Missions Participation Badges

How to Use Badges: Badges are a great way to recognize, encourage, and motivate children. There are no guidelines for how and when a child can receive a badge. Use these steps to determine how you will use badges in your children's program.

Selecting Badges: Choose which badges you want to include in your program this year. You may want to select several badges that all children can earn and plan events or programs to make it possible for each child to earn all of the selected badges.

Or tell children about all the badges and let them choose which ones they want to earn as a group or individually. The badges should correspond with programs, events, and projects in which children will participate. Most groups select four to seven badges a year.

 

Requirements for Badges: You determine the specific requirements a child should complete to earn each badge. Use the ideas given below or think of your own. The requirements should make it possible for all children to succeed.

Be sure to make requirements easier for younger children than for older children. And provide ways for children who start in the middle of the year to make up projects. Keep this from becoming competitive by designing requirements that are fun and easy to accomplish.

 

Communicate Clearly: Tell children about the badges they can earn this year. Explain the requirements for each badge to both children and parents. Encourage children to earn badges as a group instead of individually to discourage competition.

Awarding Badges: Badges are typically given at the end of the year at a recognition service, but you can also award them throughout the year to keep children motivated. Recognition service ideas are included in Special Assignments.

Displaying Badges: Choose a way to display badges. You may want to make each child a sash or vest or purchase a sash from WorldCrafts. You may also choose to sew badges onto tote bags or backpacks.

Ordering Badges: Order badges by calling WMU at 1-800-968-7301, order online at www.wmustore.com, or visit your local LifeWay Christian Store. New badges are released every year.

The Badges: 

Annie Armstrong Easter Offering^®

· Ask each child to discover three ways Annie Armstrong Easter Offering money is used to help missionaries do their work. Award a badge for each one that tells the group what he or she learned.

· Encourage the creativity of your children. Ask them to work as a group to write a song about the importance of the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering. Award badges to children who participate.

· Lead children to plan and present a skit to promote the offering.

Click here to order this badge.


Chevron

· Host a kickoff party at the beginning of each year. Give each child who attends a chevron badge.

· Place each year's chevron around the Children  in Action badge to designate how many years each girl has participated in Children in Action.

· Place chevrons around badges as children earn the same badges each year.

· Give each child a chevron at the beginning of a year. Display all the badges she earns that year under the chevron. Start again the next year with a new chevron.

Click here to order the 2009 chevron.
Click here to order the 2010 chevron.

Children in Action 
· Give a Children in Action badge to a child when he or she attends Children in Action for the fourth time (or choose a number that works best for you).
· Give each child a badge at the beginning of the year.
Click here to order this badge.




Children in Action Motto

· Give this badge to children who participate in Children’s Ministry Day 2010.  

Click here to order this badge. (Coming soon!)




Christmas in August

· Award badges to children who participate in Christmas in August.

· Enlist church members to help in gathering items for Christmas in August. Give badges to children who take a lead in telling your church about this ministry opportunity.

Disaster Relief

· Award this badge to each child who earns money for missions offerings.

· Let your Children in Action lead a presentation to help your church learn about missions offering. Give this badge to each child who participates.

I Met a Missionary

·  Award a badge to children who meet a missionary.

Click here to order this badge. 




International Mission Study

· Host an International Mission Study event or weekend. Present badges to children who participate.

· Give this badge to children who participate in the 2009 International Mission Study about North Africa.

· Give this badge to children who invite a friend to a special Kids Reaching Kids: North Africa missions experience.

· Give this badge to children who participate in the 2008 International Mission Study on Venezuela.

· Give this badge to children who invite a friend to a special Kids Reaching Kids missions experience.

Learning Scripture

· Choose a group of age-appropriate verses for children to learn (click here for verses). Award the badge to children who learn the verses.

· Present the badge to a child who learns a verse and then applies it to her life.

Click here to order this badge. 





Live Action Project

· Award the badge to children who take part in a missions project in your community.

· Host a "Missions All Day Long" event. Before the event, arrange for children to take part in four or five missions projects in your community, such as doing housework or yard work for an elderly person, reading books to children at an after-school program, or baking cookies for a local fire or police department. On the day of the event, ask children to meet you at a certain time for a day of mission surprises. Don't tell them what they will be doing. Then lead them all around town to complete their missions projects.

Click here to order this badge. 


Lottie Moon Christmas Offering^®

· Ask each child to discover three ways Lottie Moon Christmas Offering money is used to help missionaries do their work. Award a badge for each one who tells the group what he or she learned.

· Ask children to draw a picture or create a collage which tells about Lottie Moon's life and ministry. Present a badge to children who participate.

Click here to order this badge.


Mentoring

· Ask adults in your church to mentor Children in Action members. Award this badge to children who participate in a yearlong mentoring program.

· Partner older children with younger children for a mentoring program or event. Award badges to those who participate.

Click here to order this badge. 



Ministry

· Present a badge to children who take part in Live Action Projects.

· Encourage children to take the lead in planning and completing a ministry project. Thank them for their work with a ministry badge.

Click here to order this badge. 


Missions Camp

· Give this badge to children who participate in a state, associational, or church missions camp.

· Host an overnight missions event for children in your church. Give badges to children who participate.

· Award this badge to children who attend a certain number of sessions during the 2008–2009 year.  

· Host a Mission: Possible kick-off party. Award the badge to children who attend or who bring another child who is not part of Children in Action.

Click here to order this badge.


MK Friends

· Encourage children to write or email a missionary MK on the Prayer Calendar or an MK from your state. Use badges to encourage children to pray for and communicate with MKs.

· Ask your state office for the name of North American missionary kids in your state. Organize a program to do something special for these children. Award badges to children who participate.

Click here to order this badge. 




North American Mission Study

· Host a North American Mission Study event or weekend. Present badges to children who participate.

Click here to order this badge. 








Prayerwalking

· Lead your group to participate in a prayerwalking experience in your community (obtain parental permission for each participant). Guide the group to walk around the community and pray for the people who live there. Award each child a badge at the end of your prayerwalk.

· Plan a "virtual prayerwalking" trip around the world. Cut out shapes of different countries or continents and place them on the floor around your meeting room, along with prayer requests for each place. Lead children to walk around the room and pray for each request. Award each child a badge at the end of the virtual prayerwalk.

· Challenge children to keep a prayer journal for one week or one month. Give this badge to children who complete the project.

· Give this badge to children for praying for missionaries and MKs each week in Children in Action.

Project HELP

· Involve your group in a ministry project related to the current Project HELP^SM. Award each GA a badge at the end of the project.

· Plan Project HELP ministry event for your church. Lead children to make signs and decorate boxes to collect supplies for hungry people. Award each children a badge for her participation.

Click here to order this badge. 



Pure Water, Pure Love

· Lead your group to collect money to buy a water filter for a missionary through Pure Water, Pure Love^SM. Award a Pure Water, Pure Love badge to each child in the group.

· Ask children to make posters promoting Pure Water, Pure Love to your church. Award badges to children who participate.

Click here to order this badge. 


Reading Club

· Award this badge to children who participate in WMU's missions reading club.

· Present this badge to children who read missions books of your choosing.

· Award this badge to children who read missions books aloud to preschoolers.

Click here to order this badge. 

· Let older children plan and participate in a missions or service project in your community. Award badges to children who participate.

· Pass out bottles of water at a festival in your community. Award the badge to children who participate.

· Arrange for your GA group to work on a Habitat for Humanity house. Award the badge to children who participate.

Click here to order this badge. 



Special Assignments
· The Special Assignments badge can be used in recognition of participants who have started their Special Assignments work, but not yet completed all of their activities for the year.
· The badge may also be given to Children in Action who have completed one or more years of Special Assignments.
Click here to order this badge.



Telling about Jesus

· Recognize children who participate in evangelistic projects.

Click here to order this badge. 

· Award this badge to children who participate in a WorldCrafts^SM event or lead an event in your church.

· Tell children about WorldCrafts as they make crafts from around the world during a session. Give each participant a badge.

Click here to order this badge. 


World Hunger

· Ask children to choose a country or state where hunger is a serious issue. Encourage them to commit to pray for the people in the areas they choose. Award badges to children who participate in this program.

· Ask children to work on their own to research world hunger and present the information they learn to your unit. Present a badge to children who complete the assignment.

· Encourage children to organize a food drive to benefit a local food pantry. Give a badge to each child who participates.

Click here to order this badge.


WMU^®

· Award to children when they give to a WMU ministry or to the WMU Foundation.

Click here to order this badge.