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| Have you read the article "Stickers and Candies and Stars--Oh My!" in the July/August 2007 issue of Children's Ministry Magazine? What do you think--is it okay or not to bribe kids at church?
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There will obviously be at least two opinions on this subject. In favor and against. I will speak as one who is in favor, but respecting the opinion of those who oppose it. I speak from 20+ years of experience in Children's Ministry ten of which I have served as a children pastor. I have always used prizes/rewards in my churches. Even back when I used flannel boards (the "Power Point" of those days!) prizes included, among other things, the flannel backed figures themselves . Back then it wasn't difficult to get kids excited or interested in the Bible. We had no Nintendo, PS2, MP3s or Internet like we do today. I used rewards mainly to encourage them to remember what they learned. Plus, it was a total joy to see their expression when they received their "prize." Today however, technology has captured the minds of our young generation making it more and more difficult to get their attention and encourage them to participate in church. The battle to turn their hearts to God is ever increasing. In this new animated world I think, more than ever, we need to look for ways to get kids excited about God. Besides taking advantage of the technology available to teach them I think we can still make good use of prizes/rewards as long as we don't depend on them. What I mean by that is that we don't have to always have a prize. Praying and trusting the Holy Spirit to work in their lives should take priority, but every now and then it serves as an incentive and a reminder that even Jesus will reward those who follow him according to what they have done in life! "Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done." Rev. 22:12
 
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| i have been in both camps and still do the ministries I'm responsible for that way. Right now, I am doing a children's church curriculum that uses aculated points and ultimately lets them spend them in a store. It's having an interesting impact on Bible memorization (they're actually doing it), on bringing their Bibles and on participation. What they will remember? Unsure. But doing some of this is a great start for them. I also throw candy for good behavior on occasion and other times, just give it to them because them because they are there. It's another tool in the teaching realm. Do I like it? Would rather be back 50 years ago when you did things because that was the right thing. The reality is, you need to dangle carrots now. Even parents aren't always the ally they once were.
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| I think if the verses (even with prizes to remember them) are repeated enough they will remember them. The verses I remember from my childhood are the ones I memorized for pts. every year at church camp. Back then honor & glory for your team was enough of a prize but I, too, have a "souvenir store" once a month for aculated points. I have prizes worth 1 pt., 5 pts. & 25 pts. Each month I usually prepare a "passport" that gets the kids reading & memorizing. This month we are taking a break from the passport but I told them that everyone would get a prize from the 25 box since this is our summer break.
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| I agree that if memory verses are repeated enough the kids will remember them without the incentive of prizes. As for other spiritual disciplines, our main focuse is that the main prize for doing what is right is that it pleases God and Jesus and that resonates among the children in our ministry. However, there is an area different from but linked to spiritual disciplines and that is behavior in the classroom. I do want our children to behave because God is pleased when they do but that is not always enough to get them to stop talking to their neighbor during Kid's Church. So we give out tickets for good behavior and then draw tickets at the end. I think this is a decent compromise because some kids can be really well behaved, get a ticket and not get a prize. And the funny thing is that they are completely okay with having a ticket and not a prize. I think that is because the ticket conveys more than the possibility of a prize. It also conveys that we are pleased with their behavior. And that is a great reward because kids at this age are people pleasers. These are just a few thoughts from practical experience.
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Every tool can be abused and anything can be taken to an extreme. I think used in the wrong way rewards can be very detrimental. This article gives a very good warning and caution about putting to big of an emphasis on rewards.
BUT
it also takes an extreme position against rewards. "Rewards distort Children's Values"; "Rewards Distort Character Development"; "Rewards Create a Faulty Image of God". Those are pretty extreme statements and in my opinion give rewards more power than they deserve. Can rewards used in the wrong way be detrimental, YES!!!! Do rewards in all cases completely undermine spiritual development as the article claims, NO!!!!!
I am thirty-one year old Family Pastor who grew up in a Christian home and attended Christian schools for about half of my childhood. I am very familiar with church rewards programs. In the second grade I was rewarded for memorizing the Psalms 1, the whole chapter. I still remember every word (King James version) and verse 3 is my life verse. I pray daily that I am a tree planted by the rivers of water. When I was in the third grade my Grandfather told me that if I memorized all of the books of the Bible he would give me a Bible. I still remember the books of the Bible and it helps me in my studies. I also fondly remember my Grandfather caring enough about my spiritual growth that he invested in me by purchasing a Bible for me. When I was in the seventh grade I did not attend youth group and made up every excuse when my youth pastor invited me. One day he said the youth group was going bowling on Wednesday night instead of having youth service. I cleared my busy schedule and attended that night and then never missed another Wednesday night (when in town) through out my Jr. High and High School years. I met friends that night and that youth group and youth pastor played a huge role in me making a commitment to Christ and ending up in full time ministry.
A kitchen knife in the wrong hands, or used improperly can cause immense damage and even death. We do not get rid of our kitchen knives. I believe great caution should be exercised when implementing a reward program,
BUT
we should not get rid of this valuable tool.
Jonathan Barnard
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| We also give bible bucks for various things that can be used to purchase items in a "store" at the end of each of our rotations. I have been able to get kids to participate in dramas when they normally wouldn't have, by "paying" them with bible bucks; I have rewarded out of the ordinary behavior (helping someone else pick up spilled pencils, etc.) with praise and bible bucks; etc. I haven't seen any detrimental effects from using this method, but have seen some possitive results. I have also "mentioned" taking away bible bucks for bad behavior, to date I have only had to "mention" this, I have never had to actually take them away. After reading the article, I thought there would be many posts about how "bad" these rewards can be. It's nice to see that we are not the only church that uses rewards.
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| I too was concerned with the strong statement that the "Carrots" article sent. I have thought about this over the last 2 years while serving as Minister to Children and beginning an Awana program in our church. But, I have seen the growth and maturity in so many of our children, who before Awana would never bring a Bible to church, never try to learn a simple scripture verse, etc. So many of our children are overloaded with activities and school work that asking them to do one more thing for church is often a battle. Motivation with a reward is sometimes all that is needed to get them to do the work. They may not see the big picture YET, but I can and their parents tell me they have begun to as well. I don't know many adults even who do anything they don't want to do without there being some type of incentive attached to it. We do get a paycheck for going to work! Do we really expect children to be mature enough to learn scripture just for the joy of it? But, God says that His word will not return void. Years from now, the Holy Spirit will be able to help them remember a verse they learned and apply it accordingly. I'm sure when the time comes, they won't remember what the reward was. I believe, just as in all things, that balance is the key and that leaders should always clarify that we can do nothing to EARN God's love or His forgiveness; but b/c He loves us so much, He chooses to give us good things when we serve Him and choose to obey Him. Besides, I'm sure we're all waiting for the best reward yet to come - an eternity in Heaven with Jesus!  src="http://forums.group.com/Skins/Blue/Images/EmotIcons/Tongue.gif" width=20 border=0> In Christ, MaddenMomInSC
KMadden
Laurens, SC
cmdkmadden@prtcnet.com
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| Good morning, I'm the author of the article being discussed. Thanks for all the vibrant interaction. First off, I wonder if I shouldn't have used a more nuetral term "incentive" in the article. Maybe discussing "bribes" implies that the person giving out the prizes has poor motives. That wasn't my intention at all. However, I think we do need to look at the long-termed effects of using incentives in our ministries. And here's the rub-- there have been several advances in brain research that have changed everything. Moreover, this new data about how the brain works is just a few decades old. So it seems right to me that we're in children's ministry are wrestling with this issue. Someone noted that the headings in my article seem inflammatory. I'll admit that these are strong statements, but that they are rooted in good science. Some books that have shaped my thinking: Brain Based Learning, The Dirt of Learning, Punished By Rewards, Emotional Intelligence, and Freakanomics. I highly recommend any of these books as readable primers to help children's pastors and volunteers stay current. Here's a quick illustration that helps me. Think of the oil gauge on your car's dashboard. I can either pay attention to that gauge, or, when it lights up, I can break it with a hammer. Rewards and incentives, I think, do damage to the our CM dashboards. Let's say my attendance numbers are dipping. This could be a light warning me that a) my children don't value evangelism, b) or that excellence has "left the building." I have a choice. I can take that indicator light seriously and teach evangelism to kids. I can make sure that our curriculum is excellent and that my volunteers are sharp. Or I can break the light and mask the root issues by offering stickers or prizes if the children show up. If you have any specific questions, please ask. I'll check back this weekend and try to respond to any concerns. God bless, Larry Shallenberger www.larryshallenberger.com
Larry Shallenberger
Author of "Divine Intentions: How God's Work in the Early Church Empowers Us Today"
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| When I first read the article in the magazine, I must say I was offended because our childrens ministry does use a points system. However, I do agree with Larry's post. Today's children in the church are too familiar with church and are bored, so in turn we keep giving more entertainment, more games, more prizes. I know in my church, they're already bored with our moonwalk, and our tech room, and our shop night room. This is an obvious problem with this generation of overstimulated children. We do need to get back to the basics of what childrens ministry is for...to entertain or to disciple children? However, I do believe that some rewards are important. I have my bachelors degree in elementary education and spent much time in public classroom settings. I have implemented a rewards system in my childrens ministry that was used in my student teaching classroom. Anyone who is caught being good (helping the teacher, cleaning the classroom, etc.) is given a "Caught Reflecting His Light" paper that is signed by the teacher and given to the parent. It's only a piece of paper, but you should see the children's faces light up when they recieve one. The papers are then put into a monthly drawing and five kids win a prize every month. This has helped with our discipline problems tremendously. This past summer, we rewarded any child who memorized the books of the Bible. This is an important skill that we many times overlook. We had six children complete the challenge. One of the kids came to church for the first time ever in his life and heard about the challenge. By his second week back he had memorized all the books. We were then able to reward him with a Bible. Rewards are important as long as we are rewarding the right things and not just stimulating and entertaining children. Pastor Emily
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