Christian Service

Chapter 21—The Home a Missionary Training Center

Of First Importance

The home is the child's first school, and it is here that the foundation should be laid for a life of service.—The Ministry of Healing, 400. ChS 206.1

The first great business of your life is to be a missionary at home.—Testimonies for the Church 4:138. ChS 206.2

The restoration and uplifting of humanity begins in the home. The work of parents underlies every other.... The well-being of society, the success of the church, the prosperity of the nation, depend upon home influences.—The Ministry of Healing, 349. ChS 206.3

The more fully the spirit of true ministry pervades the home the more fully it will be developed in the lives of the children. They will learn to find joy in service and sacrifice for the good of others.—The Ministry of Healing, 401. ChS 206.4

Let not parents forget the great mission field that lies before them in the home. In the children committed to her every mother has a sacred charge from God. “Take this son, this daughter,” God says, “and train it for Me. Give it a character polished after the similitude of a palace, that it may shine in the courts of the Lord forever.” The light and glory that shine from the throne of God rest upon the faithful mother as she tries to educate her children to resist the influence of evil.—Testimonies for the Church 9:37. ChS 206.5

Our work for Christ is to begin with the family, in the home.... There is no missionary field more important than this. By precept and example parents are to teach their children to labor for the unconverted. The children should be so educated that they will sympathize with the aged and afflicted, and will seek to alleviate the sufferings of the poor and distressed. They should be taught to be diligent in missionary work; and from their earliest years, self-denial and sacrifice for the good of others and the advancement of Christ's cause should be inculcated, that they may be laborers together with God. But if they ever learn to do genuine missionary work for others, they must first learn to labor for those at home, who have a natural right to their offices of love.—Testimonies for the Church 6:429. ChS 206.6

Our households must be set in order, and earnest efforts must be made to interest every member of the family in missionary enterprises. We must seek to engage the sympathies of our children in earnest work for the unsaved, that they may do their best at all times and in all places to represent Christ.—The Review and Herald, July 4, 1893. ChS 207.1