Awana is an international

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organization in child and youth discipleship. The headquarters are in St. Charles, Illinois,

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History

In 1941, the children's program at the North Side Gospel Center in Chicago laid the foundation for the principles of Awana. Lance Latham, North Side's senior pastor, collaborated with the church's youth director, Art Rorheim, to develop weekly clubs that they believed would appeal to all children. Other churches became interested in the program and inquired about its availability. In 1950, Latham and Rorheim founded Awana as a

parachurch organization Parachurch organizations are Christian faith-based organizations that work outside and across denominations to engage in social welfare and evangelism. Parachurch organizations seek to come alongside the church and specialize in things that indi ...

. Rorheim served as president emeritus until his death on January 5, 2018. The name is derived as an acronym of "Approved Workmen Are Not Ashamed", taken from 2 Timothy 2:15. , Awana claims to work with over 61,000 churches in 122 countries.

Programs

Awana offers resources and

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-based training programs for children ages 2 to 18 in churches. Children are encouraged, but not required, to memorize Bible verses for credit or to redeem for small prizes. Each Awana program is arranged into different groups that are separated by the ages and grades of the children attending. These groups include Puggles (ages 2 to 3), Cubbies (

preschool A preschool (sometimes spelled as pre school or pre-school), also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, play school, is an school, educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they ...

ers, ages 4 to 5), Sparks (

Kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...

to 2nd Grade), Truth and Training, or T&T (Grades 3 to 6), Trek (

Middle School Middle school, also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school, is an educational stage between primary school and secondary school. Afghanistan In Afghanistan, middle school includes g ...

), and Journey (

High School A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

). Although Awana offers programs for ages 2 to 18, churches that run an Awana program are not required to run a club for every age group.

References

External links

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Art Rorheim, Co-Founder/President Emeritus

MinistryWatch - Awana Clubs International

Charity Navigator Rating - Awana

Awana Clubs International EIN 36-2428692 - ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer

Awana Clubs International EIN 36-2428692 - Guidestar.org
{{authority control Christian charities based in the United States Christian organizations established in 1950 Evangelical parachurch organizations 1950 establishments in Illinois Christian youth organizations Charities based in Illinois Youth organizations based in Illinois

History

Programs

See also

References

External links