Awana Clubs

Are you wondering what Awana is? Awana is a worldwide children's ministry with evangelism and discipleship programs for children and youth ages 2 to 18 years of age.

Awana is a weekly program provided by area churches that involve church leaders, mentors and lots of parents. The program normally runs during a school year starting in September or October and ending the following year in April or May. It is a weekly program (one night a week) with special events, like the Grand Prix auto race, through-out the year.

The Awana program works with around 100 different denominations to teach churched and non-churched children to trust Christ for salvation and grow them in the faith.

The original Awana program began in 1941 by a Senior Pastor named Lance Latham along with the church's youth director, Ron Rorheim. The success of the program spread and by 1960 about 900 churches had started Awana programs. Today Awana programs are in over 100 countries.

The Awana name....The founders, Pastor Latham and Youth Director Rorheim derived the name from 2 Timothy 2:15 of the Bible. "Approved Workmen Are Not Ashamed" 2 Timothy 2:15 in the NIV Bible reads "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth."

Check with your local church and find an AWANA program near you.

Wouldn't you like to have a Puggle?

Awana for 2 and 3 year olds is called Puggles. The Awana program recognizes the abilities of our toddlers so this program is filled with playtime, music, easy crafts and activities. The programs used reinforce basic biblical principals:

< God Made Everything

Awana for pre-school children ages 3 to 5 is called Cubbies. Fun activities for your little one includes puppets, games, story time and simple crafts. Not to mention spending time with the other cubbies having fun and making friends.

The Cubbie program focuses on God's love for us and all abaout His son Jesus Christ.

Why not make your bedtime stories, stories from the Bible.

During the Awana program each group wears a vest or t-shirt where he/she can proudly display the awards they have earned

For the Cubbies, they wear a blue vest. How exciting to the pre-schoolers to get his very own Awana vest and earn awards. The awards for this group is:

1. The book award for 1 year

2. Jumper Trail Patch

3. Hopper Trail Patch

4. Church/Sunday School Attendance award

5. Club Attendance

6. Character Builder

7. Elephant Walk Patch

8. Lamb Path Patch

Okay, grandma, get out your camera. These little darlings look so cute in their royal blue vests!

For children from kindergarten to 2nd grade we have the Sparks. Sparkie"s cant' wait to get to church for Awana. Sparkie's learn Bible verses and have a handbook to work on, There are also crafts and other activities to keep the Sparkie busy.

Sparks are divided into 3 years. The first year they are called HangGlider's, the second year they are WingRunners and finally SkyStormers. Each year they learn more than the previous year and you can see the children growing in Christ.

Sparkie's wear a red vest to display their awards which include the

Truth & Training is for 3rd grades through 6th grades and is divided into two distinct groups.

Truth & Training Ultimate Adventure for 3rd and 4th grades. This group learns that the Ultimate Adventure is salvation in Crhist. Each Truth & Training Ultimate Adventure book teaches the Bible is true and they can trust it's teachings. The handbook answers some of the most frequently asked questions by children of this age.

Trust & Training Challenge is for 5th and 6th graders training them that the Ultimate Challenge in their lives is being faithful to Christ. Their handbook answers frequently asked questions by pre-teens.

T & T's have Awana t-shirts to display the badges and pins they earn.

The final two groups for Awana is Trek for middle schoolers which includes 6th, 7th and 8th grades. The Trek program has 24 in depth Bible studies per year. The Awana Trek program also includes fun activites suited for this age group. Although the focus is on Christ these kids have fun learning and studying the Bible.

Journey is for the senior high school age students. It takes a deep look at a biblically based life and it's application for daily use. It also teaches the importance of memorizing scripture. Again, this program's main focus is Christ but it is done with lively conversation and plenty of laughs.

It's your turn to "talk". Let me know if you are going to Awana, have been to Awana, or know of someone who goes to Awana. And....do they/you like the program. If you are a leader let me know how it is going and some of your favorite memories.