Mack Academy Weblog

Monday, May 24, marked the completion of 12 years of hard work and service for Amy and Wendy.  That day they were each presented with the Awana Citation Award.  For young people involved in Awana, earning the Citation Award is the ultimate achievement. The Citation is their reward for thousands of hours attending group meetings, working with children, getting involved in their communities, completing 10 years of biblically grounded curriculum and learning more than 700 Bible verses.

The awards ceremony was held at Grace Baptist Church in Santa Clarita.  Wendy was the first of three students to speak.  She shared what the various stages of Awana meant to her spiritual growth and development.  Amy delighted all by playing the piano before and during the ceremony, including two of her own compositions.  

Amy and Wendy began Awana when they were seven at the Pine Mountain Christian Community Church  (http://www.pmccc.org/awanas.htm), where they were lovingly trained by leaders Nancy Miller, Pat Westlund, and Melodie Steele, among others.  The girls were honored that Mrs. Steele continued to be an encouragement by attending their awards ceremony.  In seventh grade they transferred to the Awana program at Grace Baptist Church.

For nearly 60 years, Awana has been a leader in children’s ministry, helping churches and parents worldwide raise children and youth to know, love and serve Christ. The founders of Awana  derived the Awana name from the first letters of Approved workmen are not ashamed as taken from 2 Timothy 2:15 of the Bible. Based in the Chicago area, Awana is the only organization with fully integrated evangelism and discipleship programs for ages 2 to 18 that actively involve parents, church leaders and mentors. Each week, more than a million children and youth, 250,000 volunteers and 300-plus field staff take part in Awana in over 18,000 churches in the U.S. and internationally  Our family is so blessed to be a part of this wonderful program!