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Called to Serve

Called to Serve

youth looking at pamphlet

Purpose

Practice sharing the gospel as you prepare to serve a full-time mission.

Description

Assign each participant a “mission call,” a name tag, and a companion. Have each companionship prepare and teach a lesson from Preach My Gospel to volunteer investigators. Consider inviting participants to dress in mission-appropriate clothing and follow the missionary guidelines that day or week (such as waking up at 6:30 a.m., studying the scriptures for an hour, limiting technology use, and so on).

More Ideas

To all the world—Find several members of your ward, branch, or stake who have served missions in or lived in other countries. Invite each of them to tell your group about the country’s culture, language, Church membership, and so on. If possible, have them teach participants how to introduce themselves or share their testimony in another language.

Missionary panel—Invite current and former missionaries who have served in a variety of ways to host a discussion panel. The panel could include someone who served in your own country, someone who learned a new language, someone who returned home early, or someone who was a Church-service missionary. Have each person tell your group about his or her mission. Have participants come prepared with questions about serving a full-time mission.

Missionary rotation—Set up stations for missionary-related activities and have participants rotate every 15 minutes. Stations could include a scripture chase, memorizing Joseph Smith’s description of the First Vision (see Joseph Smith—History 1:14–17), answering gospel questions, and so on.

Tracting challenge—Divide into companionships and give each a list of gospel topics, such as eternal families, Joseph Smith, or God’s plan of happiness. Invite each pair to knock on doors in the church building. Have other participants act as “investigators” behind each door. Invite the investigators to pick one or two topics that they’re interested in. If the missionaries do not mention that topic in their introduction, the investigator declines their invitation. If they do mention it, the investigator invites them in for a short message.

Discussion

Encourage participants to talk about what they are learning. Discussions can take place before, during, or after the activity. You could ask questions like the following:

  • Why do you think it is important to prepare to serve a full-time mission?

  • Think back to a time when you shared the gospel with someone. How did you feel about this experience?

  • What thoughts or impressions do you have about sharing the gospel or serving a mission?

  • How can you apply what you are learning in your life?

Related Resources

Sabbath Day Lessons

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