Tell Me More About Badges and Patches!
If you’ve ever browsed wmustore.com, you probably noticed there are quite a few badges and patches children can earn each year, whether they are in Girls in Action (GA), Royal Ambassadors (RA), or Children in Action (CA).
For each group, there are several different kinds of badges and patches leaders can award, and we’ve tried to keep them very general so leaders can use them in a variety of ways.
Each group has a badge/patch catalog that lists all of the badges or patches for the group as well as those that can be used with any group. The catalogs include project ideas for various badges and patches.
Whether you are a seasoned leader who has used badges or patches for years, you’ve awarded just a few badges or patches, or you are wondering if badges or patches are even right for your group, consider the following ideas:
Membership
We offer badges and patches that help identify a GA, RA, or CA, and what he or she has learned. It may be that a boy has learned the RA Pledge and Motto, which earns him the right to wear the RA Membership Patch and Pin. Or perhaps a girl has learned the GA Lifestyle Verse and how it can be applied in her life by which she earns a GA Lifestyle Badge. Generally, these are the first kind of badges or patches that are earned by children as they begin in a group and learn the basics of what it means to be a member of the organization.
Individual Achievement
Individual achievement is an opportunity for children to experience even more missions discipleship elements. Through individual achievement, children are engaged in learning what it means to be a member of GA, RA, or CA. They complete projects and earn badges and patches. These projects can be done individually, as a small group, or everyone can work on the same project at the same time.
In Missions Journey: Kids Leader, you will notice there is a section at the end of each unit that contains extra activities for GA, RA, and CA. One of these activities is specifically designated as “Individual Achievement,” and can be used to help children earn these specific badges or patches.
Girls in Action
GA Journey is a life-changing journey that helps broaden a girl’s missions awareness and involvement. To complete a full year of GA Journey, girls should complete activities in each section: I Am a GA, I Do Missions, I Give, I Help Missionaries, I Learn the Bible, I Pray, I Serve My Church, and I Tell About Jesus.
Children in Action
Experiences in Missions Expedition help personalize missions concepts and strengthen the faith of boys and girls in CA. To complete a full year of Missions Expedition, kids accomplish activities in these areas: Grow, Pray, Give, Care, Do, Learn, and Keep. Each area contains activities for younger children, older children, or all age levels.
Royal Ambassadors
RA Trek is designed as an optional plan to enhance boys’ regular missions experiences in RA. To complete a full year of RA Trek, boys complete activities in: My RA Identity, My Praying, My Doing and Telling, My Missions Learning, My Giving, My Faith, and My Church.
RA Advancement: The RA Advancement plan awards boys either a grade-level advancement shield pin or patch when the boy learns 12 mission stories and 12 Bible verses and participates in 12 missions projects. Boys can earn an additional advancement bar or star for each 12 additional mission stories, missions projects/activities, or Bible verses memorized in any combination after they have earned their basic advancement pin or patch. Leaders who follow along with the curriculum in Mission Journey: Kids will lead their boys to meet the basic requirements for RA Advancement each year. Leaders may also choose to use Week 4 as an opportunity for boys to earn extra advancement bars or stars by participating in a mission project of their choosing.
Missions and Ministry
Missions and ministry project badges and patches can be earned by all the different groups. From Families on Mission to Pen Pals, Annie Armstrong Easter Offering to I Led a Project, you’ll find a great assortment of missions and ministry badges or patches your children can earn as individuals or as a group working on individual pieces of a larger project.
Consider incorporating a quarterly special missions support project like Lottie Moon Christmas Offering or a backpack ministry project and award the coordinating badges or patches for these projects.
Each time your group participates in a missions or ministry project, you are helping to plant and water the seed of “doing missions” in the life of children. Earning a patch or a badge may be a great motivating factor for a child today, but as he or she grows the guided practice they received in your group will make doing missions that much easier and accessible.
As a leader, just know that you have tons of options when it comes to badges and patches. Maybe you award each child one badge or patch a quarter, or maybe your group is working on multiple badges or patches at a time. However you choose to incorporate them, badges and patches have the possibility to encourage your children, remind them of what they have experienced, and show your congregation just how valuable your time is with your kids each week.
Heather Keller is the Girls in Action and Children in Action consultant at national WMU. Her favorite badge from our current collection is the Backpack Ministry badge. Reach out to Heather for more tips or ideas at hkeller@wmu.org.
