I Want to Be a Missionary Now (archives) is such a fun song to teach in primary this year! With a greater urgency from our prophet to gather Israel, I can’t think of a better way to help primary children join in than by learning a song about missionary work!
As you are teaching this song, it may be neat to hear a special musical number from a guest during singing time! This is a great way to invite the spirit and carry the message of this song to your primary children’s hearts.
Use this I Want to Be a Missionary Now Guest Performance for a spiritual connection singing time idea that will make a lasting impression on your kids.
I Want to Be a Missionary Now Guest Performance
Being a music leader in primary has been one of my absolute favorite callings. Teaching gospel principles through music and being with Heavenly Father’s precious children each week is truly a blessing. That being said, planning activities week after week can be tiresome! It’s okay to admit it!
Bringing a special guest into primary can be a simple way to take some of the load from you while keeping the kids engaged. It’s such a fun way to shake things up a bit!
For this activity, you’ll want to prepare ahead of time and ask someone to come perform for your primary children. I suggest asking at least 3-4 weeks in advance to give your guest(s) plenty of time to prepare.
Who should you ask? It’s totally up to you! Here are some ideas for guests you might choose to invite to perform in primary:
- Missionaries
- Youth (Solo or small group)
- Activity Day Group
- Members with musical talents
No matter who you ask, it’s always helpful to give them a rough idea of what you’re looking for. You might even consider asking if they already have a musical arrangement they’d like to share, or if they’d prefer that you to find one for them.
At the beginning of singing time, share that you’ll be having a special visitor in primary! Remind the children to be reverent while they listen to the performer.
After the performance, thank your guest and continue practicing this fun song! Grab our flip chart, or combine this activity with another review idea, like this I Want to Be a Missionary Now Directional Marching movement activity!
Musical Arrangement Ideas:
I love the website, Free Sacred Sheet Music. If you’ve never visited this site before, there are lots of free arrangements for primary songs and hymns. They even have a neat feature where you can listen to the arrangement to get an idea of how it sounds.
There are also many other resources to use for musical numbers. Your performers might already have an arrangement they’d like to share! Here are some ideas for musical arrangements that might work for this activity.
1. Missionary Medley: Solo or Small Group
This neat missionary medley by Alison Williamson is a great choice for this activity! This arrangement is a combination of the primary songs, I Want to Be a Missionary Now and I Hope They Call Me on a Mission. This is a perfect way to invite the spirit and help your primary children feel excited about missionary work!
2. I Want to Be a Missionary Now Lead Sheet
You can find lead sheets for dozens of primary songs, including I Want to Be a Missionary Now! A lead sheet simply includes song lyrics and chords to play. If you have someone in your ward who plays guitar, ukulele, or piano, they could share a simple arrangement using this lead sheet (page 19).
3. I Want to Be a Missionary Now Children’s Songbook
Keep it super low stress for your performers by simply singing from the primary arrangement! There are many ways to turn this simple sheet music into a full musical number! You could have a piano only verse, take turns singing solos, or even add an instrument!
See my example below for a super easy way to turn the songbook version into a musical number!
Extension Activities:
- Instead of sharing a musical number, invite someone to share a piece of gospel artwork with your primary! Invite someone to come share a simple painting, drawing, sculpture, or sewing piece (crochet, knit, quilt) about missionary work.
- Sing with your special guest! After your guest has performed their musical number with the group, have your primary children sing through the song with them!
- If you have the missionaries come into primary, invite them to share their testimonies and share what they love most about being a missionary!
- Sing along with our I Want to Be a Missionary Now sing-along video! Sing in small groups or ask if anyone wants to sing a solo!
For another fun similar activity, head over to see this Seek the Lord Early Musical Number singing time activity!
Head over to this I Want to Be a Missionary Now Word Wave Cards activity for another fun review idea and create a “wave” with keywords from the song!
What other fun ways will you use this guest performance singing time activity in your Primary room?
