Challenges with the T&T Mission Series

(This is the first in a series of posts to share my thoughts regarding comments heard from hundreds of Awana leaders about the new Mission series of T&T books)

In 2016, Awana introduced a new handbook for T&T which also introduced a change in how leaders would now interact with the clubbers. Before the introduction of the Mission series of handbooks, clubbers would work at their own pace through the handbooks. The Mission series of books introduced a new way of working through the handbook. Instead of clubbers working at their own pace, the club would focus on one section, one thought, for the club night.

In this post, I will briefly touch on a few topics of discussion that I hear from leaders across the country and share my thoughts. Keep in mind that these are my personal thoughts from my experience and interacting with hundreds of Awana leaders.

 

Some of the verses are harder for younger children to learn and understand.

I agree with this statement, but that was also the case with the Pals/Chums material as well as the previous T&T materials. When the current Mission books are noted as being written at about a mid-fourth grade level, then a young third grader may have difficulty with some of the verses, whereas an older fifth or sixth grader will not. We can debate the merits and detriment of this decision by Awana with a short-sighted view of how children learn and understand without taking into consideration the desire of many clubs to be able to have one large group time focused on one lesson and thought, especially with small and medium sized clubs. We must also remember that while some children have struggled, others have succeeded with the new material.

How do we, in the local club, address our concern about verses being harder for younger children?

• Find ways to engage them in memorizing verses with music, movement, writing, games, and visually. Use a variety of methods to help them learn.
• Believe that the child can learn the verse. If we do not believe that the child has the capacity to achieve something, then we will fall short in helping them reach a goal, and when the child fails, it will re-enforce our own lack of confidence in the child and our discontent with the book.
• Provide parents/guardians with tools, resources, and tips to help them disciple their children at home and learn verses. Yes, I know that not all parents will utilize them, but that should not prevent us from reaching out to them.

 

Working together hinders clubbers

This mindset comes from legacy clubs and leaders who are familiar with the former format of handbook time where it was self-paced. Newer clubs and leaders do not encounter this mindset because working on one lesson a week for the group is what they know. Clubs who have a difficult time with the new format often do so because the leaders and clubbers who are used to the self-paced method have a difficult time adjusting to the club focusing on one lesson, one thought each week.

Leaders may fight the new format because it takes away some of the competitiveness of the club. The special nights where you can encourage clubbers to complete several sections in one night because of a special emphasis or incentive. This is a huge shift for some and it can be very hard to navigate. What can we do to help make this shift, take the energy used to develop the special emphasis or incentive to encourage mass section completion to the lesson and small group time to engage the clubbers in the focus for the evening and help them learn the verse.

 

The Children are Frustrated and Discouraged

There can be several reasons for this to occur. I will address one concept that I believe may be the underlying cause that I have not heard anyone address.

The former T&T series allowed for a child to complete some sections without memorizing any Scripture. These sections allowed a leader to encourage the child to complete those sections giving them a feeling of accomplishment as they got a section or two signed off.  The Mission series of books do not contain those sections without memorization. Each section in the Mission series is like two sections in the former T&T series combined into one – memorization and a “search site”. This may hinder a child from getting a feeling of accomplishment and encouragement for completing a section like they could in the former series.

What are some possible ways to combat this frustration?

May I suggest developing some awards in your club:

• Ezra Award, (Ezra 7:10) “For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the Lord,….” For clubbers who struggle to memorize but complete all the Explore sections. By completing the Explore sections, they have studied God’s Word. It could also be awarded, or adapted, to clubbers who complete all the silver sections.
• Psalm 119:11 Award, “I have hidden thy Word in my heart…” For clubbers who memorize all the verses, but did not complete all of the Start Here or Explore portions. It could also be awarded, or adapted, to clubbers who completes all the Gold sections.

If you opt to use these ideas, or something like it, then you may opt to develop awards to show the progress through the book similar to the patches received for completing sections.

These additional awards would not qualify for completing the handbook since they would need to do all the requirements in the handbook to earn the handbook awards, but they could be the motivation a child in your club needs to stay connected and encouraged.

 

Church Homework

Another common term I hear people talk about is that it seems like too much “homework”. Personally, I find this argument moot because the previous books had “homework” as well (even though I do not recall it being referred to that way). Search Sites and other activities designed to be done outside of the club night, yet how many clubs allowed the clubber to complete the Search Site during one club night even though the book suggested that it be completed over three days to try to build some time in the word daily?

What a difference it could make in the perception of the material if we change our verbiage from homework to Bible study.

 

The What Abouts….

We can always come up with situations where we can say, “yea, but what about (whatever)”. This post cannot be an exhaustive response to all the “what about” statements. My hope is that the post initiates discussion on how the Mission series can be a used effectively to reach and disciple the children in your club.

If you have any “what about” thoughts, feel free to contact me or comment below and I will be glad to share my thoughts and offer any insight I have on how to handle the “what about” scenarios you are facing.