Why do you have an Awana Store? "We have an Awana store to get kids to bring their handbooks, pay dues, pass sections, wear their uniforms and attend regularly." — Cindy Sims, Alpine Chapel, Lake Zurich, Illinois

"We have a store because it gives kids a place to spend the shares they earn for participating and passing discoveries and challenges in their handbooks." — Lisa Verhasselt, T&T Girls' director, The Village Church of Bartlett, Bartlett, Illinois

How do you finance your store? Leaders have found plenty of ways to finance their church's Awana Store. Some clubs are 100 percent donation based. Other clubs have a large budget. No matter how it is done, clubbers reap the benefits.

"Our store and other Awana expenses are financed through a once-a-year offering taken prior to the start of the New Year." — Chris Dunrud, Awana commander, Verndale Alliance Church, Verndale, Minnesota

"We budget $500 but rarely spend that much due to miserly moms always on the lookout for deals . We live near a toy outlet so we are able to pick up Legos® and scooters for reasonable prices. Christian Book Distributors® offers great deals on Bible covers. We do hit the dollar store occasionally to fill in spots on the table. But our goal is to offer quality items. It has made the kids work, and parents like that too!" — Renee Goodman, First Baptist Church, Evans City, Pennsylvania

"We have written letters to local stores telling them about our Awana club and asking for donations. We have received things such as free ice cream at Dairy Queen®, coupons for Family Christian Book Store® and a $50 gift certificate from Sam's Club®/Wal-Mart®. With the gift certificate in hand, a leader will purchase items for our store. (Remember to use your [church's] tax-exempt form.)" — Ruth Haley, Grassland Heights Baptist Church, Franklin, Tennessee

"We take donations from the kids in club and the members in church. If you advertise Awana bucks for a bag of stuff then a few kids will clean out their rooms and bring things in."

"The members of our senior adult department bring items for the Awana Store to their Christmas party instead of exchanging gifts with each other. They have donated new, gently-used, handmade and store-bought items." — Kendal Grein, Calvary Baptist Church, Shawnee, Oklahoma

How do your clubbers earn shares?
Memorizing sections, bringing a Bible, attendance, wearing a uniform or bringing a friend were the most popular answers to this question. Here are a few more ideas for encouraging clubbers to enjoy earning items at your Awana store:

"We award shares for everything and anything! If a few children are standing in line not talking and moving around, if they help a visitor, if they help another clubber or if they exhibit "Christlike behavior" they will earn shares. We make sure the leaders have a certain number of shares to hand out each night. They see the little things others might miss." — Denise Seal

"We have a game for dues . We have a bucket of water with a bowl in the bottom. Clubbers can earn an Awana buck for each quarter that drops into the bowl for a total of two bucks per week." — Cynthia Register, Awana commander, Rush Creek Bible Church, Byron Center, Michigan

"We reward clubbers for wearing tennis shoes because so many children were wearing shoes inappropriate for Game Time. Now most children wear tennis shoes." — Nancy Phillips, Awana commander, Pleasant Grove Baptist Church, Greer, South Carolina

"Our clubbers can earn two shares when they bring a friend. The friend gets two shares too! That encourages them to come back and spend the shares! Both clubbers get another two shares if the friend comes back the next week, and the friend gets an additional three shares when he finishes the Start Zone and officially joins the club.

We also use shares as an incentive to have kids participate in a theme — for instance, recently everyone who dressed up like a Bible character and told us a little about himself or herself earned one share." — Sharon Fasnacht, Awana commander, Reformed Presbyterian Church, Ephrata, Pennsylvania

How do your run your store?
"We have a kitchen that's not being used regularly. It has cupboard space where we can lock up all the items. On store night, we open the cupboards and drawers and display items on the counters. We have pockets on the wall where clubbers put their shares each night. On a piece of paper, the secretary writes how many shares each clubber has to spend. The clubbers bring that paper to the store with them. As they spend shares, they're deducted from the share register." — Chris Dunrud, Awana commander, Verndale Alliance Church, Verndale, Minnesota

"A man who isn't directly involved in Awana sets up, tears down and runs the store so it doesn't put a burden on any of our leaders. Only T&T clubs have the Awana Store. Our Sparks director has a prize basket of small prizes for our Sparkies. By the time they are in second grade they are really looking forward to graduating into the T&T group!" — Sharon Fasnacht, Reformed Presbyterian Church, Ephrata, Pennsylvania

What are some do's and don'ts you've learned along the way? "Offer a variety of items. Some kids like to buy lots of small trinkets, while others like to save up for something big. Also, you never know what will be popular. There was an item from last year's Christmas store that only two kids bought. We put them out again this year, and they were gone in 15 minutes." — Lisa Verhasselt, The Village Church of Bartlett, Bartlett, Illinois

"We don't hand out Awana bucks to the kids, except on Store Night. Our secretary keeps track of how many shares each clubber has earned, and hands out packages of bucks to spend on Store Night . Clubbers can ask the secretary at any time how many bucks they've accumulated." — Sharon Fasnacht, Reformed Presbyterian Church, Ephrata, Pennsylvania

When do you have your store?
The number one time of the year to have an Awana Store is before Christmas for clubbers hunting for presents for their family and friends. Several clubs hold their stores twice a year, at Christmas and then again around Mother's Day — or they have a special end-of-the-year store.

Other clubs like to have their stores every quarter or at special times during the year. Many Awana clubs run a store every club night, with different ages going into the store at different times. These leaders offer some tips on what they do at their store that your clubbers might enjoy.

"At our year-end store, we also offer a raffle on larger or more expensive items. Clubbers write their names on the back of shares and place them in a basket for a drawing. We also have an Awana Store "Catalog" that clubbers can order from throughout the year. It is full of official Awana items." — Lisa Verhasselt, The Village Church of Bartlett, Bartlett, Illinois

"We allow family members to share their points, and many of the children use their points to purchase birthday presents for others." — Susan Heien

"We have a year-end store that clubbers look forward to all year long. Our oldest groups go first: Journey, Trek, T&T, Sparks and then Cubbies. We do it this way to prevent the younger kids from buying the older age-appropriate items first. While one group shops, the other clubbers enjoy refreshments prepared by a group of women volunteers. Extra helpers come in for this big event to act as cashiers. We tell our clubbers they have to spend all of their Awana bucks or turn in what they don't spend. The bucks do not carry over from year to year." — Penny Thompson, Old Bethel Baptist Church, Clarks, Louisiana