Awana is an international

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...

Christian

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

organization in child and youth discipleship. The headquarters is in

Streamwood, Illinois Streamwood is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 39,577. It is a northwest suburb of Chicago, and is a part of the Chicago metropolitan area. Streamwood is one of the three communities that ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

History

In 1941, the children's program at the North Side Gospel Center in Chicago laid the foundation for the principles of Awana. Lance Latham, North Side's senior pastor, collaborated with the church's youth director, Art Rorheim, to develop weekly clubs that they believed would appeal to all children. Rorheim served as the CoFounder/President Emeritus until he died on January 5, 2018. Other churches became interested in the program and inquired about its availability. In 1950, Latham and Rorheim founded Awana as a

parachurch organization Parachurch organizations are Christian faith-based organizations that work outside and across denominations to engage in social welfare and evangelism. Parachurch organizations seek to come alongside the church and specialize in things that indivi ...

. The name is derived from the first letters of "Approved Workmen Are Not Ashamed" as taken from

2 Timothy The Second Epistle to Timothy is one of the three pastoral epistles traditionally attributed to Paul the Apostle.. Addressed to Timothy, a fellow missionary, it is traditionally considered to be the last epistle he wrote before his death. Alt ...

2:15. , Awana claims to work with over 66,000 churches in 133 countries.

Programs

Awana offers resources and

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

-based training programs for children ages 2 to 18 in churches. Awana
About
awana.org, USA, retrieved January 25, 2020

References

External links

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Art Rorheim, Co-Founder/President Emeritus

MinistryWatch - Awana Clubs International

Charity Navigator Rating - Awana

Awana Clubs International EIN 36-2428692 - ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer

Awana Clubs International EIN 36-2428692 - Guidestar.org
{{authority control Christian charities based in the United States Christian organizations established in 1950 Christian organizations established in the 20th century Evangelical parachurch organizations 1950 establishments in Illinois Christian youth organizations Charities based in Illinois Youth organizations based in Illinois

History

Programs

See also

References

External links