I stopped going to church quite young, and I'm pretty sure at that age there were no awards for any sort of memorization.  I do know friends who did though.  At older ages they were even encouraged to hand out pamplets and bibles to friends.

Any type of award for attendance bothers me.  If a child is sick, they are already probably pretty upset about not being able to do anything and not seeing their friends.  They also are feeling fairly horrible, why penalize them for being sick?  Why reward the kid who has the flu and shows up anyway spreading the virus to a bunch of other people?

chemgal - there are also children from broken homes who spend alternate weekends with the parent who is part of the congregation - they may be attending classes in another Sunday School or not at all.

There are also kids who live some distance away and who don't always have transportation available.  

And kids whose families like to take a Sunday to go to the ball game or to visit grandma in a different town.  

There are many reasons that the child has no control over that may affect attendance.  

I started this thread as a spin-off from another thread were a child was promised candy for memorizing a Bible verse.  

In my Sunday School class I rarely give out treats, but if I do - I give them to every child equally. At the end of the year, they each get a certificate and a small gift - and anyone who is graduating into youth group gets a Bible. We play lots of games, there are just no prizes for the winner.

I do not think there is anything wrong with awards. As long as there is a diviersity of awards for a variety of abilities. It can be discouraging for kids who are not strong in the areas awards are offered in. 

So one kid could get an award for memory. Another for imagination, and another for kindness, and so on until each kid is recognised for what makes him or her special.

Here is my take on awards. Like somegal, I would give equally. this is my reasoning. Like seeler, some kids memorize easily, some are very smart, some like competition. But in an eclectic group, there are also the children who struggle to read, struggle to memorize. Some children don't learn this way. They learn by doing not by reading.

It is hurtful to see some kids never win anything.

The same goes for time with children. If you do not have enough of whatever for all, don't give any.

Just my personal opinion.

I think that church for adults should be about recognizing and celebrating the fact that we all have our own unique gifts.  Not celebrating certain gifts over others - but making sure that every person knows that their gifts matter.  And working together to discover our gifts at church and in the community.

I don't think it's so different with children.  There are the gifts that they already have in their lives, the gifts that they bring when they are with the other children in Sunday School.  But there are also the gifts that haven't even sprouted inside yet. 

Because we are always growing (as children and adults) I think that tangible awards can be limiting and misunderstood sometimes.

As for attendance awards I'd be hesitant to award (or not reward) children for something that they have no control over.  Hard to drive/walk/bus to church as a child if your family isn't bringing you.

Our congregation gives children's Bibles (more like comic books) to all Senior Kindergarten children registered, and then more mature Bibles to all Grade 3 children registered. Attendance has nothing to do with it. If they're registered with us they get the Bible. We don't give out attendance awards.

I agree with Steven and TL about attendance

As a single mom I do take exception to the phrase "broken home". As a friend of mine says sometimes it is a "fixed or mended home" when parents no longer live together.

Children of divorced parents often have 2 homes or attend on alternate weekends.

Words are powerful things.

I was wondering about that phrase too Tabitha.

We have several children in our Sunday School who alternate between their parents - this year it seemed to work out that all of those children would show up every second week making for significant increases in attendance on those Sundays! I found it quite amusing.

Sorry Tabitha - my BAD.   I certainly didn't mean to offend.   My daughter and granddaughter lived with me for the first five years of her life.   She had a home and family.  It was just different from that of many of the kids she knew.   It wasn't broken.   Having been in the situation, one would think I should have been more sensitive.  I have a lot to learn.

Seeler... it is only in the stumbling and falling that we learn the paths we walk. Your heart is in the right place and indeed words are powerful tools. They have the power to create. To uplift. To tear down. To invoke joy and laughter, sadness and tears.

We *ALL* have a lot to learn about each other... And Words!

I look forward to stumbling along with you on the Journey of discovery and enlightenment.

Tao

If I may share a story from the past...

I've attended Churches and Sunday school off and on growing up. My parents never forced me to go or even asked. It was something I did of my own volition since I wanted to learn everything I could about different religions.

I was in such a class where when you memorized the passages you were given a gold star. I watched and watched as the other kids recited their passages and got stars. I watch another young boy who tried hard to get his passages right. He was a quiet boy who never spoke and never really took part in anything except this one thing.

He tried with all his heart to get them right, the other children laughed at him when he got them wrong or missed a word or two. When it was my turn I said my passages flawlessly and the Sunday school teacher came to me to give me my gold star. I motioned her to come closer so that only she could hear me. She walked over to the other little boy and bent down and looked him in the face. She placed the gold star on his little board. He looked at her tears in his eyes and didn't say anything for a moment. Then in a very small shakie voice he asked her why he got a gold star, he didn't get the passages right.

She smiled and said. God wants you to have this star. Not for getting them perfect, but for knowing them perfectly within your heart. His face lit up and beamed as he looked at the gold star on his paper in front of him.

I learned years later he was from an abusive home and had been abused for years. He later went on to do many good things for his church and community.

Never underestimate the smallest gesture. Sometimes... they bring the greatest harvests.

Tao

What an adorable story. thanks for sharing it.

You were such a thoughtful kid Tao, what a great story!

I'm afraid that there may be churches that offer awards for memory work, or attendance, or for being a 'fisher of men' and bringing a friend to Sunday School or Vacation Bible School.  

I think there are far better lessons to be learned than to compete with others for an award, and to value the award more than the accomplishment.    

Attending regularly and enjoying memory work (which I still benefit from today) should have, and in my case would have, been enough in themselves.   And if there had been an award for being the best behaved in class, I'm afraid I wouldn't have won.   I ask too many questions, didn't accept anything just because I was told, and I was easily bored.   I actually think some of my teachers wished my attendance wasn't quite so dependable.