of eggs. The tears turned into smiles. I was so proud of the kids living out what it means to be a giver.
Watching this happen reminded me of something. It is important that we teach kids what it means to be a giver.
Here are five easy ways you can teach kids to be givers.
Share with them how Jesus modeled giving.
Jesus life can be summed up in two words.
"...just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." Matthew 20:28
Time and time again, throughout His life, Jesus gave and gave and gave. He gave the ultimate gift when He gave His life and died on the cross for our sins.
Point kids to Jesus and encourage them to follow His example. This is a key part of discipleship.
Give kids hands on activities that bring giving to the forefront.
Here's an example of how you can do this. Prepare bags of candy and give one bag to each child. Let them know that the candy in the bag is theirs. Then share with them about some kids in your community or area that are in need.
Give them a choice. They can keep the candy or they can give it back and you will deliver it to the kids. When you do this, you will feel the tension in the room rise. Kids will have mixed emotions as they ponder what they should do.
Some kids will take their candy home...and that's okay. But you will see that many of the kids will make the choice to give the candy to someone else.
These kind of activities are powerful ways to teach kids about giving.
Take up an offering each week and teach the kids about giving tithes and offerings.
Share with the kids a simple truth about being a giver before you take up the offering each week. Share with the kids what the Bible says about giving God part of the money He has entrusted them with. It will normally be small amounts at this age but if they can learn the principles of being a giver, it can help them live this out for the rest of their life and experience the joys and blessings of being a giver.
Share teaching series that focus on giving.
I have two curriculum series that I use to teach kids about giving. Click on the images below for more information.
Encourage kids to participate in church-wide giving campaigns.
When your church engages in big projects like a building campaign, special Christmas offering, filling shoe boxes for kids, etc. make sure you include the kids. God can do great things when you do this.
We were raising money for a new children's ministry building. A 3rd grade boy had made big birthday plans. His parents were going to take him to Florida for his birthday and he would be going to some amusement parks there. It was a big, big trip for him. The family had saved money for this trip for a year.
When he heard about the building campaign, the Lord began to do a work in his heart. He went to his parents and shared with them that God was leading him to forego the birthday trip and give the money toward the new children's building. His parents questioned him about this and he confirmed that it was something God was telling him to do.
So he gave the money toward the building campaign. God used it and his giving inspired the entire church to sacrificially give toward to the new building.
Your turn. What are some other ways you teach kids to be givers? Share in the comment section below.
