Do you know what a missionary is? Maybe you’ve had missionaries come to your church and tell amazing stories about the people they’ve met in faraway countries. Or perhaps your church has sent care packages or money to support missionaries. Missionaries are people who believe in Jesus and are willing to leave their home country to go tell people in other places about God’s love! That takes a lot of courage, don’t you think?

This tradition of sending out missionaries started way back in Acts 13 when Paul and Barnabas became the very first missionaries sent out by a local church. The church fasted (went without food to focus on prayer), prayed, and then officially sent these two men to tell people about Jesus in other countries.

Sadly, not many churches have missionary commissioning services like this anymore. But Jesus told us to “pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest” (Luke 10:2). That means we should be asking God to send more missionaries to tell people about Jesus!

Maybe you think, “I’m just a kid—I can’t be a missionary!” But you can do lots of important things right now! You can pray for missionaries, save money to support mission work, and practice being a missionary right where you live by telling your friends about Jesus.

Take Action: This weekend, spend some time praying for missionaries around the world. Ask God to protect them, give them courage, and help them lead many people to Jesus. Also ask God if He might want YOU to be a missionary someday—either in another country or right here at home. And remember, you can start being a missionary today by showing God’s love to people around you!