Culture and Society Author: Brian Jardine

Teaching children and young adults the importance of an active church life can be a daunting task for youth pastors. With the many distractions that the average youth faces from day to day, concentrating on something as seemingly abstract as religion can be nearly impossible.

To the many youth ministers that have struggled in vain to attract more young people to a life of joy following the straight and narrow path, a prize wheel can literally be the answer to a prayer. With its ability to inject fun and excitement into even the dullest gatherings, this marketing tool is quickly becoming popular as a presentation aid, rewarding game, or even as a daily inspiration. How?

1. Find unorthodox learning tools. A prize wheel is usually considered a marketing tool, but many educators have found them to be exceptional learning tools. The prize wheel is customarily used to entice and attract customers to a trade show booth or retail store grand opening. However, in the same way that a prize wheel looks like fun and excitement at a trade show or grand opening event, children react to the prize wheel in a similar fashion. When the prize wheel is used as a presentation tool or interactive learning tool in an education setting, children are engaged and attracted to the fun element of its usage. Doing a little research about a prize wheel before making the purchase can be a great way to prepare oneself for new way to apply learning strategies to young learners.

2. Look for a quality products. A good rule of thumb would be to seek out only those made in the USA. While China is steadily improving in the quality of merchandise they produce, nothing can compare to old fashioned American know how. Other qualities to keep an eye out for are customizability, availability of free templates, and convenient size. If your prize wheel can be reused and implemented in a variety of ways, the investment cost becomes negligible. Consider all the different ways you can customize the prize wheel before making the investment.

3. Plan ahead. Keeping fun in mind, spend the time it takes to develop an effective use for this amazing learning tool. Identify what type of event you plan to use the prize wheel in, and customize the prize wheel according to the event. Usually, customizable prize wedges allow you to change the layout, colors, fonts, prizes and design of the prize wedges. You can opt to use the prize wheel as a door prize reward tool or an interactive "getting to know one another" tool. If you have the budget, determine what kind of prizes you might want to give away. Whatever you decide to use the prize wheel for, remember to create an environment of fun and excitement. Youth of all ages are attracted to the spinning sound of the game and are easily able to pay attention when a game of spin and win is involved.

4. Reuse. After the church youth camp meeting, consider other ways that this tool can help the church. Be a wise steward of your investment and be fruitful in using this tool in a variety of ways. With a little creativity and some planning, a prize wheel can be one of the most versatile tools one will ever make use of in a church environment.

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