General Information and Award History:
The Bishop’s Award of Excellence recognizes individual Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, AME Pastors, Youth,
and Adults for significant accomplishments and/or contributions for the benefit of ministries in the
AME Church.
Nominees for this award should have clearly demonstrated exceptional leadership and patronage
that highlights their willingness and duty to serve God in any capacity that constitutes a ministry.
A nominee must have rendered noteworthy service to any ministry sanctioned by the A.M.E. Church.
The nature and value of noteworthy service may consist of a single plan or a set of decisions
that contributed vitally to the lives of a large number of persons or it may have been given
to a small group over an extended period of time. Criteria specific to youth, scouts, and
adults are identified under the following section heading “Additional Selection Criteria.”
The Bishop’s Award was originally created to recognize excellent service in scouting by the
Association of African Methodist Episcopal Scouts (AAMES) with the permission of A.M.E. Bishops
of the Church. Since its inception it has been realized that far more individuals in the A.M.E.
Church were contributing exceptional service in other ministries for which they too deserve this
highest honor for service in the A.M.E. Church. The Department of Christian Education has
appointed AAMES as the official administrator responsible for overseeing this award program.
Requirements
- Nominees must be an active member of the A.M.E. church for at least one year in good standing, and if an adult, current with her or his conference claims.
- Must be nominated by an adult member of the church.
- Nominees can only earn the Bishop’s Award once, for each particular type of service rendered.
Process
- Completed nomination applications shall be sent to the A.M.E. Christian Education Department – Attn. AAMES, 500 Eighth Avenue South, Nashville, Tennessee 37203-4181.
- To be considered for the current conference year, all nominations must be received by March 1st.
Award Insignia
A award plaque ($35), pin ($8), and/or an award patch ($6, scouts only) is
provided to individuals earning this award. The nominating A.M.E. church of which the awardee is
a member shall respectfully pay the cost of the award pennants upon the approval of the award
review panel.
Additional Selection Criteria
Youth
Must 1) exhibit outstanding service in the church, and 2) be performing at a high level
academically, or 3) actively providing community service. Consideration will be given to
the nominee’s length of service.
Scouts
In lieu of the above-- must have fulfilled requirements to earn Girl Scout Gold Award or Boy
Scouts Eagle Award.
Adults
Must have contributed significantly to a Ministry in the A.M.E. Church. Consideration
will be given to the nominee’s length of service.
This information herein is intended to provide a snapshot of the basic guidelines and
criteria required for the Bishops Award of Excellence. For more information please contact
the Christian Education Office.
General Information and Award History: