16 ways to keep children excited about Awana during summer

31-May-17

The last group of children leaves the stage on awards night. Everyone had a wonderful time this past year in Awana, and now they’re looking forward to the summer: church camp, summer Bible school, visitors, family vacations, and carefree days without homework. With all of this happening, Awana sometimes slips out of their minds, and by the time the new Awana year begins, we need to capture their attention again.

So how do we keep them motivated all summer long and ready for the new Awana year? By reminding them of the exciting times they had last year and giving them some Awana fun between Awards Night and the first night of the new club year.

Here’s 16 ideas to keep Awana in children’s mind:

1. Display last year’s photos on billboards throughout the church.
2. Print special flyers for your club to distribute at church or community events during the summer.
3. Create a five-minute promotional video for last year with photos and fun music. Show it during summer events like Vacation Bible School, Sunday School, or even during a church service.
4. Send postcards to families.
5. Reach out to parents just to check in and ask how their summer is going.
6. Connect with parents on Facebook to share goals, events, and themes their children can look forward to. The best way to do this is by creating a club page on Facebook and continuously sharing interesting facts and information throughout the summer.
7. Host an Awana Family Night with games and food.
8. Loan Awana play equipment for use at Vacation Bible School or a church trip.
9. Include Awana games at Vacation Bible School or on a church trip.
10. Start fundraising for the next round of Awana events, encouraging kids to look forward to the future.
11. Support a community event, like a drive-in movie night. Show the promotional video before the movie.
12. Hold a mid-summer carnival night with stations where participants can answer T&T/Bible questions, recite verses from their handbooks (either through a game or direct recitation), and play games using pins and cloth bags.
13. Host an Awana Sunday to promote the club a few weeks before it starts. Show the video, have two people share what they love about Awana, and announce exciting events for the new year.
14. Count the days between the last club night and the first club night in the fall. Suppose it’s 100 days. Give each child a jar with 100 puzzles, Bible questions, or fun quotes for each day. Ask them to read one sheet each day over the summer to count down to fall. (One club did this with candy — kids were asked to take one piece of candy from the jar each day.)
15. Attend local park sports games. In small towns, most kids in summer sports play in the same place. Gather a group of leaders and show up at the field to cheer on the kids.
16. Do your best to say “hello” whenever you see the kids at church. Ask them what they’ve been up to.

*If you have an additional idea or two – share them with us in the comments section!