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WELCOME TO OUR AWANA HOMEPAGE AT FFC.ORG!!

Note from your Awana Commander:

Dear Parents,

WE ARE FEATURED ON AWANA'S HOMEPAGE THIS WEEK! Just go to www.awana.org and our story is on the front page!

Our summer program TRUTH SCRIPTS begins this week!!  We are one of the very few churches that continues with Awana over the summer!  One of Awana's key focus is Scripture memory, and that's what the kiddos will be doing on Wednesday nights over the summer.  The kids will memorize TWO ENTIRE CHAPTERS of the Bible:  Psalms 1 and Psalms 78.  Our Awana summer program ends August 26th, and then we kick off our 2009-2010 Awana year on September 2nd!

WE NEED SUMMER VOLUNTEERS -  ROOM LEADERS FOUND - WE JUST NEED HELPERS NOW!! Parents I am praying specifically for 4 individuals to help over the summer on Wednesday nights with our second installment of the wonderful Scripture memory program known as "Truth Scripts".  Folks, our faithful and dedicated Awana leaders need this summer off to recoup and get their batteries recharged for the start of our next Awana year coming September 2, 2009. THEY DESERVE THIS!!! 

So I am humbly asking that if you are a parent of an Awana clubber, and can commit to serving Wednesday nights over the summer, please join us! And please DO THIS for your clubber's normal Awana leader so that they may rest and relax over the summer!  Email me at rogers@ffc.org to say "YES - I WILL HELP ON WEDNESDAY NIGHTS IN THE SUMMER!"

Below are some of the goals we set for our Awana club last year and the blessings God gave us:

Goal: To have 200 clubbers in Awana on Wednesday night
Blessing: We had 293 in one night, and we averaged close to 200 EVERY NIGHT since January!

Goal: To raise $500 for our Awana missions throughout the world
Blessing: Awana clubbers pulled together to raise $546.86!!

Goal: To participate in our first Sparks-A-Rama and Awana Games
Blessing: FFC finished 2nd place for Awana Games and FIRST PLACE for Sparks-A-Rama!

Goal: To have 100 visitors in Awana during the year
Blessing: We had a total of 171 visitors in Awana during the year; and an amazing 55 decisions for Christ!

One more blessing to share is that the 2009-2010 Awana Bible Quiz is COMING TO FIRST FAMILY CHURCH! Our church will host this event for the FIRST time, which is truly exciting!!

This year marked the BEGINNING of many great Awana years to come at First Family Church! I thank my faithful Awana leaders for making this a memorable year! IT IS NOT TOO LATE TO GET INVOLVED IN AWANA! While we will be taking summer to recoup, you can still sign up to volunteer! We will have our first leader training session in late July. Email me at rogers@ffc.org or call 913-681-3341, ext 2010 to find out more how you can be involved in this exciting ministry of Awana for kids!!

Blessings!!

Roger Stuart

Kids Pastor

First Family Church

We have so many great leader testimonies from Awana parents who came to serve not knowing if Awana was right for them.  Here is an example of one of our Awana leader's testimonies:

I will be the first to admit that I was hesitant about wanting to help in Awana.  Because of job conflicts, a dual-income family, picking up kids from after-school care and getting them fed for dinner, we have struggles getting to church on Wednesdays, let alone getting there on time for Awana.  But after several recruitment efforts from Roger Stuart, Heidi Breshears, and Aaron and Dawn Beggs, I finally said...."alright, I can commit to once a month to help out".

I started out the first week of Awana not knowing what to do, but I was there -- fulfilling my commitment to serve.  Fortunately, I knew a lot of kids from Sunday School, where my wife Mindy and I teach the Kindergarten class in Yellow D twice a month.  It was welcoming to see so many familiar faces from our Sunday class.  That said, the first week we divided up kids and assigned a leader to each table in the classroom.  As I sat down with the kids for the first time, we got to know each other and shared stories about what we did the past summer, what we like to do, etc.  The first night was hectic, but that was to be expected.  It could only improve from there.  I ended the night thinking..."alright, it was a little hectic, I didn't know exactly what I was doing or how the system works, but I enjoyed being with the kids and the experience wasn't bad.  OK...I'll see you next month."  Later that week, I thought to myself, "wait...if I'm  not there next week, these kids have to connect with another leader and won't gain any consistency.  They may struggle if they have a new leader every week.  I need to be there."  As the next Wednesday night came around, I realized I never told or asked anyone if I could show up unscheduled to help out...I just did.  Each week, I'd show up, sit down with my table (of all boys), and we would go over our verses, share stories, and develop a routine (very beneficial with Kindergartners).  That's it...I just started showing up.  No questions, just gratefulness form the other Awana leaders.

To my delight, one of my good friends, Mike Tzang also started "showing up" as well.  Mike began helping at my table and eventually we became co-table leaders to keep up with the demand of an all-boy table.  When Mike began showing up, I told my wife..."hey, why don't you come and help out in the room.  All you need to do is show up.  No need to know what to do."  Within the next two weeks, Mindy started "showing up" at first to help with snacks and crafts.  One week a table leader was absent in our room and I jokingly said to Mindy..."there you go, you'll have to take the table this week."  It was true, we were short that night and Mindy led the table.  I spoke to her after the night was over, joking with the same reasoning I had when I first started..."well, you have to come back now, your table is counting on you.  You are the new table leader."  Sure enough, Mindy became table leader from that night forward.

I love the stories I receive from the kids each week, which carry over to Sundays when we teach.  I love when you connect with the kids and get acknowledgments with waves, high-fives, and hugs.  What a blessing it is to have a positive influence on them.  These kids (thanks to their wonderful parents) are some of the best and brightest I know.  I was fortunate enough to lead one little girl to Christ a few weeks ago and what a blessing it was to even have the opportunity.  I will always remember welcoming that little girl as my sister in Christ as one of the greatest joys I have had in Awana.  I've learned that my part in this this ministry is not about fulfilling a commitment to serve, it is about the future of these kids and to help them grow spiritually.  This is God's work and I am happy that He is using me as a part of it. 

We have many more leader testimonies just like this.  We had a few new leaders start last Wednesday night, and they have ALREADY said they would commit to being full-time Awana leaders!  THIS MINISTRY IS EXCITING!!  You may not think right now you are a good fit for Awana.  But God will show you differently.  This is a ministry that God's hand is really on, and we need you as an Awana parent to come share in the experience.  We will have a final training coming up towards the end of April to make sure you are prepared for an Awana night.    Email me at rogers@ffc.org, or contact me at 913-681-3341.

Make this new year count.  Make it count for yourself in serving God; make it count for your children in you serving in a ministry they love.  DON'T WAIT - GET INVOLVED NOW!

WE NEED SNACK DONTATIONS!  Parents, we need snacks and toys for our Awana year.  Please bring up these donations on Wednesday night and drop them off at one of the check-in stations.  For snacks, we need animal crackers, ritz crackers, pretzels, or goldfish. Slightly used toys are also welcome!  Please help our ministry in these critical areas of need. 

For more information, check out the announcements and calendar links above.  If you have any questions, you may email me at rogers@ffc.org.

PLEASE TELL YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY ABOUT THIS WEBSITE!!  We've added a KIDS ONLY PAGE, with games coming soon.  WE HAVE A BLOG now available for you and your clubbers to talk! All you have to do is create an username and password with Word Press.  IT'S FREE, IT'S EASY, AND SIGN UP YOUR KIDS TO HAVE SOME AWANA FUN!!!  

COME SHARE IN THE JOY! SHARE IN THE FUN! SHARE IN THE EXPERIENCE! AWANA!

God Bless!

Roger Stuart

Awana Commander

First Family Church