Aims

To acquaint children with the concept of 'mission'.
To understand that the disciples did not plan strategies to carry out their mission

Lesson

Begin by revising what was taught in the previous lesson about the Church as a community of believers. Inform the children that because of these beliefs, the Church is also a community with a mission.

Consider the meaning of the word 'mission' by discussing the school's mission statement. Do any of them know what it is? What does it mean? Why does the school have it? Who is responsible for carrying out the school's mission? How is it done? (Stress here the importance of planning and organization).

Have the children ever been given a mission by their parents? What was it? Did they achieve it?

Today, you are going to give the children a mission. Their mission is to tell everyone in the world how good their school is. In groups, the children are to plan ways in which their mission could be carried out. As their budget is limitless, encourage them to be as imaginative as possible.

Following discussion, ask them to repeat the exercise, only this time, the budget is limited to the pooled financial resources of the group. As a prompt, give copies of the resource sheet '12 Low Cost Ways...' to each group. Discuss which methods the children would employ. Would any of them use number 12? Why not?

Inform the children that before He ascended into heaven, Jesus gave His followers a mission.

"Go then to all the peoples everywhere and make them my followers, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to obey everything that I have commanded you."

The disciples were not rich. How did they go about carrying out their mission?

Using the second resource sheet 'The Disciples Carry Out Their Mission' in conjunction with the first, ask the children to identify which of the 'low cost ways' the disciples used.

What about number 12? (See Notes) What were the immediate results of the disciples' actions? Invite volunteers to read the relevant passages?

Conclusion

Conclude lesson by informing children that Jesus' words to the Apostles still form the mission for the Church today.

Notes

Christians believe that the emergence of the Early Church was not due to the marketing skills of the disciples, who, in any case, were a group of unsophisticated fishermen. Rather, it was through the obedience and openness of this group, that the Holy Spirit was able to kick start a movement which rapidly gained 'international' importance.