Feb/Mar

Feb./Mar. 2016
Awana GO helps
leaders connect kids to
God's mission in fun
and meaningful ways.
Goals for Awana GO:
• Help kids know what God’s
mission is and their role
in it.
• Help kids and clubs
connect with kids and
ministry around the world.
• Help kids, clubs and
churches reach more
unreached children of the
world.
It is our prayer that kids
participating in Awana GO
come to…
• KNOW they can be a part
of God’s mission today.
• PRAY for those who don’t
know Jesus, both in their
city and around the world.
• SHARE about Jesus with
friends and neighbors.
• GIVE so unreached
children can be reached.
• And maybe one day, if
God calls them, they can
awana.org/go
You Serve in Awana to See Lives Transformed
You want to see change happen…in the
lives of the children and youth God has
given you to influence and disciple in your
club. One way to do that is to connect
your kids to God’s mission in fun and
meaningful ways.
Are you looking for a way to offset the
Winter/Spring doldrums? Missions Month
is a great way to energize your club…while
connecting your kids to God’s mission and
teaching them that they can play a role in
it today.
Missions Month is a recommended way to create focus and energy that
is purposeful and impactful. Join Awana clubs across the country
during Missions Month during February (or choose any other month that
works for your club) and let’s see what we can do collectively to make a
difference for kids in our community and around the world!!
This year for Missions Month, Awana wants to help you create a
memorable and meaningful experience. In addition to all the great GO
resources and fundraising tools, we have added two themes with
everything you need for one of the best club nights of the year! Click the
banner below or go to awana.org/theme-nights.
Missions Month - a concentrated time of teaching and reaching!
GO proclaim the good
news of Jesus to those
who have never heard it!
GO can help you spur your
children to action through
prayer, sharing their faith
and giving to reach others.
“Go and make disciples…”
Matthew 28:19-20
*Use the form included at the end of this newsletter to mail your Missions Month
donation or you can give online at http://awana.org/goreachkids.
Feb./Mar. 2016
Get on the Same Team
with Parents
11 Ways to Serve Busy Parents in
a Busy World – by Heidi Hensley
Breakfast and school, soccer,
ballet, homework, and chores,
oh my!
Does this sound familiar to
anyone else? Families are
busier than they have ever
been, and there never seems to
be enough time. When you pair
this with the understanding
that there really is no “typical
family,” it can be a little
terrifying for the average
church leader or parent.
You Are Making Hope Happen – Celebrating Your Creativity
There is no shortage of
creativity amongst
Awana club leaders!
First Baptist Church – Minot, ND
is helping their kids
worship God by loving
and serving others.
Hundreds of kids around
the world will be reached
because of their prayer &
financial support!
(Image below)
110 children in Africa attend Awana through
their GO fundraising efforts!
So how do we successfully
teach families to grow
spiritually and minister to
them? Whether you are a
parent, grandparent, fosterparent, or ministry leader, we
can benefit from getting on the
same team for parenting!
If you are part of the GO
Coordinators Facebook group
(see below) – you will have
access to download Heidi’s 11
ways book free for the month
of February.
Bethlehem Baptist Church - Cunningham KY helped
We love hearing from you and celebrating how your club used GO to connect
your kids to God’s mission. [email protected].
Serve the Lord with gladness!…Psalm 100:2
Service starts with God! When we serve others, we’re actually serving God.
The Bible says we all have special gifts or talents we can use to serve others.
WANT TO BE IN “THE KNOW”?
Join the GO Facebook Group
•
•
•
•
•
Hear from Awana Missionaries
serving in the field.
Weekly prayer focus.
Be part of a tribe - Learn and
celebrate together.
FEBRUARY FREE
DOWNLOAD– 11 Ways to Serve
Busy Parents in a Busy World –
by Heidi Hensley.
Join the group TODAY.
Try Something
Pray About It
Please help us to be your willing
servants. Help us to remember that
when we serve people in need, we’re
actually serving you!
Bible Truth
Read Romans 12:4-6a
Ask - “What gifts do you have that you
could use to serve God?”
Read Psalms 100:2 – How should we
serve God?”
You are loving God when serving others…
“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good
stewards of God's varied grace.”
1 Peter 4:10
© 2016 Awana® Clubs International
AFRICA MINISTRY UPDATE
Young boys and girls come to Awana to be
taught the word of God and memorize
verses. But for a boy named Kevin, it was
more! He says that Awana is his rescue
place and that it rescued him from being a
worldly child to a Christian child.
watch. He was so impressed with
the games and lessons that he decided that
every Sunday he would stay.
One Sunday the leader asked if there was
anyone who would like to accept Christ as his
Lord and Savior. A few clubbers lifted up
their hands but Kevin was afraid. He thought
that his friends would make fun and despise
him but then he realized that he was doing it
for his own good. So that Sunday marked the
beginning of a new life for Kevin as a child of
God. And because of his encouragement, his
mother started attending church, too. Kevin
has never missed any Awana club meeting
and he is a very active member. This is what
he says to unsaved boys and girls…”with
Christ all things are possible.”
Kevin lives in the largest slum in Kenya
called Kibera. And like many other families
in the slum, he lives with just his mother.
Many of the children in the slum end up
living sinful and even dangerous lifestyles.
This is the environment where Kevin was
raised.
Near their home is a young growing church
that has the Awana club. Every Sunday
after church instead of attending Awana
club Kevin would go out with his friends and
get into different sorts of trouble such as
beating other children or stealing things
that don’t belong to them.
One Sunday, he saw other children
gathering at one place and he wanted to
know what was happening so he stayed to
At a one-year celebration in Bweyogerere
(Kansanga) Uganda Awana leaders
reported, “Our hearts have been melted and
encouraged to minister to the children even
more, having witnessed how children have
gladly received salvation with ease and
sincere willingness in the past one year of
Awana. We surely enjoy what we are doing
with the kids now, because we have a clear
sense of direction in which to take the
children, which is enjoyable to them as well.”
AMERICAS MINISTRY UPDATE
Jorge and Elizabeth are fraternal twins who
live in Cuba. Their father had abandoned the
family and their mother was very dedicated
to her job as captain of the local police. She
was not a Christian and she made very little
time to care for her children. Both children
had bad habits and some serious behavior
problems at school. Their community rejected
them because of their misconduct.
Elizabeth and Jorge began attending Awana
three years ago. And now they are respectful
because they’ve grown spiritually. They
participate in a home group in their
neighborhood. Their church leaders, neighbors
and even their mother have witnessed great
change in the children.
Because of this change their mother also has
accepted Christ as her Savior and attends
church! She also switched jobs because she
understood the importance of being there for
her children.
“We started training Awana leaders at a
plaza from my neighborhood. There
were children coming to participate in
Awana, and soon we had about 45
children. These children’s parents
wanted to see what their children were
doing there. It was then that they
opened up their hearts and shared their
needs and anguish. As a result, some of
these parents gave their lives to Christ
and with the pastor’s assistance they’re
organizing a weekly Bible study at one of
their homes. The seed was planted
during the training and growth is
happening during the weekly Bible study.”
Angelica, Awana Director
Buenos Aires, Argentina
EUROPE MINISTRY UPDATE
“I’m bad. That’s why my
mother doesn’t want me
to live with her. I’m not
right…That’s why nobody
in the orphanage plays
with me. I’m not goodlooking…That’s why I’ll stay
here forever and won’t be
taken to a family as other
kids”.
This is what Ilona
thought of herself when
she and her sister were
first taken into a Christian family. At that point
her new mother was an Awana leader in one of
Cherkassy Ukraine Awana clubs. Ilona was only
6 years old but she was totally broken. Her new
mother Lyuda started to take her to an Awana
club. The leadership of the club prayed for her
and God made a miracle.
Little by little Ilona started making friends with
other kids and leaders. She started to trust
others and trust God. When Ilona turned 10, she
accepted Jesus Christ as her Personal Savior.
Her life had been changed forever! She forgave
her biological mother and started to pray for
her not to perish, but to have eternal life.
Now Ilona is 13. Her biggest dream is to become
an Awana leader. She wants to help other kids
the same way she was helped when she came
to club. She remembers how difficult it was to
trust somebody after being betrayed by her
mother. But in her Awana club she’d learned
that kids matter to God - that she matters
to God!
The situation with the refugees is still critical.
Only some of the families are able to move
back. Now that the cold weather is here,
there is no place to go and many are still in
need of clothes, food and rent.
There is a refuge center in our city and each
day there are 50-100 families looking for food
and clothing. Volunteers here are collecting
goods from local people and sharing with the
refugees. We were able to help some of
them with goods that were recently received
from churches in Minnesota. THANK YOU!
We began an Awana club in the refuge
center and we are working on a new church
plant.
God has opened people’s hearts and during
the past year we have had funds to not only
reach people with the Gospel but to also help
the refugees with food, shelter, clothes,
medicine and even surgery. Praise the Lord!
But there is still much need here.
-Pavils Grigas, Eastern European Director
MENA MINISTRY UPDATE
Praises from MENA!
• 55 new Awana Clubs started
reaching over 4,000 children
• 350 new Awana leaders trained and
equipped for evangelism and
discipleship (35 from Syria and
Lebanon)
• In Cairo, we’ve trained 50 Awana
leaders from Sudan to reach over
1,500 kids
• Bible quizzing event with 800
children
Please pray with us for:
• Open doors in North Africa
• New work in Lebanon and Syria
• Growth in Egypt and open new
cities there in 2016
• Pastors, leaders and workers to
see the benefits of Awana
• Our partnerships in Egypt,
Lebanon and Syria
Awana for Iraqi and Syrian kids!
Praise the Lord! We have trained leaders
in Lebanon to work alongside the local
churches and organizations to reach more
kids for Christ.
We have reached 250 Syrian kids and 100
Iraqi kids with a goal of reaching 2,000
children.
NORTH AMERICA MINISTRY UPDATE
I just wanted to say that Awana is incredible! It's
really making an impact on the kids that come in
each week.
Last night, there was a little girl in my group
named Rachel. She told me she's never been to
church and that she knows "absolutely nothing
about the Bible." So I took her through the Start
Zone and explained the Gospel to her. She told
me she had no idea that Christmas was about
the birth of Jesus and that Easter was about
His resurrection. Once I finished explaining to
her, what Jesus did for us and how God loves
us so much that He sent Jesus to die for us,
she looked at me and said that she wished she
could've learned this earlier.
It broke my heart to see a little girl who had
never heard of God's unfailing love. She told me
that she wanted to know more and that the
Bible and God were, in her words "so amazing."
That's really when it clicked for me what an
impact we're making here with Awana. Kids
like Rachel, who have never heard about God's
love for us, get to hear it for the first time. I'm
not sure if Rachel will come back, but I sent her
home with a Bible and I highlighted some key
verses for her to read.
It made my day being able to see that
something as small as the Start Zone could
change a little girl's life. Awana is doing amazing
things.
-Rachel Littauer, Awana Leader
Willow Creek Church, Barrington, IL
A church in Fort Walton Beach, FL serves the
community by giving away free ice cream on a
weekly basis. The children’s ministry director
drives the ice cream truck and usually two youth
and another adult go with her as they minister
to the community. This is a very exciting and
creative neighborhood outreach ministry.
“I think Awana will be a great tool for teams to
use as an evangelistic outreach…Awana has
reached lost children and adults in our very own
church! We have reached so many children with
the gospel that are now followers of Christ! Not
only have we reached children, but some of
their families, too.
We have had parents come and tell us how
they see change in their child and want to know
what that change is all about. We have parents
who are not part of our church, serving in the
ministry because their children visited Awana.
Awana truly is a tool for evangelism,
discipleship, and missions all in one.”
Lesley Saxon, Second Baptist Church
Lancaster, South Carolina
PACIFIC RIM MINISTRY UPDATE
Meet Sasa. He is a young boy who lives with
his grandmother in the western province of
Papua New Guinea. His father died three
years ago and his mother remarried. He
does not attend school because he does not
have good support. Sasa says, “I enrolled in
Awana, and now I am learning many things of
God.” He witnesses to his friends and has
brought eight children to know the Lord. Now
he is 11 years old, and when he turns 16, he
wants to be an Awana Leader.
Mitchell is a young Australian man who came
to Fiji on a mission trip. He was so excited to
visit St. Luke’s Anglican Church Awana Club.
Mitchell shared
how Awana had
impacted his life
as a young person
when he attended
Awana growing up
in Australia.
This is what he
said, “It is so
encouraging seeing
that Jesus and
Awana is so impactful worldwide. Jesus and
Christianity works in any culture and any part
of the world. I have now really seen personally
the impact Jesus has had on many people in a
completely different country, and for this I
praise God.”
Lelie is a 15 year old boy from Awaba, Papua New Guinea. He comes from a very ungodly family. In
fact, his mother was a witch and his father was known as a man who practiced sorcery.
Lelie began attending Awana and came to know Jesus as his Savior. He is a musician and now helps
with worship. He borrows a guitar to take home each week to practice, and this creates an
atmosphere of worship in his home. After some months of being a Christian and singing songs,
Lelie tearfully came to his parents and asked if he could share the Word of God with them. He told
them about creation, the fall of man, and God’s plan of salvation through Jesus. And it was at that
moment that both his mother and father gave their lives to Christ. Now they have turned away from
their ungodly practices. And when other non-Christian community members saw that Lelie’s father
had come to Christ, many decided to come to church also. Many have turned to God because Lelie
shared his faith with his parents and now the church is full of men.
SOUTH ASIA MINISTRY UPDATE
Gulshan is an 8 yearold boy who attends
Awana in Pakistan.
He tells in his own
words How God has
showed His love to
him.
“I have just joined a wonderful fellowship of kids
which is called Awana. Apart from games, Bible
lessons, and different kinds of activities I am
keenly interested in music and enjoy the worship
time during Awana club. I like singing songs. In
Awana I came to know about Jesus who loves me
and my family, as well. Now I love to recite verses
of the Holy Bible and play music, especially among
clubbers. Worship is my favorite time during
Awana, and I have decided to play for the Lord as
King David. So please keep me in your prayers.”
Sangita (left) is 8 years old and Aruna
(right) is 9 and they live in India.
“We go to same school, play games and go
to the Sunday school together. We are
very good friends and we love to eat
tamarind together with salt and chili
powder.
Together, we made the decision to trust
Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and
Savior during Awana camp.
This is our first time attending camp and
we enjoyed it so much. We met so many
friends from different churches and
villages. We also learned many new action
songs, listened to Bible stories, took part in
the drawing and painting competition and
most importantly we gave our lives to
Jesus Christ and we believe now we are
God’s children.
I love my job as a small group leader in Awana. Not
only am I learning about the Word of God and
memorizing verses, I believe this is the best tool to
make known the Word of God to many kids.
-Aiza, Awana Leader in Pakistan
We are so thankful to God for allowing us
to go to camp and to all those leaders who
taught us so many things through songs
and stories and games.”
Each $10 gift to Awana ensures that one more child will be introduced to the gospel and can
begin an exciting journey of discipleship that will impact the rest of his or her life.
Enclosed is my gift to reach more kids for Christ.
1 East Bode Road
Streamwood, IL 60107
1.888.292.6250
Please apply this gift to the following designation(s):
 Where Needed Most XZ001
 Europe XE001
 Pacific Rim XP001
 Africa XA001
 MENA XM001
 South Asia XS001
(Middle East North Africa)
 Americas XL001
 North America XN001
(Central, South, Latin America, Caribbean)
(United States and Canada)
Or Write Specific Country
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 Other:___________________________________________________________________________________________
Total enclosed
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