Awana
 | |
| Founded | 1950 |
|---|---|
| Founders | Lance Latham, Art Rorheim |
| Type | 501(c)(3) non-profit religious |
| Location | |
Area served | U.S. and Int'l (122 countries) |
Key people | Matt Markins, President/CEO; Kevin White, COO; Michael Handler, Chief Innovation/Communications Officer; Brian Rhodes, Chief Revenue Officer/Global Ministries; Art Rorheim, Co-Founder; Valerie Bell, CEO Emeritus |
Awana is an international evangelical Christian nonprofit organization in child and youth discipleship. The headquarters is in Streamwood, Illinois, United States.
History
In 1941, the children's program at the North Side Gospel Center in Chicago laid the foundation for the principles of Awana.[1] 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. [2]
Other churches became interested in the program and inquired about its availability. In 1950, Latham and Rorheim founded Awana as a parachurch organization.[3] The name is derived from the first letters of "Approved Workmen Are Not Ashamed" as taken from 2 Timothy 2:15.[3] In 2022, Awana claims to work with over 66,000 churches in 133 countries.[4]
Programs
Awana offers resources and Bible-based training programs for children ages 2 to 18 in churches. [5]
See also
References
- ^ Demy, Timothy J.; Shockley, Paul R. (2017). Evangelical America: An Encyclopedia of Contemporary American Religious Culture. ABC-CLIO. p. 13.
- ^ O'Donnell, Maureen (January 12, 2018). "Art Rorheim, who co-founded global Awana youth ministry in Chicago, dead at 99". chicago.suntimes.com.
- ^ a b Balmer, Randall Herbert (2004). "Awana". Encyclopedia of Evangelicalism (Revised and expanded ed.). Baylor University Press. p. 45.
- ^ Smith, Samuel. Evangelical youth ministry leader Awana to release first-ever Sunday school curriculum, christianpost.com, November 17, 2019.
- ^ Awana, About, awana.org, USA, retrieved January 25, 2020
External links
- Awana Bugyal official website
- Awana official website
- 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
- Pages using infobox organization with unknown parameters
- Official website not in Wikidata
- AC with 0 elements
- 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