You want children at your Awana club to come to know, love and serve Jesus. Plus, you'd like to see your Awana club grow. How can that happen? By encouraging your clubbers to bring at least one non-Christian friend to your club.
The Great Shakeup Council Time messages are a wonderful way to teach kids how to do this. If you haven't seen them yet, you don't want to miss them.
Requirement. It's one of those words that most people groan at. But the "Bring a Friend" requirement doesn't have to be like that for leaders or for clubbers.
Why? Because God is at work in unsaved children in your town. Some of those kids are friends of your clubbers. When they step into the doors of your Awana club, you become a part of God's plan for the life of those children. You get to give them the good news of Jesus Christ!
Now that is something to get excited about! So make a huge deal about having clubbers bring their friends to club. Who knows — you might find yourself hoping to make bringing a friend to club more than a once a year event.
In addition to talking about bringing kids to club, we have some last-minute Thanksgiving fun in this issue of Awana Ideas. Pass the pumpkin pie and the whipped cream!
Yours for kids,
Jodi & Dale
One of the basic principles of Awana is to use fun to attract kids to club. Here are some ways clubs have made their clubbers' friends welcome with memorable events:
- Make a Friendship Tree. Decorate the branches of an artificial tree with prizes: key chains, glow pens, stickers, candy, etc. When a clubber brings a visitor, he or she gets to choose a prize from the tree. The friend receives a visitor's pack that also includes a prize.
- BARF Night. BARF stands for Be a Real Friend and Bring a Real Friend. Kids love the name. Publicize it weeks in advance. Hand out snacks like worm stew (gummy worms) and dog food (Chex® mix).
 Plan a weekly Awana Theater. At sign-in, give a theater ticket to every visitor and the clubber who brought him or her. At a designated time, usually during Handbook Time, those kids with tickets go to the theater where they enjoy popcorn and lemonade while learning more about Awana. Show a short video that presents the gospel, and then have a leader give the plan of salvation using the Evangecube and the Flipper-Flapper. The Flipper-Flapper is a great item to give visitors as they exit your clubs Awana Theater.
| A Kid Can Always Be a Witness |
Each clubber can be witness for Jesus. Prayerfully choose the ideas that you think will most effectively teach about witnessing to your clubbers.
These alternatives are found in the T&T Leader's Guidebook, pages 5-7.
- Clubbers can: Invite five friends — ask them to sign a paper saying you've invited them to club. Give the paper to your leader.
- Clubbers can: Do an outreach project such as going to a nursing home to visit or sending cards to the residents.
- Leaders can: Provide gospel tracts like God's Only Way to Heaven or TransPort to your clubbers and have them to pass them out. Parents need to sign a piece of paper saying that the clubber completed the task.
- Clubbers can: Bring friends to church.
- Clubbers can: invite parents, grandparents or friends to Christmas programs at your church. Sometimes people will come to this type of event more than to club. (This works only for parents and grandparents who do not attend your church. Don't give credit for bringing Mom, who's already singing in the Christmas choir!)
- Clubbers can: Write a letter to a friend explaining what Awana is. Give a simple salvation message and an invitation to club. Your leader should read the letter and you should mail it to your friend.
What does the Sparks motto: "My Friend for Christ" mean?
Implied in this motto is the idea of "winning people for Christ." It simply means that Sparkies should be ready and willing to invite their friends to club so they can hear about what Jesus did for us and be saved too.
| Games: Turkey Gobble & More |
For Thanksgiving Fun, decorate your Game area with pumpkins, cornstalks, turkey cutouts, and brown and gold streamers. Then let your clubbers run amok with these games:
Turkey Gobble
- Two players per team stand at their team pins.
- One member of each pair is securely blindfolded.
- When the whistle blows, the "sighted" player walks ahead of the blindfolded partner calling out, "Gobble, gobble, gobble."
- The blindfolded player must follow the sound of the partner's voice.
- The blindfolded player completes one lap and crosses the team line.
- The "sighted" player races into the center for the pin or beanbag.
- Steal the corn — Play "Steal the Bacon" with an ear of corn instead of a center beanbag.
- Beanbag relay — Use small sweet potatoes instead of beanbags.
- Four-way tug — Use an ear of corn on the hash marks instead of beanbags.
- Sprint relay — Use ears of corn instead of batons.
- Pass around a basket of wrapped candy. As clubbers unwrap the candy, encourage them to give a reason why they are thankful.
- In Large Group Time, encourage clubbers to express their thanks to God by giving a brief testimony. They might begin with: "I'm thankful to God for (because) …" or "God's Word says …" (clubber quotes a verse) or "I'm thankful to God that …" Younger clubbers may respond in a single sentence, i.e. "I'm thankful to God for our Awana club."
- Bring in non-perishable items to be used at your or another local church food pantry or food depository.
- In advance, leaders or parents make or purchase sugar cookie dough. At club, the children decorate and bake cookies with enough to eat and to take a few home. Package others to give to shut-ins or the elderly from your church.
Veteran leaders told us that their clubs have a special Christmas store for clubbers:
T&Ters earn points for verses all year. Right before Christmas, they can redeem their points at The Christmas Store and "buy" gifts for their family (not themselves). It's a highlight of the club year. — Christy S.
Our clubbers earn Awana bucks from the beginning of the year and they use that money to purchase gifts for others at our Christmas store. We also have a big wrapping room so they leave club ready for Christmas. — Cindy S.
Our Sparks work hard on verses, attendance, etc., to earn Awana bucks. We've had a couple of double Awana buck nights to help. After they shop they wrap their presents and make special name tags for each package. They feel so happy to give to their families something they worked hard for. — Tammy L.
| Looking for Your Thoughts |
Do you have an idea you want to tell us?
Please e-mail us at: My thoughts: Awana Ideas. This Awana Ideas reader included a unique memorization location:
Hi Awana Ideas, I read your issue about kids not having time to do their verses. It does need to be a priority, but it doesn't need to be another thing to do. Here's my time-tested idea: I call the "Bathroom Method of Bible Memorization."
Everyone has to spend a certain amount of time there every day, so make it count! Copy out the verses twice, place one at eye view and one next to the mirror. The copying is the first step in memorizing. Then, read the verses each time you find yourself in the bathroom. People may wonder who you are talking to, but it works! Everyone I tell this idea to laughs, and few actually try it, but the ones who do report excellent results.
— Caryn Hasbrouck, (Hallberg, Citation 1982)
Awana Ideas
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© 2006 Awana Clubs International This newsletter may be reproduced without permission only by churches registered with Awana Clubs International.
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1 East Bode Road
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www.awana.org
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Awana Clip Art
Use Awana clipart to promote your Awana ministry! You can use it as long as your church is registered with Awana. Here are links to clipart for:
New Coloring Pages for Cubbies and Sparkies
Your Cubbies and Sparkies are going to love these!
PowerUP is a program to help kids finish their handbooks and grow in God's Word. It features dozens of downloadable resources to equip your church to do just that. We offer these tools and more:
Sign for your free e-newsletter here.
Check out the new PowerUP CD. It's packed with audio that will encourage and motivate your clubbers to memorize Scripture!
New Awana Radio Program
Kid Matters is a one-minute radio feature that encourages parents to raise children according to biblical principles and provides the practical ideas to do it! The radio program's Web site contains resources to assist parents and children's ministry workers. Check out the list of stations airing Kid Matters as well as an archive of radio spots.
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Check out the Awana Store, where Awana leaders can directly purchase a wide range of Awana products that will help your club ministry.
There you'll find items like these:
TransPort is a creative, fun magazine-style evangelism tool that T&Ters can give to other kids!
What's Next? is a great discipleship tool. It shows T&T clubbers how to grow spiritually after trusting Christ. Kids can use at home or with a leader during club.
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| T&T Trading Cards Are Here! |
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T&T Trading Cards
They're collectible, cool and will leave clubbers clamoring to earn more. They unlock a Web world of games, codes, characters and special prizes. And they will inspire kids to complete handbooks like you've never seen.
Get the Real Scoop from Real Clubbers
Find out what twin sisters, Abbie and Bethany, like so much about their T&T Trading Cards. You'll see why your clubbers would love getting their own T&T Trading Cards too! |
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