Awana listed by MinistryWatch.com as a 2007-2008 Shining Light ‘Top 30’ Exemplary Ministry.

MinistryWatch.com desires to see overall giving to Biblical Christian values increase and as such we developed this format to highlight those ministries which are exemplary. The list is a sampling of the “best ministries” and outstanding examples when we consider Philippians 4:8 and weigh and take account of those ministries that are excellent and worthy of praise.

These ministries are called ‘Shining Lights’ because they are indeed models of letting their Christian light shine before men so that the Gospel may be proclaimed and God be glorified. Consequently, we are shining a figurative light on them so that donors may be aware of their good works and other ministries may learn from their examples.

While identifying the best ministries is challenging given the selfless work that so many do for the cause of Christ, MinistryWatch.com believes that the list of 30 excellent ministries will be helpful to many. Each of the ministries has the following important features in common: A high MinistryWatch.com Financial Efficiency Rating was not a requirement for inclusion on this list although most do have good ratings. Many factors were reviewed and strengths in other areas can offset weakness in financial efficiency when determining whether a ministry should be of interest to donors seeking to be good stewards of their giving. Only you can decide for yourself with confidence if a ministry shares your values and with your giving plan.

This is just another step in our mission of encouraging Christians to give more of their talents and resources to Kingdom-building efforts. In short, we wish to help spread the Gospel of Christ by helping Christians give more and more effectively to the works of the Lord. If the Lord uses our list as part of that process, we will have been a blessing to both those ministries who have been ‘good and faithful servants’ with the Lord’s resources and to Christian donors who are seeking to be good stewards of their giving.
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MinistryWatch.com’s Take
February 2005 Updated November 2007
By J. Andrew Preslar

Whole-Hearted Ministry

Awana is an evangelical ministry which helps churches and parents worldwide raise children and youth to know, love and serve Christ. We provide fully integrated programs for ages 2 to 18, evangelism tools to reach kids and families, biblical discipleship resources that involve parents and churches, healthy mentor and peer relationships and specialized volunteer training. The prayer of Awana is that all children and youth throughout the world will come to know, love and serve the Lord Jesus Christ. The vision of the organization is to be a strategic partner with churches and ministries in a global effort to ensure the opportunity for all children and youth to be evangelized and discipled in Christ.

Awana takes seriously the importance of training and encouraging Awana leaders in their churches. They have a stake in their spiritual success. A number of churches do not utilize or only partially utilize uniforms and award systems. As a servant to churches, it is never the intention of Awana to police or govern a church. They see each church as owning, molding and managing their Awana ministry in a way that best works for them within the culture and socio-economic limitations of their communities. The average cost per clubber for nine months of trained, adult supervision is around $35.00. Comparing this to Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Brownies, Cub Scouts, Karate, Dance, Baseball, Hockey, swim team, and hundreds of other programs, it becomes quite evident that Awana is one of the few still under $100.00 annually for each child participant. Awana enjoys tremendous popularity among conservative, Bible-believing churches. Awana now serves churches from nearly 100 American denominations. As of November 1, 2007, Awana serves nearly 17,000 churches in more than 100 countries.

Part of the Awana appeal, no doubt, is that it provides churches with a specific, integrated, pre-developed plan for doing children’s and youth ministries. If you are not sure how to get a youth program started, Awana can provide the blueprint and the materials to get going. Don’t know how to teach Bible concepts to 6-year-olds? Awana has proven methods and materials. Furthermore, Awana encourages adults to get involved in ministry. Someone who might not know how to go about preparing a Bible lesson may find that Awana curriculum and leader’s manuals provide the “jumpstart” they need to take an active hand. The leadership training available through Awana includes step-by-step leader’s guides to be used in weekly Club meetings, director’s guides, which contain basic information on running a Club, and leadership training conferences held throughout the country.

Awana is a performance-oriented program. Awana games and Bible studies focus upon measurable achievement, with children being publicly awarded for success. Inter-church competitions such as AwanaGames™ and Bible knowledge quizzes ensure that the competitive spirit extends into the larger church community. This approach undoubtedly encourages learning and memorization. It also promotes interest and enthusiasm in Awana games. Clubs are, by anyone’s standards, action-packed. By taking a “fun approach . . . to the serious calling of shaping young people’s lives,” clubs give thousands of children and teens all across the world a unique opportunity to hear the Gospel and to grow in their knowledge of God’s word, which is what Awana is all about.

Children’s Ministries

Awana children’s ministry program are comprised of four distinct clubs for toddlers to pre-teens. Awana has developed a different set of curriculum, activities and goals for each group, but each with the same overall objective: helping children “to know, love and serve the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Awana Puggles is an enriching program for older 2- and younger 3-year-olds, the year prior to Cubbies. It plants two basic biblical concepts in toddlers’ hearts: We are a unique creation of God and God loves us very much. Awana Puggles teaches toddlers simple lessons through teaching cards, activities, music and more. Volunteers have a leader’s guidebook to help them plan and direct club time and communicate the lesson. Then parents can step in to reinforce the lessons with take-home cards that include ideas to point out God’s work each day. And little details like Awana Puggles T-shirts, puzzles and coloring books make every precious child feel like part of the group.

Awana Cubbies. This is the preschool division of Awana. The purpose of Cubbies is to introduce very young children to the Good News about salvation in Jesus Christ. “Cubbies” learn Bible lessons, presented by means of puppets and picture books (featuring animal characters) and participate in simple games and crafts. Some Bible memorization is incorporated into the Cubbies program.

Sparks. This is the kindergarten through second-grade division. The Sparks program, like Cubbies, is Gospel oriented. “Sparks,” however, explore more Bible truths than the younger group. They are introduced to basic Bible themes, Bible memorization is increased, and achievement in lessons and games is recognized by various awards.

Truth and Training (T&T). The T&T division is for children in the third through the sixth grades. T&T is more discipleship oriented than Sparks. The children’s handbooks cover much of the same ground as in the younger division, but on a deeper level. The Bible-centered curriculum is designed to encourage group interaction. Children in the T&T program are required to memorize 310 verses over the course of the year. They also learn dozens of Scripture lessons and participate in a ministry project.

Youth Ministries

Awana teen programs differ somewhat from the children’s programs, partly by being more in depth and partly by focusing more on specific life issues and building character and leadership qualities. But the greatest difference, at least for the leaders, is that Awana allows churches much more flexibility in implementing the teen programs. Because of the unique challenges posed in teen ministries, Awana has designed these programs to be more adaptable to the needs of particular churches.

Trek. The middle-school program of Awana is designed to help students continue to build a biblical worldview and strong foundation in Christ while beginning to learn how to deal with “real-life” issues from a biblical perspective. The Trek program reaches out to young people who are unsaved while bringing newer believers into a daily walk with Christ grounded in Scripture and drawing Christ-following teens into a deeply committed relationship with God.

Journey. This is the high-school ministry of Awana. Journey seeks to show young people that the Christian walk is a life adventure. Bible lessons are designed to be energetic, highly applicable and thought-provoking while strengthening students’ faith in Christ and their biblical worldview and apologetics. As with Trek, Journey provides students with leadership training and ministry opportunities, including opportunities to serve in Awana children’s clubs.

Camp Ministry Resources

Awana no longer runs a Christian summer camp program but still firmly believes in the spiritual benefits of camp for young people. Though Awana no longer operates camps, Awana provides suggested resources for local churches and ministries to effectively conduct their own independent camps. Awana has a legal disclaimer for use of any camp materials found on the Awana Web site. If a church agrees to the conditions for the use of Awana resources, it clicks the “I accept” button at the bottom of that page. They are then sent to a page featuring links to a variety of Web-based camp resources, including program resources, training materials and camp operation best practices.

Missionary-in-Training

Missionary-in-Training will launch opportunities for internships with U.S. field missionaries effective in the summer of 2008. Awana will also partner with a new organization for international mission trip opportunities.

Worldwide Ministry

Awana is not just a U.S. phenomena. Awana has been implemented internationally in 4,800 churches in 110 countries. The keys to its international growth are planning, partnership, training and financial support. Regarding planning, Awana has adopted an aggressive mission of quadrupling its international church base over a five-year period. To this end, Awana works with several partner ministries to connect with children worldwide. Awana provides international churches with the “necessary materials to build a comprehensive youth program,” including a new Leader-Based Model where church leaders are trained at a regional conference and furnished with the basic materials needed to operate Awana without having to wait for a subsidy from a U.S. church to finance the program. The Leader-Based Model is expected to greatly increase Awana clubs around the world since churches that can’t afford the full Awana program can still run Awana through the Leader-Based Model and don’t have to rely on U.S. churches’ financial assistance.

Because many international churches lack the funds to pay for materials and training, Awana still raises support in a variety of other ways, too, including sponsorship programs such as “Adopt-a-Club,” in which an Awana-registered church or a family or individual in the U.S. agrees to provide the monthly support needed to supply 10 children with resources to attend Awana in an international church. Opportunities to give to Awana are made available via its Web site. Member churches, in addition to purchasing products and paying annual fees, often choose to financially support Awana missionaries and make general contributions to Awana.