An Unlikely Path

With God in the lead, you never know what sort of unlikely changes are around the bend.

Just ask Metti, a girl who sparked the birth of Awana in Ethiopia. Or ask Dave and Tony, brothers who had no intention of going into ministry—but now serve side by side as pastors in the same church.

In 2011, Girma and Bety left their home country of Ethiopia to attend graduate school at Wheaton College, IL. During their time in Wheaton, their eldest daughter, Metti, joined an Awana club. Girma and Bety saw the impact it had on their daughter, and the whole family fell in love with the program and curriculum. Reaching out to Awana HQ to discuss bringing the program home to Ethiopia, they were put in touch with Tom Chilton—who, in an unlikely turn of events, was Metti’s Sparks leader at church.

With this surprise twist fueling their excitement, meetings were scheduled, plans were made, and the family began working on translations. Awana Ethiopia launched in 2014 with Girma serving as official Awana missionary.

Today, Ethiopia has nearly 1,000 clubs reaching 200,000 children and continues to grow.

Years earlier, on the other side of the world, brothers named Tony and Dave attended Awana club in Ohio. Looking back, both boys see that these early years in Awana provided a solid foundation, teaching the Bible and instilling habits of disciplined study that would last a lifetime. It wasn’t long before their parents caught the bug and joined as well: dad as a game leader, mom as a Sparks leader. Awana became part of the family identity, a way to work together for God.

When Tony was a senior in high school, he felt God pulling him toward ministry, but didn’t feel he had what it took to be a pastor. He started college as a Computer Science major, but signed up for a few Bible classes. It was in these classes that his passion was stirred. At the end of his first year of college Tony surrendered his life to God’s call, agreeing to go wherever He led. Tony’s first job out of college was as youth pastor for Fellowship Baptist Church in Columbus, Ohio.

Meanwhile, Tony’s brother Dave was in high school. At summer camp Dave was impacted by teens passionate about serving God, and adults following God’s path. Dave, too, surrendered his life to God and accepted a call to ministry. After college Dave became a youth pastor in Tennessee. A few years later, God transitioned Dave and his family to Columbus, Ohio, where they began looking for a new place to serve.

When the senior pastor of Tony’s church became ill, he offered an unlikely suggestion: promote Tony to lead pastor and hire his brother Dave as youth pastor.

Tony and Dave had never imagined working together. But the senior pastor pointed out that their unlikely situation wasn’t a coincidence; God had arranged for Dave to be in town, searching for his next step in ministry. The pastor believed God had been working behind the scenes to create this opportunity for the two brothers to work together, just as they had as children.

Tony and Dave have now been working side by side for ten years.

As pastors, they remain as committed to Awana as they were as children. Tony reflects, “Having Awana communicates that the church has a ministry of substance for children. We’ve met people who went to Awana at this church as children and came back to give their kids the same experience. They never forgot what Awana did for them.”

Dave adds, “I see the generational effect that Awana has on families. Generation after generation is affected by this ministry. I look at our Sparks director: when he was a kid, his mom was an Awana leader. Now he is an Awana leader alongside his wife and mother, and his kids attend Awana. This is a ministry that affects the whole family.”

What unlikely path will God open up next? Perhaps another young girl will join Awana— and plant the seed launching a thousand clubs in a new country. Or perhaps a family will find, together, a calling to last a lifetime.

Only God knows what unlikely scenario is around the bend.