(This is the fourth post in the series to share my thoughts regarding comments heard from hundreds of Awana leaders about the new Mission series of T&T books)
A hard fact is that every time Awana makes a change in a program, churches drop Awana. Decisions regarding material are not done lightly. At the same time, as Awana modifies materials to better connect the Gospel with today’s youth, churches begin to use Awana successfully.
Another hard fact is that not everyone in our club will pass the handbook in a year. Some will excel, some will struggle, and you will have many somewhere in between those two extremes.
As we look at the hard facts about Awana and the T&T Mission series of books, we must look at the goal we have in our ministry to these children.
Here is where I see the goal, it is in relationships and discipleship.
Relationships
The small group model is designed to build relationships among the leader and the clubbers, as well as between the clubbers. Depending upon your club structure, it can be good to keep the same leader with the clubbers as the child progresses through the three or four years that your church uses T&T. While this may not be possible, and there can be some negatives to this method, the main positive is that relationships are formed that may last a lifetime.
If you have followed me for any length of time, then you know that I have always said that handbook time was the time to build relationships with the clubbers. That is still true as handbook time becomes small group time in whatever way it looks in your club.
Discipleship
I will agree that a child entering the T&T program for the first year may struggle with the material. In the beginning of their time in T&T, the child may require additional assistance to memorize a verse or to complete the Explore and Start Here sections. They may come unprepared. Frustration can set in on both the child and the leader during this time if not handled well.
I want to encourage you to think about the big picture, not just getting through the club night.
Where do you want this child to be in three or four years?
Hopefully as they continue in Awana they have a greater desire to learn about God and they begin to study on their own, and eager to memorize/learn Scripture. That should be our goal, to teach them how to study God’s Word and to hide it in their hearts! Imagine that struggling third grader who by the end of the year is doing the Explore section (studying) on their own. That same third grader as they enter fifth grade is not only studying but doing the extra study (silver sections) and memorizing on their own and helping others. Isn’t that the type of discipleship and growth we want to see in the child?
How does a child learn these things?
By seeing an example, i.e. YOU! If you are a leader who opens the Bible and seeks out the answers in the Explore sections, if you complete the Start Here portion, and you are memorizing the verses, then I commend you. You are setting that example that the child needs. Sadly, statistics show that most adults serving in Awana are not doing any of that. If it is not important to the leader to learn and study the things in the Awana books, then why should a clubber do it? What message are we sending to the clubbers?
Our ultimate goal is to see the child come to know, love, and serve the Lord Jesus Christ.
One way we can see fruit of this is as they grow in their knowledge, and desire, to learn and study God’s Word. May we see that as they progress through their years in T&T.
My prayer, my hope, is that as you read this brief series that you come to a better understanding of the Mission series of books and that you become more energized with ideas to better reach the children in your Awana club.
The Essentials Debate – CommanderBill.net
[…] the Essentials book to be used effectively, we need to think about what our goal is for the individual clubber. Where do we envision them being at the end of the club year, in two […]
I totally agree with the goals presented here and I understand the hard truths you have presented. However, I have one more hard truth I’ve enountered. The training when the T&T Mission series was rolled out could have been a lot better.
When the first book came out, I attended the area training presented by our missionaries at the beginning of the year and I listened to all the videos about the new books and how they should be used. There were significant pieces of information I missed and the first year was a struggle to get through. With more training and talking to other T&T directors and leaders I learned and understood more so the second year was much better. However, during that second year, I’ve discovered there are some things I’m still doing wrong, especially in the areas of awards. And obviously I’m not the only one since I was working off information I received from other T&T directors. That will be fixed this third year. This summer I’m putting together a clear-cut (bullet point) direction guide of what the leaders under me should be doing to be sure they understand their role.
For some of the leaders, like me, who are slow to learn as new material is presented, for this type of simplified guide to be given out with new books/programs.
I agree that the training and information could have been presented better. I will note that Awana has come a long way and is doing much better in communicating, but it was still lacking. That is one reason why I try to present the information about new material on this website.
Anytime new material is presented, there is a learning curve. My hope is that this site helps to minimize that learning curve for many.
Thank you for sharing your experience.