Is your area experiencing a shelter-in-place order for the foreseeable future or at least definitively beyond when you would normally have ended your club for the year? Us too! We understand that there may be some disappointment in club members, leaders and parents who are missing spending these last few weeks of club this year in person.

We wanted to share with you some ideas that our team has brainstormed or is planning to do this year in lieu of a typical award ceremony.

1. Utilize a Zoom Meeting.Zoom offers both free and paid versions, which allow you to host video calls with multiple users.

  • Send an email with a link to join the Zoom call and instructions for the meeting. Encourage kids to wear their club uniform and/or place their award banner or a project that they worked on this year behind them to be visible on the screen.
  • (Make sure everyone else is muted to begin.) Open by welcoming everyone and give instructions.
  • (Make sure everyone is unmuted.) Have kids sing together the Pioneer Clubs theme song or another song they have learned this year.
  • Say the Pioneer Clubs theme verse (Psalm 119:105) or another verse your club members have learned this year together.
  • (Unmute everyone except the person you have designated to speak at this time.) Have a couple leaders or club members share a testimony of what God has done through club this year, or something they learned this year.
  • (Make sure everyone else is muted.) Share a very short message or devotional.
  • (Continue to make sure everyone else is muted.) Recognize all of the kids and leaders by name who have participated in club. Acknowledge which awards they would have been receiving, holding them up so they can see them if possible. (Make sure they get them eventually.)
  • Thank everyone involved in club this year that made it possible. End in prayer, opening it up for a few others to pray if you have time.
  • Close the call.
2. Engage Families via Social Media. If you don’t already have one, make a Facebook group for your club. Create a Facebook Live video explaining how you will do the Award Ceremony this year.
  • Write a letter to parents and send a care package to each club family. Include the awards they earned but have not received yet, a few gift items (such as a Pioneer Clubs pencil or bracelet) a certificate for participating and a note of congratulations.
  • Encourage parents to attach the badges to their award display. Have parents take videos of their kids saying a memory verse or showing off a project they made this year during club. Have them post these to their Facebook or Instagram stories or to your Facebook group. Encourage them to use the hashtag #pioneerclubs. If they do, their posts may be shared on Pioneer Clubs Facebook page! (Be sure they know this before they use this hashtag so that they will only use it if they feel comfortable.)
3. Drive-Through Award Ceremony. 
  • Create a care package for each club family. Include the awards they earned but have not received yet, a few gift items (such as a Pioneer Clubs pencil or bracelet) a certificate for participating and a note of congratulations.
  • Designate a day and time frame for families to “Drive-through” and pick them up.
  • Be sure to have families stay inside their cars and wear gloves/masks when distributing the care packages. Consider playing music through a stereo system. Be sure to pray and/or speak some encouragement to each family who participates.
  • Consider adding extra devotional or activity ideas in each care package.
4. Drop-Off Award Recognition.
  • Write a letter to parents and drop a care package to each club family. Include the awards they earned but have not received yet, a few gift items (such as a Pioneer Clubs pencil or bracelet) a certificate for participating and a note of congratulations. Consider blowing up some Pioneer Clubs balloons and attaching them to the package.
  • Let packages sit for 3-5 days before delivering and be sure to sanitize the outside of the bag before dropping it off. Wear gloves when delivering.
  • Let parents know when you are coming/have dropped off the package so that you don’t have to go all the way up to the house.
5. Parking Lot Celebration
  • Have cars pull up and park in your parking lot, but be sure to spread cars out. Encourage families to decorate their cars before they come with window paint.
  • Use a bull-horn or other amplification system to emcee the program.
  • Broadcast music over a speaker and have families sing together to the music. Email the lyrics out ahead of time.
  • Talk about what they did that year and badges earned.
  • Give a short devotional.
  • Have a drive-by table where badges are bagged and labelled. Bag these at least 3-5 days ahead of time and sanitize the outside of the bags before passing them out. Wear gloves when passing them out.
6. Send a Photobook or Video. 
  • Help your club members record and share their favorite memories of this year’s club and recall all they’ve learned about Jesus. Click the link below to see a template for creating an end-of-the-year photo book that can be mailed or slideshow presentation that can be emailed or posted on your church’s social media pages (if you have already gotten photo release forms from families). CLICK HERE
  • If you choose to do a video, encourage leaders and club members to share short messages to include in the video. Ideas include: My favorite part of club is…, I learned _____ in club, I saw God do ______ in club this year, I’m thankful for club because _______, etc. Or have kids show what they made during club.