I always try to stay “on-top” of what is happening at Awana, so when it was posted back in mid-June that the new ministries division of Awana would “unveil ” something on July 7th, I marked my calendar anticipating the unveiling.
I replied to the original tweet announcing the date for the unveil to see when and if this unveil would take place. They replied by proposing a phone conversation and posting a picture on Twitter of the new ministries team in the atrium at Awana HQ. As I looked at the picture, there was an individual that I did not recognize. Here is the picture posted on Twitter:
From left to right you have Dan Lovaglia (Director of New Ministries), Lisa Bohn, Michayla White & Zac Wendland. I had met all of them except for Lisa during the Blogger Summit in April. The reason I did not meet Lisa is because yesterday (July 7th) was her first day at Awana!
Lisa is the big “unveil”. Well, the excitement is really because they now have someone in place to be the Parent Engagement Specialist. Awana for years has realized that they need to engage parents, and they have tried several things to do that. Now they have someone in place to specifically lead that endeavor.
I had the privilege of talking to her briefly via phone yesterday afternoon. I asked her why Awana and what vision did she have to engage parents. Lisa shared that she liked Awana’s 2 – 18 approach and the value that Awana leaders have in a child’s life. It is not the goal to add another thing on a parent’s “to do” list, but rather, to engage them where they are in their everyday lives.
I enjoyed talking to Lisa about parent engagement strategy. I have seen first hand the impact in a child’s life when parents and ministry leaders partner together to reach and disciple a child.
She has a daunting task ahead of her, but the rewards will be immense. As Awana develops things in the new ministries department, I look forward to seeing the many ways that Lisa, and Awana, develop to engage parents.
If you want to begin the process of engaging parents, I encourage you to introduce the parents in your ministry to the Awana blog for parents. This can be the beginning of engaging parents where they are without adding another task for them.
Join me in welcoming Lisa to the Awana team!
