CC301

For thirty years we have been involved in the Awana ministry. During those years this ministry has grown and expanded. Today it is international, reaching nearly one million children in other countries and one million in this country. Awana has expanded its outreach to prisons, to children at risk, to fathers, and to numerous other groups, in addition to its main ministry to children. Last week we had the honor of attending Commander College 301 in Chicago. It is an intensive three day program for commanders who have completed CC101 and CC201. We had completed those levels at Hershey and at Pittsburgh. The theme of this final level training was legacy, a topic that has been very dear to my heart in recent years. We were challenged to leave a godly legacy for our Awana club, for our church, and for our family. We were taught by outstanding speakers, we studied scripture, we participated in discussion sessions, and we exchanged ideas with key commanders and missionaries from all over the country. We studied from early morning to late evening - it was intensive. We also had a special chance to renew acquaintances with six great friends from Idaho, New York, and Pennsylvania that we met in CC201. We spent time with new friends from California, Texas, Michigan, Tennessee, Kansas, Illinois, and numerous other states. These folks are special because of their love for the Lord, their passion to serve the Lord, and to share the gospel with children. We had the special honor of meeting Art Rohrheim, the founder of Awana who is now in his nineties and still very active (see the picture). Art has probably had the greatest impact on sharing the gospel with children around the world than any other person in history. We also toured the church where Awana actually grew and expanded about sixty years ago and we saw the old Awana circle which is painted on the floor there. The first Awana Games event was held there. We met many of the folks from the home office and we saw where they work and where all the shipping is done. It was a special experience. The names of all Meritorious and Citation Award winners are displayed at the headquarters and we were able to find my name. So now the Lord has allowed me to complete the highest award that a clubber can earn and the highest training that a commander can receive. I will always have a passion for the work of Awana and sometimes I regret that I'm no longer able to do all that could be done with the Awana ministry. We concluded the conference on Saturday night with a banquet where about 50 of us were presented with diplomas, gold name tags, and gold clocks to signify that we are now official graduates of the Awana Commander College program. It was so hard to leave all of our new friends. We have been challenged and there is so much to do before the Lord returns. But it is encouraging to know that there is an organization like Awana and so many dedicated folks like we met who are sacrificing to reach children around the world with the gospel. Unfortunately there is not a Commanders College 401!