Drawing by Daniel Venturo
In my last post, I told you the story of Crank-bait and Curly-tail, two chipmunk brothers who found a deadly snake right in the middle of a chipmunk highway! These two chipmunks realized how important it was for them to warn other chipmunks of this danger, so that no little chipmunk would be eaten! I told you that, just as it was important for Crank-bait and Curly-tail to warn chipmunks about the snake in the path, it is also important for those of us who are Christians to warn people about the danger of Hell—and share with them the Good News that Jesus died, was buried, and came alive again to rescue them from death and Hell. If you remember, God has commanded us to do this (Mark 16:15). If you are a Christian, you must obey God’s commands, including this one. You may be thinking, “Oh, I’ll wait until I’m an adult to share the Gospel.” You may even want to be a pastor or a missionary when you grow up. But you don’t have to wait 'til you’re an adult to start sharing the Gospel. God wants you to start obeying Him right now! He says in 1 Timothy 4:12, “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity.”
But I know that it can be difficult to think of ways to share the Gospel, especially if you are a kid. That is why I promised in my last post to give you some ideas. I hope you find one that works for you so you can get busy sharing the Good News!
Rock / Shell Painting
Do you like art? If so, this is a perfect craft for you to help you start sharing the Gospel. First, find some wide flattish rocks or shells (clams are perfect if you’re using shells). Then, using craft paints (not poster paint) paint a cool design or pretty picture on the rock or shell. Once the paint is dry, pick out one of your favorite verses about Jesus and write it out with a Sharpie marker on the smoothest, flattest part of the rock or shell. Some good verses are John 3:16, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Romans 6:23, and Romans 5:8. To protect your work, spray the rock or shell with acrylic spray. Now you are ready to hide your shell or rock for someone to find! Next time you are out, look for a good place to put your artwork. Find a little nook in a tree or a hollow in a boulder for your rock or shell if you are at the park, or you can hide it by a tree in the parking lot of a store! Most importantly, don’t forget to pray that the right person will find your rock or shell. Pray that they will ask Jesus to save them from the punishment of sin.
Message in a Bottle
It’s always exciting to find a message in a bottle. Imagine finding a message in a bottle that tells you the best news you could ever hear! You can give people such a message. Ask your parents to help you find tiny cork bottles at the store or online. The bottles we use are about an inch high. Once you have some bottles, tear or cut a small strip of paper. On this paper, you can write out the Gospel in your own words, or you can use a verse from the Bible. This is what we write for our bottles: Jesus, God in the flesh, died in the place of guilty sinners. He was buried and rose again! Turn from your sin and trust Jesus alone for the gift of eternal life! You are welcome to copy the words we use if you want!
Tightly roll up your message and place it in the bottle, corking the lid securely so it doesn’t get wet! Now find a perfect place to hide your special message. Once again, remember to pray for the person who finds it!
Make Your Own Tracts
There are many places that sell good Gospel tracts. But, if you can’t get these and you like crafts and art, you can make your own! Cut out some small cards out of cardstock and decorate the front. You can use whatever you want—fancy scissors, markers, glitter, stickers—just get creative! You could draw dogs, cats, flowers, insects—whatever you like. On the back, neatly write out the Gospel message and/or some verses. (If you’re having trouble writing out the Gospel, you can look at some of my previous posts for help. “Marmot’s Birthday” is a good post to start with).
There are many different people you can give your handmade tracts to. You can give one to the cashier or greeter at the store. You can give them to your waiter or waitress when you go to a restaurant. You can pass them out to your teachers and classmates at school. Try giving one to your hairdresser or to the man who changes the oil in your car. When passing out tracts, always remember to be careful about strangers. Make sure your parents are with you whenever you give a tract to a stranger! And don’t forget to pray for each person you give a tract to!
Wordless Book Crafts
Have you ever heard of the wordless book? It is just what it sounds like—a book without words! The wordless book uses colors to explain the Good News about Jesus. The first color, which is gold, or yellow, tells us that God is perfectly good and holy—like pure gold. The second color is black. It reminds us that our hearts our dark with sin—we are not good like God. We cannot be with Him, and we deserve to be punished. Next comes red. Red reminds us of Jesus’ blood. Remember? Jesus died on a cross to take the punishment for our sin. He was buried and came alive again, defeating death. The next color is white. White tells us that since Jesus has been punished for our sin, God can forgive us. If we ask Him to, He will clean it away from us. We must trust Him to do this. Once our hearts are clean, we can be with God! The last color is green. Green reminds us that, just as green plants grow, we need to grow to know Jesus better and to be like Him. We do this by reading His Words in the Bible and by praying.
There are all kinds of different crafts you can make using the colors in the wordless book. You could make a book by cutting rectangles of each color from construction paper and stapling them together. Or you could make a bracelet. Measure a piece of string that will fit around your wrist (about twelve inches). Tie a knot about one third from the end of the string. Now string beads on one at a time in this order: Yellow, Black, Red, White, Green. Tie another knot right after the green bead. These knots will keep the beads from sliding. Have a friend tie the bracelet around your wrist and trim the excess. You can also make a keychain. Cut a small length of string and tie one end to a split ring. String beads on in the correct order, then tie a knot at the other end of the string, after the beads. Don’t forget to tell your friends what the colors mean!
Who Can You Share the Gospel With?
God has placed people all around you that need to hear the Gospel—these are the people he wants you to share the Good News with. Think about all the people that live around you—family members and relatives, neighbors, friends, teachers, teammates, classmates—there are a lot, aren’t there? And there’s something you can do for each of them. If you have a family member, maybe a grandparent or some other relative, who is not a Christian, you can make an extra special craft or drawing for them with some Gospel verses on it. If you like sports, you can invite the kids in your neighborhood over to play a game of baseball or soccer. Then, you can give out wordless book keychains or bracelets. You can do the same for your teammates/coach if you are part of a sports team. If you are part of a dance class, you can give out wordless book hair ties or bracelets to your classmates. I already mentioned that you can give tracts to cashiers, waiters, and waitresses. You can give special gifts with the Gospel in them to your neighbors. Maybe the old lady next door would love a bouquet of nice flowers and a beautiful hand-drawn Gospel tract. How many other people do you know? Who else can you share the Gospel with?
I have given you several ideas for sharing the Gospel with those around you. But you don’t need to stick with these ideas—get creative and think of your own ideas that I might not think of. God has given you different talents and abilities and He wants you to use them for Him. So whatever you’re into, whether it’s sports or dancing or animals or art, use it to share the Gospel. It’s your job to share the Good News. And it’s very important.
Scripture quotations taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV® Copyright© 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.