AWANA: Training Children to Serve Christ

Is your church lacking in children's ministries? Are you a parent who wants to give your child every opportunity to learn about God? Do you feel like you're being led to get involved in youth ministries but do not have any formal training? If you've answered yes to any or all of these questions, then AWANA could be the answer you're looking for.

AWANA is a weekly, bible-based youth program who's purpose is to train youngsters in the Gospel of Christ and teach them to serve him in everyday life. AWANA is an acronym that stands for Approved Workman Are Not Ashamed. This is taken from 2 Timothy 2:15, which reads, "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth". AWANA is an international organization that has it's programs in thousands of churches all over the world.

The programs can include age groups from 2 - 18, depending on the amount of children involved at each particular church. Children are divided into groups according to age or school grade. This allows the material presented to each group to be age appropriate. AWANA uses Bible lessons and Scripture memorization to present God's plan of salvation and create a solid foundation on which to build their relationship with Christ.

The AWANA program includes six different age groups. This could be less depending on the amount of children you have involved. Each group has numerous age appropriate materials provided by AWANA including lesson plans and work books for the children to complete. Each group can get shirts or vests to wear to distinguish them from the other groups. As the children progress through their work books, they receive awards such as patches or pins to put on their shirts and vests. This is a great way to give them a sense of accomplishment as they complete assignments and progress through their Bible verses.

The youngest group in most churches are 3 - 4 year olds or basically the preschoolers. This group is known as Cubbies. The Cubbies work book is written in a storybook style as most books geared toward that age group are. The lessons are short, sometimes accompanied by a craft project that has to do with what they learned. They do begin memory verses at this age but they are very basic or sometimes only parts of verses. The Cubbies program is geared toward presenting the simplest of the Bible's teachings. The main goal is for the children to come out knowing we were created by God and that He loves us.

From there, they move into the Sparks group which includes kindergarten through second grade. The lessons and memory verses in this group build on what they learned as Cubbies. They also begin to focus more on the Gospel and what it means to be saved. Some of the children in this group are beginning to understand what it means to choose Christ as their savior. Many of the memory verses in this group will focus on sin and our need of salvation.

The next group is known as T & T, which stands for Truth & Training. The children in this group are third through sixth grade. By the time they get to this group, the children usually have a good grasp of the concept of salvation and many of them have made their own personal decisions for Christ. The lessons in this group focus primarily on what to do after you've made that decision. They are taught what it means to actually have a relationship with Jesus. The lessons are also geared more toward how to apply God's word in their everyday lives. They are encouraged to be evangelists and share what they have learned with their unsaved friends. The main goal of the T & T program is to teach them to not only choose Christ, but to live for Him as well.

There are two groups above T & T that continue to build on the Biblical principals already learned. Trek is the next group for middle school children. After that is the group know as Journey, which is for high school aged youths. Both of these groups are geared toward training in more in depth life applications. They focus on things such as dealing with temptation and peer pressure as well as other more mature issues. These two programs assist the youths in making the transition to adulthood and preparing them for a life in the service of Christ.

Each age group will have a number of adult volunteers to present the lesson plan and assist with assignments and Scripture memorization. Usually the younger age groups will have more leaders. There will also be one individual to oversee the entire program. This person is responsible for all organizational and scheduling duties. He or she will also lead the meetings each week.

AWANA clubs typically meet once a week usually in the evening. Meetings last between ninety minutes and two hours, whatever works best for the group. There is usually an opening ceremony with prayer and music and any announcements. After this the groups break off into their assigned areas for their lesson plans and to work on memory verses. There is usually an assigned game time for each group to give the kids a break and a chance to run around and have some fun. There may also be a snack time at some point as well. At the end of the night the groups will gather together again for the closing ceremony. At this time, the leaders will pass out any awards that their kids have earned and give them a chance to get recognized in front of the group. This is a really exiting time for the kids and they look forward to it each week.

AWANA clubs are a great way to begin training your child in the word of God at an early age. They're also a great opportunity for someone to get involved in ministry by volunteering as a group leader. It's easy to start an AWANA program at your own church. Their website has all the information you need to begin. If your church is looking for more ways to minister to the youth in your community, AWANA is a great way to do it.