#11- Rewards

You may have noticed there is a lot of questioning over the concept of rewards in children’s ministry. Some say yes because God rewards us, and some say no because it doesn’t create an impact on the heart just on the habits.

I think Rewards do have a place, but they need to have a purpose. I do not consistently reward for things I expect of a student such as listening to the listen, being nice to others, or participating in worship. We do reward for things that are “extra” based on their age. For example, Preschoolers get a sticker or small toy for brining their bible, but once they are in kindergarten, they are expected to bring their bible and they get no prize for this.

Another thing I reward for is memorization. We have a memory verse for Sunday morning and then we also do memory work on Wednesday nights. We have a prize bucket with little knick-knacks from oriental trading company. They are little things that will probably get lost or broken before the next Sunday comes. Part of this is so I know they will need to keep working on the memory work to have a prize.

On Wednesday night though we have flair. I give students a list of 25 verse that go with our series and for ever 5 verses they get a small button. Kids go crazy over collecting, and this is no different. All the kids work to get them all and some actually get them all. We also have a bonus flair that they can earn by memorizing a large chunk of scripture I give them (this semester is the Ephesians 6:10-18) and then they also get a piece of flair for perfect prepared attendance (they have to bring their folder and bible when they come). Not only are my kids getting into this but my leaders all as well. It a race to see who can collect the most, and as such our kids are getting learning to hide God’s word in their heart.

The important thing, I think with rewards is to make sure that you don’t reward for everything, and don’t reward to prevent bad behavior but to enforce spiritual practices and remind the kids that this is something God wants them to do, not just to gain a prize, but to gain a treasure that will live forever.