Southwest Hills Baptist Church

AWANA Clubs

AWANA is a Bible-centered youth program that emphasizes memorizing scripture.  Southwest Hills started our AWANA club over 25 years ago, but nationwide it began in 1950 and is now found in over 18,000 churches in 110 countries around the world. For nearly 60 years, Awana has been a leader in children’s ministry, helping churches and parents worldwide raise children and youth to know, love and serve Christ. 

Awana helps churches and parents work together to develop spiritually strong children and youth who faithfully follow Jesus Christ. Our programs offer a proven approach for evangelizing and discipling kids in the church and community.

As a ministry leader for nearly 60 years, Awana is making an impact. A recent national survey found Awana to be as important to our alumni's spiritual foundation as all other church activities combined. Among alumni who participated in our programs for at least six years, 92.7 percent still attend church at least weekly as adults!

Awana works with churches from 100 different denominations. 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.

The founders of Awana derived the Awana name from the first letters of Approved workmen are not ashamed as taken from 2 Timothy 2:15 of the Bible.

The purpose of AWANA is to reach children and teens with the gospel of Jesus Christ and to train them to serve Him. Southwest Hills has an active AWANA program. The clubs meet weekly during the school year and also participate in various statewide events with clubs from other churches for games and quizzing. 

Cubbies - Preschool (two years before Kindergarten) 

Registration Closed for 2011/2012

The Cubbies curriculum features two handbooks written in a fun, storybook style that appeals to preschoolers. The handbooks contain 24 Bear Hug sections along with six optional special-day sections. Each section combines basic Scripture memory with parent-child activities to help a child grasp a simple biblical truth. Two extra-credit handbooks containing additional memory verses and character-building activities are also available.

Before starting a handbook, newcomers to Cubbies are taken through an introductory brochure that gives parents and children a brief overview of the program and presents God’s plan of salvation at a preschooler’s level.

In addition, all memory verses are presented at a level appropriate for 3- and 4-year-olds. For example, John 3:16 reads: For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son …

Sparks - Kindergarten through 2nd grade

Awana® Sparks Clubs™ for children in kindergarten through second grade builds on the

material taught in our preschool clubs. The curriculum takes kids a step deeper into God’s Word while giving unsaved boys and girls regular opportunities to hear the gospel and come to faith in Jesus Christ. After being immersed in solid foundational teaching at the preschool level, boys and girls frequently come to an understanding of their need to trust Christ as their personal Savior while in Sparks®.

Immersing Kids in God’s Word
The Sparks program is firmly grounded in Scripture. The three handbooks feature:

• Basic truths about God, Jesus Christ, salvation and the Bible
• A clear and consistent presentation of the gospel message
• An increased emphasis on Scripture memory over our preschool materials. In three years, a child will learn and review over 65 verses, many of which cover salvation and key Christian doctrine, establishing a foundation of biblical wisdom.

  New handbooks have the same trusted features as the classic handbooks, along with:

• Three new ranks: HangGlider®, WingRunner® and SkyStormer™
• An aviation theme
• A sequential walk through Scripture
• Details about Bible characters told in captivating biographies
• A handbook CD with dramatic biography readings, memory verses and more
• Three new characters – Joel, Chloe and Jacob – to join Sparky

T&T - 3rd through 6th grades

The name Truth & Training reflects the passion of Awana to teach third- through sixth-grade boys and girls the truth of God’s Word and to train them to follow Christ in their daily lives. Our goal is that many of today’s young people will become tomorrow’s church leaders. T&T is the program that trains the leaders of tomorrow — today.

Exciting features to get kids excited about God’s Word
T&T is equipped with a variety of dynamic tools to accomplish this mission:

• Four handbooks of increasing difficulty which teach children that life’s ultimate adventure is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ
• A cast of fun characters that boys and girls learn from and follow on interesting journeys in the handbooks
• Weekly meetings that expose children to the gospel message, Scripture memory, Bible study, awards, team-oriented games and gut-busting fun
• A Bible-centered curriculum that helps kids build a firm foundation for their faith, hide God’s Word in their heart and apply the truths of Scripture to their daily lives
• Interactive CDs that use exciting high-tech games to teach and reinforce key biblical truths

Evangelism and discipleship go hand in hand in our third- through sixth-grade program. By the time a child has completed T&T, he will have:

• Learned and reviewed approximately 310 verses
• Studied dozens of passages from the Old and New Testament
• Regularly heard and read the gospel message
• Discovered the Bible’s response to questions like “How does God want me to live my life?” and memorized verses to back up these answers
• Completed missions projects that help him see the world through God’s eyes.

TREK - Middle School 

Three turbulent years of middle school. Three great books to guide you through.

Roadsign Series
Recommended for the 2013-2014 ministry year.
Part 1 helps students get where they’re going by walking through the Bible – Genesis through Revelation. Part 2 is a study dealing
with the trials, temptations, and tough times of the Christian life.

Dashboard Series
Recommended for the 2011-2012 ministry year.
Part 1 is designed for you to help your students learn how to respond to God’s faithfulness by studying key figures from the Bible. Part 2 tackles the realities of life by studying 12 key questions asked by middle schoolers today.

Billboard Series recommended for the 2012-2013 ministry year
Part 1 covers lessons about God from Israel’s desert trek. Part 2 covers frequently asked questions about God and straight-talk answers from Scripture.

All three series have complete Bible Studies, Compass Points, Leaders’ Guidebooks, and Jumpstart Video Clips available.

Check out an overview of Trek’s Scope and Sequence here

Journey - Senior High School

Our high-school program, Journey, features an energetic look, biblically based content, life application and an emphasis on Scripture memory. These materials provide youth pastors and leaders with relevant tools for in-depth, focused discipleship.
They are challenging and thought provoking yet accessible to students from all spiritual backgrounds. Journey materials are available in NIV, NKJV and KJV.

The best part about Journey is its flexibility. Youth groups can use our entire program or select only the portions they need. Whatever the choice, Journey offers you adaptable alternatives grounded solidly in God’s Word.

Questions about Awana?   Conact Becky Loughridge at 503-524-8686