Kids helping kids … how children in your church can save lives

When they say, “It takes a village to raise a child,” they aren’t wrong. Growing up as a pastor’s kid, I was raised not only by my parents, but by a number of Sunday School teachers, youth pastors, and members of the congregation

An important ministry of the church is to “raise up a child in the way he should go.” And this year, your congregation can teach the children in your church to be the hands and feet of Jesus at any age. One easy way to do this is by asking them to give a few dollars out of their piggy bank to help someone in need.

If it’s someone they can relate to — like a child their age — even better!

That’s why raising money to help cure children sick with intestinal parasites is the perfect ministry project for the kids in your church. They will love helping boys and girl just like them. And since it costs only 99 cents to cure one child and provide him with a Gospel booklet, practically every kid can afford to get involved and help one person!

If you’re already thinking about what your VBS offering will go towards this year or looking for a way to encourage Sunday School classes to give, consider this: every $30 the kids in your church raise helps save the lives of 30 children around the world!

What better life lesson to teach kids than that they can make a positive difference in the lives of other children?

Why are parasites a problem?

Most kids have experienced some sort of stomachache before, so that’s a good place to start when explaining to your own kids or the kids in your church why we need to help children around the world suffering from intestinal worms.

Ask them to recall the worst stomachache they’ve ever had but to image that the pain had gone on for weeks and they had no way of making it better.

That’s what having a parasite feels like … I know because I’ve been there.

I woke up in the middle of the night with a shooting pain in my stomach. I had been living in South Asia for a number of months and was no stranger to various stomach problems — but this one was different.

Cramps, stomachaches, and more had plagued me for weeks. In a short time, I had lost several pounds, and I struggled to stay full. When I shared my symptoms with a nurse friend, she immediately diagnosed my problem.

“Oh, you’ve got a parasite,” she said.

While I conjured up images of terrifying specimen and contemplated my mortality, my friend got on the phone and ordered some anti-parasite medication. It was simple, and after a few weeks, I felt much better.

Just one dose of deworming medication can completely wipe the worms out of a child’s body. However, many kids living in poverty don’t have access to it.

What happens to children who contract intestinal worms?

Children living in poverty are particularly vulnerable to parasites. One of the best defenses against the harmful organisms is good hygiene. But in the slums or in impoverished villages, hygiene is not the priority — survival is. And so, many children contract parasites and remain unaware until the symptoms begin to show.

Depending on the intestinal worms, symptoms can include exhaustion, stomach cramps, diarrhea, severe weight loss, and more. Left unchecked, these symptoms can completely put a stop to a child’s life … keeping them from school, work, or play. Children living in poverty are already at an educational disadvantage, and missing more school can be detrimental to their futures.

Eventually, the symptoms can lead to other health problems — blindness or even death.

So how can the kids in your church help?

The solution is simple and inexpensive. Medication for one child costs only 99 cents, and yet that is still out of reach for most poor families. That’s where your church comes in.

For just $30, your Sunday School or VBS class can provide a cure for 30 sick children. Or maybe you want to set a higher goal and rescue even more children. Maybe your goal will be to rescue one child for each of the kids in your church. Or you could encourage each boy or girl to raise the money to cure at least give sick kids.

However you choose to incorporate this important need into your children’s ministries, you will be helping kids help other kids survive!

Children around the world will receive the medicine they need to get better and to thrive. They will be able to return to school and resume chasing their dreams.

But every $30 your church gives does even more than provide physical help. Every person that receives the deworming medication will also receive a Gospel booklet. That means that 30 families will be impacted by the love of Christ, and that is where true transformation starts.

Here are a few ways the kids in your congregation can get involved:

1. Determine now that your VBS offering will be used to help cure kids around the world.

If every child in attendance at your Vacation Bible School this summer could give $1, imagine the impact your church could make! Together, you could bring physical healing and spiritual hope to so many children and their families in impoverished communities.

2. Allow Sunday School classes to set a goal

Why wait until Vacation Bible School to get started? Issue a challenge to your children’s Sunday School classes and see how many sick children they can cure before VBS even begins. During that time, take the opportunity to teach children about how Jesus reached out to the sick and the needy.

3.Teach children about tithing

Sharing the need for deworming medication is a fantastic way to begin teaching children the value of tithing and giving to the Lord’s work. You can demonstrate that giving even a small portion of their allowance or birthday money can dramatically improve another child’s life.

This year, give the children in your church an opportunity to bring help and hope to suffering children around the world by providing deworming medication and Gospel booklets.

No matter their age, they will learn they have the ability to help save the lives of other children and bring an end to their pain. All it takes is $30 to cure 30 kids!