The Partnership – Week 2-1/2

The third week into the partnership, our church had other plans (town hall meeting and picnic) and so we did not hold Awana this past Sunday night. Possibly because of a communication breakdown (learning how to convey info and communicate well early on) the host church had their small group study planned.

I took this “night off” and still stopped by the church to put supplies in the storage cabinets, since I knew I would have access to the building.

Two interesting things occurred. There were fewer children attending this Sunday night which showed the children’s ministry director there that the parents were bringing their children FOR Awana and not just to watch their children so they could have a “quiet” evening without the children. In my view, I see that it also confirmed the children’s ministry director’s vision that their church needed an additional ministry to disciple their children.

The other thing was that a parent of some of the children was there and stopped to thank me for the Awana ministry there. Her children enjoyed it and it made her comfortable knowing some of the people involved from her homeschool coop.

I am very pleased with the partnership the way it is going, but yet another “twist” is blowing in the wind. I am not at liberty to discuss it at this time, but it will have a major impact on the partnership, how the partnership is viewed by our church and the path we take in the future.

Working out logistics…

We finished the 2nd week of Awana with this partnership last Sunday. The major obstacle now is getting our leadership used to a larger club. We have gone from an expected 12 clubber (maybe 24 last year – yes we lost some for various reasons, mainly people moving) to having 45 Cubbies – 6th grade!!! About 75% are from the host church. This is better than either of us anticipated!!

The partnership is going well!! A member of the host church is so passionate about Awana, that they donated enough to cover 2 week’s rent for us! The host church is alos looking at whether to maintain the rent as is, adjust it, or eliminate it. We have good communication and the children of the host church are excited to be a part. I amvery hopeful to be able to particiapte in Bible Quizzing this year (which we probably would not have been able to do without the partnership) and possibly Awana Games if we can partner with another church, or actually play some of the Awana Games (that’s a story for another time).

Oh, the twist I mentioned before…. the host church is holding a small group study for about 6 weeks while we are holding Awana. This past Sunday was the first night and it seemed to go well, although I was “stuck” in the one room most of the night and didn’t see the adults really at all.

We are off to a very good start and I am eager to see what God will do with our club and this partnership throughout the Awana year.