GROWTH THROUGH CLASS CONTESTS
John C. Joobie

 

1. Goals

A. To stimulate your class to grow and become more exciting.
B. To promote faithfulness in your kids.
C. To reward faithfulness.
D. To help your kids learn the bible lessons better.

 

2. Growth Through Contents

A. Your kids are the best source of reaching other kids their age that you have available to you.

B. Set a goal and let your kids know what that goal is. Use a thermometer type chart so they can see where they stand and they will strive with you to reach it. Then reward the class as a whole with a party or something nice for all of them they achieve it.

 

3. Improving Your Class Through Contests

A. Stress your weak areas. Build your contests around areas that need improvement. Your class will be stronger.

B. Contests will help your kids bring friends and be more faithful themselves.

 

4. How To Make A Contest Exciting

A. Offer prizes that get the kids interest.

B. Use bulletin boards to display scores prominently so they know what they need to do.

C. Create teams to see which one wins. Let them compete against teams and also individually. That way even if they aren’t smart enough to win by themselves, they still have a reason to try to do good.

 

5. Areas For Improvement Through Contests

A. Memory verse – use the memory verse as material for contest points.

B. Visitors – offer points based on bringing friends to church.

C. Bringing bible – reward the ones who bring a bible.

D. Offering – improve your offerings by using that as a point source.

E. Lesson retention – lesson review contests are fun.

F. Memorization of bible – your older ages can learn many passages of the bible such as: Psalm 23, the beatitudes, the Lord’s prayer and many more through contests.

G. Discipline – improve discipline through contests.

 

6. Using Bulletins Boards In Contests

A. Bulletin boards with names and stars.

B. Put slips of paper with prizes on them in balloons. Whatever the goal of the contest is such as bringing offering or learning memory verse, If they meet that goal they get to pop a balloon and win what’s inside.
Kids love this one.

C. Let them make a rocket ship or a race car and put them on a board. Whoever reaches the set destination first wins.

D. Put suckers or candy on a board and let them pull one off if they meet the goal.

E. Use a box with a slit in the top and as they achieve something write their name on a piece of paper and at the end of the contest whoever has the most slips of paper in the box wins.

F. Use grab bags. Put different prizes in a bag and they can grab on prize out.

G. Mystery seat – choose a mystery seat at the beginning of class. Don’t tell class which seat it is. If the person behaved through the class period then reward them with a prize. If the person did not behave, then
tell the class that no one gets the prize because the mystery seat person did not behave. Don’t tell the child’s name. This contest makes the class discipline improve.

 

7. Prizes

A. Keep prizes simple and cheap if you can. The teachers can each donate some money to go towards the prizes.

B. Offer regular prizes and then level of achievement prizes. Example: 1 point for each visitor they bring. After 5 visitors give them a kite. If they bring 10 give them a dollar.

C. Candy is probably the cheapest yet most sought after prize.

D. For the grand winner of the contest take them out for pizza after church. Get parent’s permission first.

E. Use your imagination for the prizes. Make worthwhile.

 

8. Summary- if you use contests wisely they can be great fun. They can make a big improvement in your class. If you ever promise a prize be sure and deliver it exactly as promised. Your kids will like your class
more if you make it a challenge. They remember contests a long time.

 

 

Christian Information Network