All over the nation, school-aged children participate in AWANA at their local churches. AWANA is a non-denominational Christian ministry designed to reach boys and girls with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. At an AWANA Club meeting, children hear Bible stories, learn Bible verses, play games, do crafts, eat a snack, go to the playground, and enjoy free time with their friends.
For lots of kids, AWANA is the highlight of their week.
In addition to regular weekly meetings, once a year some AWANA clubs also gather together to participate in a day of fun and exciting competition. This year, on Saturday, March 2, the annual Regional AWANA Games and Bible Quiz were held at East Brent Baptist Church in Pensacola. Most of the participating Clubs were from Pensacola, but two Pace area churches participated in the Games.
Woodbine Baptist Church and Woodbine United Methodist Church, both on Woodbine Road in Pace, combined their two AWANA Clubs in order to form the “Woodbine AWANA Clubs” team. Club members represented both churches in all areas of competition. Having practiced together every Saturday during the month of February, the Woodbine AWANA Clubbers demonstrated the diligence of their preparation, making a great showing in every event.
Boys and girls in Kindergarten through second grade competed in the Sparks competition. The points they earned in events ranging from the Noodle Run to the Three-Legged Race to the Sparky Crawl garnered them First Place. The T&T Club, with boys and girls from third through sixth grade, also took First Place, competing in events like the Balloon Pass, the Relay Race, and a Bean Bag toss. This was the first year that both the Sparks and T&T teams came in First Place in their competition circles.
Additionally, T&T Club members participated in the Bible Quiz, a two-part event testing Clubbers knowledge of the Bible. In the first part, Clubbers took a written test. In the second and much more intimidating portion, Club members on stage had to hold up answer cards to correctly identify phrases and verses from the Old and New Testaments. Woodbine AWANA Team garnered numerous awards for the Bible Quiz, including several Third, Second, and First Place ribbons.
In addition to their high scores and excellent finishes in all areas of the competition, The Woodbine AWANA Club teams walked home with the most important prize of all – “The Spirit of the AWANA Games” plaque. This was the third year in a row that the Woodbine AWANA Club teams set a noteworthy example of good sportsmanship, positive attitude, and enthusiastic support for the other seven teams. During a day full of uplifting yet fierce competition, being selected as the Best-of-the-Best was the sweetest success of all.
For more information about AWANA Clubs, please check the website at http://awana.org. Woodbine Baptist Church AWANA meets Sunday evenings from 5 -7. Woodbine Baptist Church can be reached at 994-6169. Woodbine United Methodist Church AWANA meets on Wednesdays at 6:30 and can be reached at 995-0007
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Woodbine Churches win at Regional AWANA Games