The Religious Emblems Program
Developing A Church Youth Program
The religious emblems program, which is approved for use by the national youth-serving agencies, is based on a curriculum designed by the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and other Protestant and Independent Christian churches in conjunction with P.R.A.Y. (Programs of Religious Activities with Youth). Persons who complete the prescribed programs are authorized to wear awards and emblems on the official uniforms of the Boy Scouts of America, Girl Scouts of the U.S.A., Camp Fire USA, and American Heritage Girls. All church youth, whether or not they belong to a Scouting group, who are in grades one through twelve are eligible to participate.
The religious emblems program, taught under the direction of the church congregation, is divided into four different programs based on grade level. These grade levels roughly correspond to the different ranks in the scouting programs, but since this is a church program, it goes strictly by grade level (not by rank).
P.R.A.Y. has developed a fresh new look for the recognitions, which is a blend of the traditional and contemporary. The recognitions retain the cross on the shield, but they feature a new color-coded design to symbolize how the four programs come together to build a foundation of faith for young people. The four colors represent the four levels in the P.R.A.Y. series, i.e. God and Me (red), God and Family (yellow), God and Church (blue), and God and Life (green). The four colors converge into a point to create an “X” at the center of the cross. “X” is the first letter in the Greek word for Christ, and it is symbolic of how Christ should be at the center of our lives.
The curriculum, familiar to many who have taught sessions, has not changed except for the booklet covers. All old materials are thoroughly compatible with the new and may still be used.
This new look coincides with a name change. Rather than referring to the curriculum as the “God and Country” series, it will now be called “The PRAY Program,” and the individual medals will no longer say “God and Country” but rather the specific program name, i.e. God and Me, God and Family, etc.
For descriptions of the four programs, please follow the following links:
God and Me
The God and Me program (Grades 1-3) helps children learn about Jesus and tell their story of “God and Me” together, beginning with the creation story. Children are encouraged to develop a personal relationship with God and praise God. They learn of God’s love through Jesus. As they tell parallel stories of their own birth and the birth of Jesus, they will proclaim that Jesus was born to be their Savior. in this program, children are challenged to follow Jesus's example and become “good shepherds” to other persons.
God and Family
The God and Family curriculum (Grades 4-5) is designed to help youth understand the importance of family and God’s role in a healthy family. God and Family is a creative program that helps youths and their families explore their faith together. Children read about different families in the Bible. To remember these lessons, children will compare families and “pizza.” The six steps for making pizza will give students a concrete, “hands-on” model on which to build their understanding of God’s love for their families. They will make a pizza as they study how families can grow together in God’s love, and they will choose “family projects” to be done with their family at home.
God and Church
The God and Church program (Grades 6-8) leads young people on a faith journey with three parts: meeting Jesus, worshiping God, and witnessing and ministering for Christ. Participants create either a video or a photo album to share what they have learned on their faith journeys. Young people will have the opportunity to work with their pastor or other Christian adult as they study the church's structures and objectives and participate in service projects that will give them a better understanding of the mission of the church.
God and Life
