My World · The world of other people

Small hands, real service

The Adventurer Law ends with "be helpful, be cheerful, be thoughtful, be reverent." We practise those on purpose, with projects a five-year-old can do and an nine-year-old can lead.

What the kids learn about serving

Service in Adventurers is not a once-a-year event. It is written into the requirements at every level, so every child does some of it every year.

A young child reading in a play tent at home

Serving starts at home

Eager Beavers earn the Helping at Home chip. Busy Bees earn Home Helper. Builders earn Family Helper. Chores, done cheerfully, are the first mission field.

Young children at a church family event outdoors

Serving the church family

Busy Bees "discuss the work people do for your church" and learn one job by helping the person do it. Kids hand out bulletins, help the deacons, sing for the seniors.

Young children running across a park lawn with baskets

Serving the neighborhood

Sunbeams explore their neighborhood, list what could be better, and spend time making it better. Builders befriend someone from another culture or generation and invite them to an event.

Small children helping each other outdoors

The Good Samaritan award

A multi-grade award every level can earn: learn the story, then do real acts of mercy for people who cannot pay you back.

Acts of Kindness · Caring Friend

Sunbeams earn Acts of Kindness; Helping Hands earn Caring Friend. Both ask the child to notice a need and meet it without being asked.

Evangelism patch

Adventurers can earn an Evangelism patch by taking part in the church's outreach: inviting a friend, helping at a community event, sharing a story they learned.

Service projects this year

  • Thanksgiving food collection (November): Adventurers sort and box donations for the church food pantry.
  • Christmas caroling (December): we visit shut-ins and a care home in uniform, with cards the kids made.
  • Fire station visit (January): thank-you cookies for the crew, and the Fire Safety chip on the way out.
  • Valentines for a care home (February): every resident gets a card with a child's drawing.
  • Community helper day (March): a morning helping someone do their job, from the church custodian to a farmer.
  • Spring clean-up (April): a park, a trail, or the church grounds, with the Environmentalist award for Helping Hands.

Parents come along. Adventurer-age children are under parental supervision at all times, at every event, by North American Division rule, so service projects are family projects.

"We sang to Mr. Harold and he cried, but it was the happy kind."
Mateo
"I carried the heaviest box. Dad helped a little."
Sam

Being an example of Christ

What we teach

Jesus said the greatest in His kingdom is the one who serves. For a child that means three plain things we say every week: notice people, help without being asked, and be cheerful about it. The uniform is a reminder that other people are watching how an Adventurer behaves, at home, at school, at play.

The Adventurer Song says it: "To be honest, kind and true, to be like Jesus through and through."

How parents join in

  • Family Blessing service each spring, where parents affirm their children in front of the church.
  • Family Network evenings for parents: practical, short, hosted by other parents.
  • Adventurer Sabbath, when the club leads the worship service and the kids take real parts.
  • Investiture in May, where service and growth are recognised together.