We are praying for each of you and want you to know that we are here for you and with you through this difficult time. We understand that you want to be with your Awana kids each week and are struggling to find answers. You may be dealing with hard decisions of whether or not to hold Awana like usual and how long to postpone your meetings. We wanted to send out something to help stay connected with your kids and possibly develop better relationships with them and their families through this time! Here are 10 ideas that we found to be great examples of outside of the box thinking to continue to invest in your students.
1. Pray for/ with them: Have your small group leaders reach out to their kids and ask them how they could be praying for them while you are away. If permissible, you could even share some of the things going on in the other kids’ lives in their small group, so that the kids could be praying for each other. Be sure to get permission before sharing ANY prayer requests.
2. Facebook live/ Youtube meetings: Most Awana ministries have a Facebook page dedicated to their Awana club. You might consider “going live” from that page to do the large group time lesson for that week. This might be a good way to direct parents to that page if they have not been there before, which will also help with your communication in the future.
3. Video call sections: The idea would be that your small group leaders would work with the parents of the students to arrange a time through the week to Facetime or video chat with the clubbers in order to work through their sections. Once again, this may be a strategy for the future when there is not a sufficient amount of time in the night to work through it or if the clubbers need to miss a week of Awana.
4. Meal delivery: Does your club offer a meal or snack to your students or their families at Awana? Consider continuing this by working with the families to deliver a meal to them at their home. This would be a great way to connect with the kids and their families as well as meet a physical need that the family might be having through this time.
5. Parent small group leaders: We are always looking for ways to get our parents more involved in what their kids are learning each week. You might work with the parents and have them work through the small group portion of the book with their kids and then have them send in a picture or video to the leader of the completed section. Typically we encourage someone other than parents to sign off on sections, but in unique times we need to remain flexible and look to the “big win” of getting parents and kids working through this together!
6. Theme night picture challenge: You may be missing out on a theme night while this is going on. You might consider opening it up to your ministry's Facebook page for a themed picture challenge. For example, if it was supposed to be crazy sock night you might ask them to post a picture of them wearing the socks they would have worn to club and offer a prize or points for their team when they return to club (if they participate).
7. Game time challenge: Once again through social media or messaging you could come up with a game or fun project that the families could do together in their home and send a video or picture of them playing it to you. Points or shares could be awarded for those that participate. Keep in mind that you need to come up with games that do not use props, or alternatively use props that typically would be in every home i.e. water/soda bottles are great bowling pins.
8. Postcards/ letters from the leader: Be sure to give your leaders a few kids each to send a postcard or letter to while you are away. Kids love receiving mail! It makes them feel special and parents will love that someone is making their kids day!
9. A small group in the leaders home: As we know the guidelines given are to stay distant from large groups, but your families might be open to having a small group at their leader's home! It would be a cool way to put a different atmosphere into your small group time, bake a pizza, and play some games while you go through a small group lesson with them. Parents might even stay to see what their kids are learning or they might just appreciate a break from the kids now that they are with them all day. This is a delicate situation- make sure that no one feels uncomfortable with offering their home for this time or that no parents feel pressured to have to attend despite their concerns. Again, exercise caution and request permission for any/all activities.
10. Offer coloring and activity pages: Some of your little ones are not going to be getting onto Facetime or video calls. Be sure not to overlook them and perhaps make their worksheets and coloring pages available on your church website or Facebook, or send them directly through email.
We are grateful for you and your desire to work through this time in the best way possible. Our hope is that these ideas may give you some tools and options for you to use to continue building into your kids’ lives. They might even spark another idea in your mind- run with it! Please let us know if you need any help with any of these technologies we have suggested or any other concerns that may arise.
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