Kids Christmas Campaign Will Reach Children Globally With the Good News of Christ 

The first annual Awana Kids Christmas Campaign invited all Awana clubbers and families to color an ornament and bring it with a dollar to club during the month of December. The money raised will help our international efforts in reaching boys and girls around the world with the love of Jesus Christ. As of mid-January, over $35,000 was raised, and 5,180 ornaments were collected.

“It’s my prayer that together we can reach more than 300,000 kids for Jesus Christ in 2009 because of the Awana Kids Christmas Campaign,” said Brian Rhodes, executive director of Awana International.

Alex Mwilambwe, an Awana leader in Zambia, Africa, is especially thankful for Awana. Many of the children in his community are involved in child labor due to the construction trade. Parents and guardians are putting their children to work as stone breakers so they can raise money for their families.

“I thank God for you people who have wholly devoted yourselves in sponsoring the Awana program,” Alex said. “You may not know to what extent you have influenced the gospel to be impacted into these little children.
“I want to thank God for the Awana program that we have started every Saturday morning. Some of these children now have the opportunity of listening to the gospel. I can say that words are not enough to say thank you, but may God who knows and sees that which is done in private greatly bless you and reward you for the work you are doing.”

Meet our Awana International Executive Director

What do IBM, Eastern Europe and children’s ministry have in common? As major life events in the professional growth of Brian Rhodes, they provided management, cross-cultural and leadership experience that helped shape him for service as the executive director of Awana International, the global outreach of Awana, based in Streamwood, Illinois.

After working for IBM for 16 years in management and as a senior account executive, he and his wife, Sandee, were called into full-time ministry as Awana missionaries in South Florida. They served in this capacity for five years. In 2000, the Lord called them to move their family to Budapest, Hungary, to be area directors for Eastern Europe with Awana International and to oversee the ministry across Europe and the former Soviet Union. In 2003, the Lord opened up the opportunity for Brian to return his family to the U.S. as executive director of U.S. Ministries at Awana headquarters in Streamwood, Illinois. The family relocated to St. Charles, Illinois. He served in this capacity until assuming the executive director position at Awana International.

Brian has a heart to see young people reached and to become disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. He longs to see churches strengthened to reach their communities effectively. Brian is particularly excited about the opportunity the Lord has currently given him to lead the international team in reaching children around the world for Christ!

Brian has been married to Sandee for 25 years, and they have six grown children, five daughters, one son and two sons-in-law. They also have a precious 2-year-old granddaughter.

Brian’s passion in life is to get the gospel message out to a lost and dying world. Because of Brian’s love for children, the Lord has used Awana as the avenue to allow him to pursue this passion. He counts it an absolute privilege to serve the Lord in this capacity and desires to encourage all those who work with children to continue teaching them so that they, too, may come to know, love and serve the Lord Jesus Christ.

Leader-Based Strategy Exploding in South Asia

Over 200 leaders came, some hiking up to five days, for the second Seed Planters training in the country of Nepal.

It was one of Nepal’s largest training events yet with 206 leaders representing 103 churches and 10 denominations. This will help the Nepal team reach another 4,500 kids with the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Awana Nepal Director Gajendra Tamang said, “We are so grateful for all those who funded this project and for you folks who have made it possible for us to be a part of it through your support.”

The new leaders practiced hard and were prepared to test their skills on 64 local children who made up the ending practice club. Since the training hall was not big enough to hold all the leaders and children, they moved to an open field by the riverside for their Friday practice.

Tamang said, “The leaders were gaining more confidence as each segment of club was done. Now they have a tool that can attract the children and a tool to teach the gospel with clarity!

“The leaders grasped the vision of having successful Awana clubs in their churches. Some of the leaders walked three to five days to attend this training.”

There is already a waiting list of hundreds of churches in Nepal waiting for their turn to send leaders for this training. Please continue to pray for Awana Nepal. The Seed Planters training is entirely donor funded. If you would like to support the training of two or more leaders who will be equipped to start and grow a new club, please click here and then follow the Leader-Based Strategy link. We need your help.

International Focus on India

A quarter of the 1.1 billion people live below the poverty level. There are 300 million children under age 15, most of whom have never heard Jesus’ name. Children are exploited, and many face involuntary servitude. But 1,110 Awana clubs are making a difference.

Awana Missionaries Terry and Linda Davis are praising God for how He is working in India. At the same time, Satan is trying to stop Christian growth there through persecution. Please pray for the protection and endurance of Christians in India.

‘Salvation has come to Kabwe because of Awana’

Deacon Kingsly of the CMML Brethren Church in Kabwe, Zambia, likens Awana to the Olympic torch that has gone all the way around the world before arriving in Africa.

He credits Awana with bringing him to personal salvation through the leadership training offered in Lusaka by Africa Area Director Stephen Maphosah. “When I attended last year, I didn’t know the Lord Himself although I was a deacon,” Kingsly confided. “But when that light came after being taught the Gospel Wheel … I shed tears.”

Kingsly was so impacted by the gospel wheel, he is using it to lead others to salvation. “Even now I still stress that somebody can be liberated if they study the wheel and see how Jesus Christ died for a person – especially for me,” he said.

The training touched Kingsly in more ways than one. After hearing Maphosah preach about the neglect of children, it opened his eyes. “I saw the need of the children. I lit that torch from the same torch which was in Lusaka,” he said.

Kingsly realized that he hadn’t even seen his own kids as precious to God. “I started teaching my kids first,” he shared. “The transformation which has taken place in my kids’ lives has also transformed my home.”

When the Awana program was presented to his church, some were skeptical at first. But after much prayer, Awana was approved. People are now coming to know the Lord.

“The kids are spreading the Word of God to their parents,” Kingsly said. “We have received so many converts which have joined our church through the same program.”

At the moment, they have close to 170 kids, but only 50 attend every week. Some are not able to come due to poverty. “When a kid wakes up in the morning and he or she hasn’t got anything to eat, he or she can’t come to club,” Kingsly explained. “Our church tried to bless us with some money so that we could go around to these clubbers to give them something to eat and something to put on.”

Even with the obstacles, Awana is making a difference. “This Awana which we have is definitely burning in our homes – not only in our church but in our homes – and in our individual lives,” Kingsly said. “Salvation has come to Kabwe because of Awana.”