I'm not quite sure what this is (although I believe it's religiously oriented), so I hope that it's okay to post this question!

I was just wondering what this is - is it like Sunday School? I was looking at the website but still don't really understand what it is. It almost looks like Cub Scouts or something, with uniforms and everything.

Has anyone had experience with this? What do the kids do? Is there a fee? Would you recommend it?

Thanks for your input!

By Ginny~moderator on Saturday, July 31, 2004 - 04:16 pm:

From their web site:
Awana is a nondenominational ministry that assists churches in reaching children and teenagers with the gospel of Jesus Christ and training them to serve Him. We supply programs, materials and training for more than 13,000 churches in over 110 countries. Our message to churches is simple: We're here to serve you with a ministry that is all about fun with a purpose — to win and grow kids for Christ!

http://www.awana.org/About.asp

Here is a web site that is somewhat critical of AWANA, which you may also want to check out. http://www.thomasleavitt.org/personal/misc/awana.html

By Coopaveryben on Saturday, July 31, 2004 - 04:30 pm:

My son went to Awana's for a little while on Wednesday nights. Around here it has kind of been adopted by the Baptist churches.

My son didn't like it because it was to long (lasted around 2.5 hours on a Wednesday night), after school that was too much for him. But it is a good program. We had to pay for his book and vest, I think the book was $7 and the vest was $9. Some churches don't charge. They start out as "sparks" and they have to learn things like the Awana motto, I think it is "Carrying Jesus's light to the world", JOhn 3:16, Attend sunday school 2 sunday's in a row, etc. they complete different levels and get badges for their vest. It seems most of the kids I've spoken with either really like it or really don't. I wish mine liked it more, I really think they learn a lot.

I would recommend it.

Are you looking to send your kid? or are you trying out programs at your church? The reason I am asking is I am in the process of trying to create a Wednesday night program.

By Amyl on Saturday, July 31, 2004 - 05:46 pm:

Hi Joy!!

I love AWANA!! I am a Sparks leader and we have so much fun. AWANA stands for Approved Workman Are Not Ashamed. We have many activities that we do with the children, we start off with group time, where we learn the pledge to the American flag, the Christian flag and the Bible, then we go to Green meadow time where the children listen to a story, after that it is game time, then it is council time, where the children recite their verses learned from their book. It is a wonderful program that starts at age 3 and goes to 6th grade. 3 and 4 year olds are Cubbies, then kindergarten to third grade are Sparks then fourth and up are Truth and Training (TNT). My daughter loves it and I can't wait to get my 2 year old involved next year in the cubbies section. Our program lasts 2 hours and our church is 2,000 plus people, the church we went to before this AWANA only lasted about an hour and a half. I would love to answer any questions that you might have. Just email me. I hope this helped answer your question. The website that Ginny gave is a good place to answer questions too.

By Boxzgrl on Saturday, July 31, 2004 - 09:54 pm:

I cant remember much about it as far as fees and such go but I did it as a child and LOVED IT!!! It was every Wednesday night and it seemed like a week took forever. I learned a lot, made some great friends and it was overall such a great experience. I recommend it for any age kid. I think I did it from when I was 7 til about 11 or so and I only stopped going because we moved out of state. Good luck with your decision.

By Tink on Saturday, July 31, 2004 - 10:37 pm:

I enjoyed this as a child, also. My oldest participates in this and really has fun. She is so proud of herself for memorizing verses and has made some great friends. I would describe it as Bible Scouts. There are some definite Scout type aspects to it. There are some small fees but much less than most Scouts or other extra-curricular activities. I encourage you to look into it. Observe the class your child would participate in so you can see how the leader interacts with the kids and see what activities they participate in. As we all know, the leaders can really set the tone of the whole experience.

By Ladypeacek on Sunday, August 1, 2004 - 03:22 am:

I too grew up in awana's and taught it for several years, i did Chums. It basically is like boy or girl scouts with a christian agenda. We had the best times, scavenger hunts, games, badges to earn, all kinds of neat activities that taught us about God. It is a wonderful progra for kids, highly recommend!