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Today Awana claims to be used in 61,000 churches representing over five million children in 134 countries.
Awana was founded in 1941 in the North Side Gospel Center in Chicago by the pastor, Lance Latham, and the youth pastor, Art Rorheim. It branched out to other churches in the early 1950s.
Awana’s gospel has always been a weak “just believe” with no hint of repentance and no emphasis on the new birth with evidence of a changed life.
Awana has always supported the use of multiple Bible versions.
Originally a fundamentalist organization, Awana’s statement of faith had warnings about false doctrine and required that churches using the Awana program be separate from charismatic and liberal organizations.
This was weakened in the 1990s and discarded by the 2000s. The following is from Calvary Contender, May 1, 2001:
“In a recent long discourse with an Awana official, a Kansas pastor wrote the following: ‘My problem is with the deceit of chartering American Baptist Churches despite the clear statements prohibiting it, and now the removing of key parts of the doctrinal statement that clearly speak against false doctrine and trends such as the charismatic movement. Its statement formerly said churches who used Awana were not to be ‘affiliated with’ the National Council of Churches/World Council of Churches at all. Then they weakened it to ‘not be supportive of.”’ Now this more recent change is to drop the policy on this completely, and opens the door for charismatic/Pentecostal and liberal churches to be affiliated with Awana. The Awana official, in an e-mail to the Kansas pastor, noted specifically that the Assemblies of God and all American Baptist Churches now would be free to use Awana. The Kansas pastor adds: ‘In this latest change, Awana has dropped its policy of selecting churches completely. all you have to do now is say you agree to teach the materials as they are given.’ He said Awana’s philosophy, and that of many other organizations and churches that formerly stood for the truth, is to downplay doctrine so that more people can be reached for the gospel. The Bible clearly condemns that philosophy [‘end justifies the means’].”
Twenty years later, Awana is moving into ever more dangerous waters. The following is excerpted from “Awana,” thirtypiecesofsilver.org, Nov. 2, 2022:
“AWANA ... since 2021 has increasingly featured and been dominated by social justice/woke, LGBTQ inclusion activist evangelical speakers. ... Clearly Third Way politics and activist / inclusion/ BLM [Black Lives Matter]/ CRT [Critical Race Theory] narratives are flooding Awana. ... Note about the speakers at Awana’s Child Discipleship Forum, Sept. 2022: SAM ALLBERRY is an activist same-sex attracted/homosexual priest from the Church of England and co-founder of ‘Living Out’ a controversial LGBTQ inclusion movement which has sought to ‘Audit Churches for LGBTQ Inclusion.’ ANDY CROUCH is a former editor of left-swerving Christianity Today who used his position there to promote the LGBTQ activist ‘Revoice’ movement and now serves on Revoice Board/Council. REBECCA MCLAUGHLIN is in the TGC [The Gospel Coalition] speaker promoting the APA/SOGI [American Psychological Association’s Sexual Orientation Gender Identity] based same-sex attraction narrative. ... Awana’s 2023 Child Discipleship Forum promises a racially woke rapper and more. SHAI LINNE is a racial activist using vintage critical race theory narratives ... Linne’s own words advocating Black Lives Matter (BLM) reflect his Critical Race Theory worldview in his reflections on the death of George Floyd which launched the BLM riots and Marxist-styled protest of 2020. ... Mark Markins [new CEO of Awana] appears to be desperately eager to turn Awana from the tried and true and treasure focus of teaching Bible verses to our children and grandchildren, which is viewed by him and others inside Awana as ‘looking back to the ways of the past and the methods of the good ole days.’ Markins warns churches and parents that this ‘looking back’ is wrong and is failing their children and [we should rather be] ‘looking ahead and charting a course to the future.’ Clearly by ‘Charting a New Course,’ Markins and Awana leadership mean your children need LGBTQ Church Inclusion ... BLM advocate rap with Critical Race Theory driven narratives on race by Shai Linne which are loose with the facts and heavy on systemic racism worldview.”
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