TEACHING CHILDREN GOD: AWANA KEEPS ITS FOCUS ON YOUTH IN CHURCH

When Cari Noel of Cape Girardeau was younger she did what most children do in church -- she sat in the back and passed notes to her friends. That was before she became part of AWANA.

In those days, she was bored with church and confused with what the minister was saying.

This year, the graduate of Bethany Baptist Church's AWANA program will join her parents in AWANA leadership roles. Her father, Larry Noel, is the program's commander, and her mother, Cheryl, is the program's secretary.

AWANA is an international program designed to help churches teach children about the Bible and being a Christian. It gets its name from a verse in 2 Timothy that talks about "Approved Workers Are Not Ashamed."

Bethany Church has an AWANA program for children ages 3 through sixth grade.

Cari Noel, a senior at Cape Central High School, will be secretary of the Sparks club for children in kindergarten through second grade. In that job, she will record the group's attendance and determine what awards will be given out. After that, she will be a listener for the "clubbers" who recite their Bible verses.

Bethany Baptist Church runs one of four AWANA programs in Cape Girardeau. Other programs are at Cape Bible Chapel, Lynwood and Red Star Baptist churches.

Cari first got involved in AWANA when her father helped organize the program in 1992. In AWANA, there wasn't time to pass notes. The children had to learn their lessons, and the leaders were always in the room.

AWANA is better for little kids, she says. It's less boring than sitting in church and not understanding the preacher's sermon. "In AWANA children can learn," she says.

Cari, 17, and her sister, Millie, 13, agree the handbook time spent learning Bible verses is a lot of work. AWANA club members complete projects relating to Bible verses during the handbook lessons.

Cari recalls one project involving praying for people for 10 days as part of understanding a certain verse. In another lesson period, children cut out flags of countries where missionaries were stationed.

"Everybody had something to do," Cari said. If the children had questions, there were leaders there with answers.

And there was homework, she said. The children were asked to learn verses to advance through the handbook. She credits that hard work with helping her in her schoolwork.

While Cari began AWANA as a third-grader, Millie started in the Sparks group, a division for children in kindergarten, first and second grades.

Millie says learning her Bible verses has helped her witness to others.

"If someone wants to know about God," she said, her knowledge of Bible verses gives her support in helping her teach people about God.

When Millie started in AWANA, she only knew one Bible verse: John 3:16. Now she knows many more.

AWANA teaches right and wrong, and Cari says she has used her training to discuss God with her schoolmates.

"You have God and you have been taught what is wrong," she says, and it has helped her decide what to do in uncomfortable situations.

Millie says: "You can't just do good deeds. You have to ask Christ to come into your heart."

A worker for God should not be ashamed, Cari says. That's what AWANA has done: encouraged her to read the Bible and learn.

"You can take that with you to help others understand about God," she says.

During AWANA, Cari has learned a lot about God. "He tells you what you need to do to go to heaven," she says.

Millie has become more involved in church activities because of AWANA, and Cari has gone on a mission trip with World Changers, an interdenominational group that does mission service.

During a 1998 mission trip to Mississippi Cari was in a performing group that performed mime and music at an area mall. Following one performance at a mall restaurant, a waitress met with members of the mission group and later received salvation. On another occasion, Cari passed out a pamphlet to an elderly man. The following day the man told her he had prayed that night and had become a Christian.

"Before AWANA," Cari says, "I wouldn't have done that."

WHERE TO FIND THE WAWANA

Area churches with AWANA programs:

Cape Girardeau

Bethany Baptist Church

Cape Bible Chapel

Lynwood Baptist Church

Red Star Baptist Church

Patton, Mo.

Little Whitewater Baptist Church

Randy Miller, commander

Age divisions of AWANA Clubs

Cubbies for children age 3 to 4.

Sparks for kindergarten, first and second graders,

Pals for third and fourth grade boys.

Chums for third and fourth grade girls.

Pioneers for fifth and sixth grade boys.

Guards for fifth and sixth grade girls.

Information on the Web:

www.awana.org

www.awana-ilmo.org