Awana: Equipping Churches and Parents to Raise Spiritually Strong Kids for Life

Awana helps churches and parents worldwide raise children and youth to know, love and serve Christ! We do this through:

• Fully integrated programs for ages 2 to 18
• The best evangelism tools to reach unsaved children, youth and families
• Teaching that builds an enduring biblical faith
• Resources bringing churches and parents together to disciple the next generation
• Initial and ongoing volunteer training
• Healthy mentor and peer relationships
• Dynamic fun for children, teens and adults alike!

For nearly 60 years, Awana has been a leader in children’s ministry, equipping churches and parents to raise kids who know, love and serve Christ.

Based in the Chicago area, Awana is the only organization with fully integrated evangelism and discipleship programs for ages 2 to 18 that actively involve parents, church leaders and mentors. Each week, more than a million children and youth, 250,000 volunteers and 300-plus field staff take part in Awana in over 17,000 churches in the U.S. and internationally.

Awana works with churches from 100 different denominations in the U.S. It began as a children’s program at the North Side Gospel Center in Chicago in 1941. Lance Latham, North Side’s senior pastor, collaborated with the church’s youth director, Art Rorheim, to develop weekly clubs that would appeal to churched and unchurched kids, lead them to trust Christ for salvation and grow them in enduring faith and service to God.

Other churches learned about the success of the program and inquired about its availability. In 1950, Latham and Rorheim founded Awana as a parachurch organization. By 1960, 900 churches had started Awana programs. By 1972 Awana had begun its first international club. Today children and youth in more than 100 countries participate in Awana programs, and millions of adults are alumni.