Leave a comment on this post with your own ideas and how they have worked.
1) Commit your plans to the Lord. Obviously He would like His children to read, study, memorize, and know the Text and to know Him through the Text.
2) Follow through with an incentive program if you can. Certainly having children read God's Word because they want to know Him would be the best, but many children need a helping hand getting started. Here are some ideas:
- The old stand by of putting stickers on a chart.
- Group participation – reward the class with a party after completing a set number of Bible Bookmarks.
- Challenge one class or group against another to see who brings in the most completed Bible Bookmarks. (Girls against boys does not work as well.)
- Your personal excitement when a child participates will go a long way.
- Have a short “talk” on the topic of the bookmark completed each week. Regardless of your format (class, large group) you can take five minutes to teach on and talk about the bookmark they just returned. This consistent reminder will go a long way. Encourage your volunteers to do this as well in their smaller groups if you are in a larger church.
- Read some of the bookmarks passages in class. This will give them all a head start and demonstrate how it can be done. Don’t assume every child has a Bible and knows how to look up passages.
- Remind parents. They have a lot going on with their kids each week. Help them find times to help their kids if their kids don’t read well. Dinner time, right before bed, just as they wake up, are all good times to make reading God’s Word a habit.
Remember, just because this is a good idea and a good tool, doesn’t mean people will add it to their busy day. It is your job to find ways to help parents and children see the value and importance of reading God’s Word. The Bible Bookmarks are easy (not a lot of reading) and attractive, and once they get started, they’ll love it. Please feel free to let me know if there is any thing I can help with.
4 comments:
When my daughter who is 8 completes a Bible Bookmark, I give her one of the new Dollar coins that just came out. She has been diligent ever since.
Now she talkes with us her parents, her siblings, and her friends about what she is reading. It's quite exciting to see.
Ed in Michigan
The first thing I did was put together a separate prize box. I taught the kids that God's Word is a treasure and that when we read it we are storing up His treasure in our hearts. He is proud of us and so are we when they spend time in the Word so they get to choose a special treasure. (When a Kid reads each night, the parent signs the back of the bookmark).
When the kid's line up, our teachers cheer and hoot and clap; the kid's love it!
I took shipping labels and made name tags that said "I read God's Word everyday this week". The adults in the church took the cue and offered a lot of encouragement.
My teachers also read the scriptures and then refer to them in their lessons. It was neat this week how it worked out. The lesson was about hearing God's voice. How one teacher tied the bookmark in was telling about David and how his sheep knew him and his voice the same way we know our Father the Shepherd's voice. When we read our bookmarks everyday we spend time with our Shepherd getting to know His voice. It always ties in, that's important.
If we stay excited, so will the kid's.
Wow, this is great. I can't wait to read what others are doing at their churches with the Bible Bookmarks. We are just getting started in September and already I have some new ideas.
Thanks for creating a place where people can share ideas.
I'm am looking for creative ideas for rewarding our kids for completing their Bible Book Marks.
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