Section 1:
There's a lot to do before club begins in August (or whenever your club begins). To allow your club to function smoothly (and to insure that the kids show up!) there are some topics that need to be addressed beforehand.
Keep in mind the fact that no two clubs will be alike. Do not feel like you need to bend over backwards to make your club look like someone else's. The information on these pages will provide you with tools to put in your toolbox, so they are there if you need them. But you may not need every one of them yet. Depending on your church, all, some, or none of these tasks may require your involvement.
If you are a new secretary, you'll probably need to have a simple, five minute conversation with your commander. Just ask, "Who is responsible for this in our club? Do I need to do anything? Okay, and who is responsible for this one?" etc.
Unless you really like volunteering and are also the commander and the church treasurer or something, most of these can't be decided by a single person. So don't try. One of the most important things I can share with you today is that I can't do this by myself - and neither can you.
Keep in mind the fact that no two clubs will be alike. Do not feel like you need to bend over backwards to make your club look like someone else's. The information on these pages will provide you with tools to put in your toolbox, so they are there if you need them. But you may not need every one of them yet. Depending on your church, all, some, or none of these tasks may require your involvement.
If you are a new secretary, you'll probably need to have a simple, five minute conversation with your commander. Just ask, "Who is responsible for this in our club? Do I need to do anything? Okay, and who is responsible for this one?" etc.
Unless you really like volunteering and are also the commander and the church treasurer or something, most of these can't be decided by a single person. So don't try. One of the most important things I can share with you today is that I can't do this by myself - and neither can you.
Prayer warriors
Like any ministry, Awana needs to be bathed in prayer to see fruit. If your church hasn't done this yet, you should encourage your leadership to recruit prayer warriors - people who will pray throughout the year for your leadership and your kids.
Some of the best prayer warriors are those elderly and shut-ins who are no longer able to attend church regularly. They've been a vital part of your church body for many years, and still want to be involved.
Give them lists of workers and their positions. Tell them when your clubs will meet. But don't stop there. Plan to update them regularly. Periodically share concerns and victories with them - perhaps through a newsletter or email.
Some of the best prayer warriors are those elderly and shut-ins who are no longer able to attend church regularly. They've been a vital part of your church body for many years, and still want to be involved.
Give them lists of workers and their positions. Tell them when your clubs will meet. But don't stop there. Plan to update them regularly. Periodically share concerns and victories with them - perhaps through a newsletter or email.
Scheduling
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- Pre-registration event
- Have a pre-registration event. It can be a potluck or a free hotdog supper (or lots of other things). The idea is to be able to collect a lot of registration forms before the first night of club. Once the forms are collected, the secretary has time to get them entered into whatever record keeping system is being used.
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- End of the year events
- Before the year starts, plan end-of-the-year events that will keep your clubbers motivated. For instance, if T&T kids complete a book, take them bowling. The idea is to tell them on the first night of club what it will take to earn this special treat. When the way gets rocky, the end-of-the-year events may just serve as sufficient motivation to spur them on.
- Other ideas: movie night, ice cream sundaes, baseball game.
Financial questions
While discussing things with your leadership, there are some financial topics to decide on that effect your job as secretary.
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- Dues
- While discussing finances with your leadership, it would be wise to decide how dues will be handles in your club. Will you ask for dues or will everything be covered by your church? Will you ask for dues weekly or just let people know at the beginning of the year and if they pay, they pay, and they can't, it doesn't matter?
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Incentives
The final area that needs to be decided ahead of time with your leadership is what your club is going to use to motivate clubbers. Incentives are important! Getting kids to come the first time is pretty easy. Getting them to come back takes some work.
Incentives don't have to be tangible. Many children today need things as basic to survival as love, attention, recognition, and encouragement. Just forming a relationship with their listener may be quite an incentive to keep coming back.
Incentives don't have to be tangible. Many children today need things as basic to survival as love, attention, recognition, and encouragement. Just forming a relationship with their listener may be quite an incentive to keep coming back.
Other tangible incentives are listed below.
- Patches and awards that are earned from passing sections.
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- Birthday nights:
- Designate four nights during your club year to celebrate clubbers' birthdays (Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer). Can be as simple as having them all stand up and everyone singing to them.
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- Pie in the Sky month long event
- For every 5 sections passed, clubbers earn a whipped cream pie to smash in the face of a leader of their choice on the final Pie in the Sky night. Give them up to a month to accumulate sections.
- Some churches have bus ministries that could count as incentives. With parental permission, they pick kids up from their school at the end of the day and bring them to church. When they arrive, they are given a snack. People are there to help them with their homework. They also have some kind of craft or game planned for after their homework is finished. Before club starts, the church will feed the kids supper.
- End of the year events
- Before the year starts, plan end-of-the-year events that will keep your clubbers motivated. For instance, if T&T kids complete a book, take them bowling. The idea is to tell them on the first night of club what it will take to earn this special treat. When the way gets rocky, the end-of-the-year events may just serve as sufficient motivation to spur them on.
- Other ideas: movie night, ice cream sundays, baseball game.
- Scholarship camp
- A end of the year event that is not planned by the church.
- It's a little different for every location. Usually week long overnight camps for kids T&T age and older who passed at least one book during the club year.
- Usually not run by a single church. Includes clubbers from across a wide area.
- Prize ideas
- Small gift cards
- Duct tape for crafts
- Manicure/pedicures for T&T girls
- Food with sugar is not usually recommended.