I took over as Cubmaster for my Pack in January and one of my goals was to strengthen our relationship with our CO, a local Methodist church. I also wanted to see more of our Cubs earn their religious medallions. So, I pitched a program to offer Jesus and Me, God and Me, and God and Family through our Pack, with me serving as the counselor and oversight by the pastor along with his involvement in key times. He approved it!

Next, I applied for a Thrivent Action Team to create the program to be offered three times this year (once at each level) which will get the funds to purchase the workbooks, bibles, craft supplies, and a storage container so that everything can be saved and offered each year in the future. That also got approved!

I offered the first program, God and Me, on two Sunday afternoons, the first being the last day of a district campout so we were all already together any how, and another the following week. Families were given a homework sheet to do in the week in between and turn in at the second weekend. It worked – six Cubs and four mentors earned their awards.

Jesus and Me
For Lions and Tigers (as of August 1, 2019)

This was structured to be presented in 4 45-minute segments, which will be done at a Pack campout in November.

• PRAY Program
• Jesus and Me Outline

 

God and Me
For Wolves and Bears (as of August 1, 2019)

This was done as part of two separate sessions on Sunday afternoons.

• PRAY Program
• God and Me Weekends Outline
• God and Me Homework
• God and Me Registration Form

 

God and Family
For Webelos and AOL

This program is structured to be a weekend long campout to complete all requirements. Parents must attend with their Cub to complete the family assignments. We’ll be offering this at the end of September for our Pack.

• PRAY Program
• God and Family Campout Outline

 

Bibles

I wanted to be sure we had bibles available as I want to be able to teach the Cubs how to look up passages and be able to read what’s in their workbooks. I went to Amazon and eBay for pre-owned to save on costs, and tracked down a seller on eBay that had more than enough to meet my needs. The average cost of a bible was $5 and some change. I went with the NIV Adventure Bible by Lawrence O. Richards as it is geared to the Cub age and has more information inside to help the Cubs through their readings. These run $18 to $26 brand new, so this felt like a steal. My son was actually given his a few years back by his Mamaw though he hasn’t read as much of it as he has his I Survived books.

I also bought one for myself and went through and color coded with highlighter each of the passages that would be read in each of the programs.

MOU

I wanted to be sure our CO understood what we were doing, so I created an MOU for us both to sign as I needed the Pastor’s help on a couple of items, specifically in signing off on each award. With the MOU, I provided a small binder that had a copy of each of the programs I wrote as well as the Counselor Guides for each award.

• MOU with our Chartered Org

 

Workbooks

Workbooks can be purchased at your local Scout Shop or ordered online through the PRAY website (cheaper shipping than ScoutShop) or online through ScoutShop.com.

Resources

Each program also has a resources or downloads page on the PRAY website. I recommend using that – you’ll be able to download PDFs of some of the items you need which makes it easier to make copies for some of the activities.

Adult Recognitions

These all require being nominated to receive with a minimum three years of service to youth and your church. Click here for list of recognitions.