Programs
of Religious Activities with Youth
P.R.A.Y. God and
Country News Bulletin
Fourth Quarter 2006
And the angel
said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good
tidings of
great joy,which shall be to all people.For unto you is born
this day in the
city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
Luke 2:10-11
Wishing you
“joy” this Christmas Season!
From the P.R.A.Y. staff
Front: George Domian, Doris Dotson,
Rita LaRose
Back: Rita Denno, Mark Hazlewood, Joan
Walker, Carol Hazlewood,
Jennifer Hounsom, Deb Hazlewood
Welcome to P.R.A.Y.’s God and Country
News Bulletin. This Bulletin is written for pastors, counselors,
mentors, and parents associated with Protestant and Independent
Christian churches. It includes program helps, best practices, and
special features to support a God and Country ministry. We hope you
enjoy this bulletin and take the time to share it with others.
GOD AND CHURCH TRULY WAS A “JOURNEY” FOR MONTANA FAMILY
The
Krenik family of Billings, Montana used their summer camping trips and
car rides to help Cole (age 13) and Kyle (age 11) earn their God and
Church religious awards.
“What actually started out as my way
to fit one more thing into our lives, turned out to be the best thing
ever,” said Mary Krenik. “Last spring when it was time to get going on
God and Church, I was reviewing the Counselor Manual, and my first
thought of “how can I possibly squeeze this in” was quickly replaced
with “when we ‘journey’ to Yellowstone would be a perfect kickoff to our
project. And it was!”God and
Church is a Bible-based curriculum that is built on a “journey” theme.
Participants embark on a spiritual journey with Christ to discover and
participate in the worship, witness and ministry of the church. Students
write postcard summaries of their discoveries and create either a photo
album or a video as a record of their journeys. How appropriate that
Cole and Kyle earned their award while on the road!
In preparation for their journey, Mary
filled a milk crate with art supplies and found two three-inch binders
to hold their work. The binders and milk crate went everywhere with the
Kreniks last summer. According to Cole, “the backseat of our car was
pretty messy when we had all our stuff out, but we didn’t care.” But
their effort paid off. According to Kyle, “We took turns looking up
Bible verses as we drove down the road. It made the trip go by fast.”
Drawing the postcards was one of the
highlights of the God and Church program for Kyle and Cole. Not only do
they like to draw, Kyle and Cole have also kept a postcard collection
since they were very small. It started when they kept the postcards that
family and friends sent to them while on trips, and then it continued as
they purchased their own cards to remind them of their own travels. As
they embarked on their God and Church journey, they dug out their
postcard collection and added it to their crate. They also added new
“homemade” postcards to their collection. Kyle’s favorite was the
drawing he made of Lake Yellowstone. “I know Jesus walked beside lakes
like me and he knew about fishing. I like to fish.”
Completing the God and Church
requirements while on the road took planning and determination, but it
reaped huge benefits. Here’s how Cole put it: “When I was confirmed we
went on a retreat. Jesus often went on retreats. Not exactly like
camping or going on vacation but sometimes when you go away you can
think about things that you are too busy to think about at home. I like
these programs. I plan to do the fourth one.”
Earning a God and Church award is hard,
but it can also be fun. Thanks to the Krenik family for showing how to
transform a summer travel schedule into a journey with Christ!
Click here to view photos, artwork, and the summer
itinerary of the Kreniks.
P.R.A.Y. ANNOUNCES ANCHOR PATCH FOR PUZZLE SET –
KNEELING SCOUT PATCH AVAILABLE FOR SALE DECEMBER 15
P.R.A.Y. has announced that the
“kneeling Scout” segment will become the anchor for the Duty to God
Puzzle patches. The kneeling Scout segment is the key component that
gives meaning to the entire puzzle set. As the anchor patch, the
kneeling Scout segment will be the first patch that a Scout receives.
The anchor patch will be available every year regardless of the
rotation. This kneeling Scout patch is available for sale as of
December 15, 2006. Click
here for more information on this important change.
DUTY TO GOD T-SHIRTS
Are
you planning on making a Duty to God presentation to your unit?
Making plans for
Scout Sunday in February?
Order a Duty to God
T-shirt from P.R.A.Y.
P.R.A.Y. is offering a limited supply
of Duty to God T-shirts at $15 apiece with no postage/handling charge.
Sizes: S, M, L,
XL, 2X
The navy blue
T-shirt features the puzzle patch on the back and “Duty to God” on the
front left chest. The shirts have been so well received that P.R.A.Y.
has extended its offer online and even added a SMALL size (for younger
Scouts). Quantities are still limited.
Click here to order your T-shirt
today.
DON’T FORGET … GOD AND COUNTRY IS FOR BOYS AND GIRLS
Many people hear about the God and
Country award through a Scouting group and do not realize that the award
is for both boys and girls. God and Country is for boys and girls
whether or not they belong to a scouting program. This means that
churches may use the God and Country curriculum as a discipleship
resource for ALL their youth and also as an outreach resource to Scouts
in the community. Click here for a handout introducing God and Country
as Christian Education and Outreach:
http://www.praypub
.org/god_country/start_up_kit_03.htm.
GREAT IDEAS
The following ideas came from people
who used the God and Country curriculum. We hope you find them helpful.
Please take the time to share your own “great ideas” with PRAY!
·
For the God and Family
Curriculum when we talk about the crust or the foundation, I have
salt dough made up ahead of time. The participants handle and work
with the salt dough to get the feel of "crust" and the dough. The more
they work with the dough, the better it becomes. This gives the
participants an idea about the commitment and time spent with God. The
more time you spend with God, the better your relationship is with Him
and the better it becomes. We then take the salt dough "crust" and turn
it into a Mezuzah. This ties the concepts of the crust being a good
foundation that you must work with to make good - just like your
relationship with God - with the idea that our prayers to God and the
scriptures and prayers used in the Mezuzah are our foundation with God.
– S. Brockington
·
God and Me
– I added a weekly memory verse for Rebecca to learn. She also made a
“God and Me” bead bracelet.
·
God and Family – Sarah made a
real “God and Family” apron for our closing pizza party. She also
made a casserole for the church freezer for a needy person. Sarasota, FL
·
God and Family Pizza Hunt – this
works like a scavenger hunt. Form teams (include at least two adults
with each team!), and give each team a pan with pizza dough. Set a time
limit for teams to visit homes in the neighborhood and find pizza
toppings. Teams can only get one food item for their pizza at each house
and it must be placed on the pizza. Meet back at the church at the
designated time for a pizza party. You may want to invite family
members. Bake all the pizzas (plus some “real” ones). Announce winners
for different categories, i.e. best tasting, worst tasting, most
unusual, most creative, most attractive, least attractive, most
toppings, least toppings, etc. Close with discussion comparing the
“scavenger pizzas” they baked with the “God and Family pizzas” they
built over the previous weeks.
·
Our God and Life class met for a
total of 14 times (not counting the times for service projects). I
divided the book of acts into 98 sections to make a daily Bible reading
schedule for 14 weeks. In addition, I supplied selected verses from all
Paul’s letters and had the students pick 14 to memorize, one each week.
At the beginning of each class, we would spend a few minutes reviewing
their progress on reading Acts and gave them the opportunity to recite
the verse they had memorized. This helped tie together Acts and Paul’s
letters which is what your lessons encouraged. - D. Sease, Indianapolis,
IN
WHAT OTHERS HAVE SAID ABOUT THE GOD AND COUNTRY PROGRAM
·
Our family is closer by just playing a
game about Jesus. It’s awesome! – God and Me Parent, Ullin, IL
·
We talk about God more often as a
family, read the Bible, and everyone takes turns praying now! – God and
Me Parent, Pasadena, TX
·
My son started attending youth program
regularly after teaching a class for this award. It also established a
relationship between my son and the pastor. – God and Church Parent,
Plantation, FL
·
Thank you for your wonderful program!
It accommodated our multi-denominational class led by a Baptist minister
and Lutheran pastor. The opportunity for the boys to grow together in
another dimension (they are from two towns, five churches, and five
different schools) adding yet another layer of fellowship that knits
them into a tighter bond with one another. Webelos Den Leader,
Statesville, NC
·
My son has decided to be a “real” not a
fake Christian. He has more quiet time with the Lord. – Parent, Oregon
City, OR
·
Great explanation (and scriptural
choices) of Paul’s ministry and how it applies to church members / faith
seekers today. Empowering selection! – Pastor & God and Life Counselor,
Santa Ana, CA
·
I can see how [my son] has grown and
matured in both his personal relationship with Christ and in seeing
there are ways to minister that fit his personality. (Packing bags at
the Food Pantry fits his nature to sort and organize.) – God and Church
Parent, Perrysburg, OH
·
The God and Life material is excellent.
The two boys in the program used the curriculum to prepare a
presentation on the Apostle Paul for their youth group. They also went
on an all-day trip to Princeton Theological Seminary. God and Life
Counselor and Pastor, Delhi, NY
MY STATEMENT OF COMMITMENT
The God and Life program requires participants to
write a “Statement of Commitment”. After studying the examples of men
and women in the Bible, students are to reflect on their own lives and
consider how they can keep growing in faith and nurture their personal
relationship with Christ.
The statement of commitment serves as a reminder to
students that their spiritual learning and service does not end when
they get their award.
Here are excerpts from one student’s statement of
commitment:
I will keep praying every night and I will
continue reading the Bible every day to keep growing in my faith. This
is also how I will keep God the most important thing in my life … I will
continue to grow in my faith by providing service to others and by being
cheerful in the service that I do. I will enjoy what I do, and always
have a smile on my face when I am serving others. A. Lesly, Santa
Ana, CA – God and Life recipient
SHARE THIS GOD AND COUNTRY BULLETIN WITH OTHERS
Please forward this email to other people you feel
may benefit from this God and Country Bulletin. You could share this
information with your pastor, youth group leaders, Sunday school
teachers, Scouting leaders, and others.
To sign up for our God and Country e-mailing list,
please email
JenniferH@praypub.org or use our
signup form on our website. (If you
received this as an original email from P.R.A.Y., you’re already on our
mailing list.)
UNSUBSCRIBE
If you feel that you have received this email in
error, or would prefer not to receive these emails, please reply to this
email with “Unsubscribe from God & Country” in the subject line or use
this link to send an email directly to
jenniferh@praypub.org to be removed. Thank You!