Awana

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, right dividing the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15 NKJV

Awana offers a fun, proven approach to early evangelism and discipleship. Scripture-based programs and exciting games attract families, promote Bible literacy and help kids develop life-long faith in Christ.

AWANA 2026 – 2027

AWANA IS BACK at FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH, WOODBURY, TN

AWANA MEETS Sunday Nights from 5:30 – 7:00 PM

For Kids ages 3 years through 6th grade.

AWANA CALENDAR

Looking Back: AWANA Awards Night 2026

Sunday, May 17, 2026 we ended the year with our Awards Ceremony. I’m so proud of all the hard that our clubbers put in this year. We ended the night with cookies and ice cream. Thank you again to everyone involved in the wonderful program and hope to see you in September.
Ms. Lydia

You can watch the 2026 Awards Service by clicking the Play button below.

TRANSCRIPT

Note: Transcript generated by AI and may contain some errors.

AWANA AWARDS NIGHT 2026

[00:25] Speaker 1: (Pomp and Circumstance)

[00:34] Speaker 1: (instrumental music)

[04:39] Speaker 2: Good evening and, uh, welcome to our, uh, WWANA awards ceremony, one who, uh, that we’ll be able to recognize our students tonight for all the hard work that they’ve done this year. We’re gonna begin like we do each night, with our pledges. So if you’re able, I’m gonna ask you to please stand and, uh, we will begin with our pledge to the American flag. So attention, salute, pledge.

[05:05] Speaker 3: I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

[05:23] Speaker 2: And now we will pledge to the Christian flag. Attention, salute, pledge.

[05:30] Speaker 3: I pledge allegiance to the Christian flag and to the Savior for whose kingdom it stands, one brotherhood uniting all Christians in service and in love.

[05:44] Speaker 2: Thank you. You may be seated. Uh, each week as you drop your kids and grandkids off, um, we come in and they are greeted by our secretaries. Um, our secretaries this year are Ms. Pat Todd, who is our Cubby secretary, uh, Lowell Womack is our Spark secretary, and Miss Kayleigh…… Rogers as our new TnT secretary this year (child) . So, um, they do a lot to keep us going each week, um, from calculating our points when our children bring their Bible, their handbook, their uniform, uh, and just in attendance and if we have any special nights, um, they, uh, get points for that. Um, they’re always there to help. I don’t know what I would do without them. And so, I really appreciate them and I appreciate Ms. Pat and Kayleigh make sure that Lowell has snacks and coffee every week, so- (laughs) … I don’t have to feed him when we go home, so that’s good. Um, this year, we had, uh, have a new, um, recreation leader. Ms.

[06:55] Speaker 2: Tara Moore took on that role this year and I appreciate her and James Magee, um, is always right there with her to help. And they help keep our kids moving each week and having fun. And I know that they really look forward to recreation time, so that’s a lot of fun. So I appreciate them. So we’re just gonna jump right in and get started with our classes. Um, our first class tonight is our Puggles. So we’re gonna have our Puggles come up. Um, Puggles are our two and three-year-old’s. And, uh, their leaders again this year are, uh, Miss, uh, Jeanette Todd, Miss Beth Cowan and Miss Rachel Jessop. And we’re missing one. (laughs) Um, so we have two this year that are receiving their, uh, certificate. And along with their certificate, they have, um, a little Puggles magnet with their picture in it for their mom and dad. So our Puggles this year are Cason Byers and Oliver Cowan. (claps) And they both will be moving up, uh, in the fall to our Cubbies class. Yes. Yep. They move up. Yep.

[08:18] Speaker 2: And so, uh, as of right now, we have one that will be in Puggles, but, um, we’re gonna work on that. We’re gonna get some more folks in here. So, um, really appreciate these teachers and all that they do. So this is our little Puggles. So if y’all could hang on just a minute, our official Awana photographer back there, Rhett, is gonna grab a picture. Thank you. One, two, three. Thank you. (claps) Okay. Now we’re gonna move on to our next group, and that’s our Cubbies. We’ll have our Cubbies come up. Um, this is ages three through pre-K. Um, our leaders th- um, in th- this class are Miss Katie Magee, who is, uh, on a trip and couldn’t be with us tonight, Miss Katie Weiss, Emma Davenport and Emma Crabtree. (yells) And they have a, uh, Bible verse that they are going to share with us tonight.

[09:21] Speaker 4: First John 4:10.

[09:26] Speaker 2: Yay.

[09:28] Speaker 4: God loves us and sent his son.

[09:32] Speaker 2: Good job. (claps) Okay. So all of our Cubbies completed their book this year, so they are all receiving their Cubies certificate and their honey- yay. … honeycomb medallion. So we have Noah Bi- Noah Brewer. (claps) Yay. Everly Byers, and she is not here, and then Ren Rogers. Yay. (claps) Yeah, okay. And they also have a little magnet, uh, with their picture in it for mom and dad. So if I can get you teach- (laughs) I’ll get you teachers to line up there with them and, uh, Rhett’s gonna grab a picture.

[10:21] Speaker 4: One, two, three. (laughs)

[10:25] Speaker 2: (laughs) And Noah will be moving up this year as she goes to kindergarten. She will be moving to the Cubies. So this is our- (claps) . Or to Sparks, excuse me. Lots of groups. So now we’re gonna move on to our Sparks. Um, the- our Sparks are kindergarten through second grade. And their leaders this year are Cindy Anderson, Sharon Huddleston, Leila Wooden, and Sara Boustead. (coughs) And they have a Bible verse they are gonna share with us as well.

[11:16] Speaker 5: Pray.

[11:25] Speaker 4: For I pass unto you as most important what I also receive that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 1 Corinthians 15:3.

[11:51] Speaker 2: Good job. (claps) And all of our Sparks completed their book this year. Everyone completed their book. (claps) . So completing their first book and receiving their (child) certificate along with, uh, their book one medallion is Cameron Cowan. And if you want to hang that around their neck, that’d be great. Now, we have Audrey Hedger.

[12:38] Speaker 4: (applause)

[12:39] Speaker 2: Charlotte Odom.

[12:41] Speaker 4: (applause)

[12:47] Speaker 2: Graham Odom.

[12:52] Speaker 4: (applause)

[12:56] Speaker 2: (laughs) Grady Weaver.

[13:03] Speaker 4: (applause)

[13:05] Speaker 2: And Taylor Weise.

[13:10] Speaker 4: (applause)

[13:13] Speaker 2: Okay. Now completing her second book and receiving her certificate along with her Book Two Medallion is Josie Jessup.

[13:24] Speaker 4: (applause)

[13:30] Speaker 2: And then completing all three books while in three years of Sparks and re- uh, receiving her certificate and the Sparky Award is Kathryn Cowan.

[13:44] Speaker 4: (applause)

[13:46] Speaker 2: And then both Kathryn and Charlotte, uh, will be moving up to T&T next year, so we’re gonna gain a couple of new girls. So if y’all will all get lined up there and we’ll get, uh, Rhett to get a picture.

[14:03] Speaker 4: Right here, one, two, three. One more, two, three. Yep.

[14:12] Speaker 2: Thank you.

[14:14] Speaker 4: (laughs)

[14:15] Speaker 2: So thank you, Sparks. Good group this year.

[14:23] Speaker 4: (applause)

[14:26] Speaker 2: (laughs) And our oldest group is our T&T group, and that stands for Truth and Training. So you guys come on up. (laughs) Um, this is our third through sixth grade. Uh, the girls are led each week by Ms. Pam Northcutt and Ms. Betty Horsley. And the boys are led by Jason McGee, Darrin Jessup, and myself. So we’re gonna get them all lined up here. Right. Now, they are gonna share, um, a Bible verse with us tonight and it’s, it is our Awana verse. And, uh, it tells us from where, uh, the word Awana is derived. So you guys ready? Second Timothy 2:15.

[15:21] Speaker 4: “Two Timothy, do their best to present themselves to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.”

[15:36] Speaker 2: Good. Great job.

[15:38] Speaker 4: (applause)

[15:41] Speaker 2: Okay. So we have, uh, receiving their T&T certificate and, uh, the Excellence Award Medallion, uh, and this is for completing their second book, is Beckett Brewer.

[15:59] Speaker 4: (applause)

[16:03] Speaker 2: Amelia Hedger.

[16:04] Speaker 4: (applause)

[16:14] Speaker 2: Jackson Weise.

[16:16] Speaker 4: (applause)

[16:25] Speaker 2: Robert Weise.

[16:26] Speaker 4: (applause)

[16:33] Speaker 2: And Connor Williams.

[16:37] Speaker 4: (applause)

[16:42] Speaker 2: And now we have two students that have completed all four books. They’ve been in T&T all four years and they’re, they will be receiving their T&T, uh, certificate along with the Timothy Award you see here. And those two are Charlie Weise.

[17:03] Speaker 4: (applause)

[17:05] Speaker 2: And Braden Williams.

[17:06] Speaker 4: (applause)

[17:12] Speaker 2: Um, (laughs) also, um, in our T&T book, each week, um, we have little, like, extra credit sections that, uh, the kids can do at their own pace if they want to. Um, those are called Silver Sections and once they complete an entire chapter, they get a little silver star, uh, to put on their uniform. And you can see those on Charlie and on Braden. Um, so both Charlie and Braden completed all the silver sections in their entire book this year, so they’re gonna be receiving the Award of Merit ribbon.

[17:46] Speaker 4: (applause)

[17:53] Speaker 2: And so this is our T&T group, so we’ll get lined up, get you guys to get a picture there.

[18:02] Speaker 4: One, two, three.

[18:07] Speaker 2: All right. Thank you, guys.

[18:09] Speaker 4: (applause)

[18:15] Speaker 2: Um, now I would like to, um, recognize our leaders. Um, you can see how many adults we have working, uh, with this group and it really takes-… all of those every night for this program to be successful. Um, so each year they receive a little service pin and it has the number of years that they have served in AWANA. So, um, Lowell, if you can help with those. So, uh, this year receiving their first year pin is Tara Moore (audience clapping) … and Kailey Rogers. (audience clapping) And I’ll have you guys stay up here as well, if y’all wanna come up on steps and we’ll get Rhett to get a picture. Um, receiving his, uh, second year pin is Darren Jessup. (audience clapping) I feel like it should say, “Hold your applause ’til the end.” I don’t… (laughs) Um, okay, now receiving their fourth year pin is Sarah Bostead. (audience clapping) And Betty Horsley. (audience clapping) Their fifth year pin is Miss Sharon Huddleston. (audience clapping) Rachel Jessup.

[19:40] Speaker 2: (audience clapping) James, I’m sorry. Yes, Ja- no, that’s wrong. Uh, I think I forgot to take Thomas out of there. Uh, Pat Todd. (laughs) (audience clapping) And Leila Wooden. (audience clapping) More. More. Is there another five-year pin? It is, James. I’m sorry. James McGhee. (laughs) (audience clapping) Okay. Now, receiving their six-year pin (laughs) is Beth Cowan. (audience clapping) Jason McGhee. (laughs) That’s right, that’s right. (audience clapping) And Katy Wiese. (audience clapping) Their seventh year pin is Emma Crabtree. (audience clapping) And Janette Todd. (audience clapping) Now, I just realized that we’re taking all the teachers away from these kids, so I might need a mama or a daddy come sit down here for a minute. (audience laughing) Um, where’s seven? Uh, our eighth year pin is Cindy Anderson. (audience clapping) (laughs) And Pam Northcutt. (audience clapping) Okay, now we have, uh, four people that have completed year 11.

[21:28] Speaker 2: This is our 11th year that we’ve had AWANA. Well, at year 10, there is no year 11. (laughs) (audience laughing) It goes to 15, 20 and 25. So, uh, we had some other pins we could choose from this year, so receiving the, uh, Cubby Leader Recognition pin is Emma Davenport (audience clapping) (laughs) and Katie McGhee. (audience clapping) And then, uh, receiving the Secretary Role pin is Lowell Womack. (laughs) (audience clapping) And then I bought myself a pin. It’s the Ministry Director pin. So I get a pin too. (laughs) (audience clapping) So what…

[22:18] Speaker 2: No, no, no-

[22:19] Speaker 6: Before you go any further-

[22:19] Speaker 2: (laughs)

[22:19] Speaker 6: … I just want-

[22:20] Speaker 2: We need a picture, come on.

[22:21] Speaker 6: Well, before she goes any further, she never takes credit. It’s just to get her whip out, okay? (laughs) And she keeps us going.

[22:29] Speaker 2: (laughs)

[22:29] Speaker 6: And she’s the driving force behind AWANA and I think if you’re around long enough to know, you’ll know that it’s, she truly has a real desire for the kids to know who Jesus is. And that’s what we’re all about. And Tara, we have something for you. (laughs)

[22:48] Speaker 2: (laughs)

[22:48] Speaker 6: And, um, it’s not… Well, anyway, but we can’t, we can’t take our awards or our accolades without remembering that Lydia does all the hard work. She shops, she keeps us in line.

[23:03] Speaker 2: Thank you.

[23:03] Speaker 6: And as I said, she gets the whip out sometimes.

[23:06] Speaker 2: (laughs)

[23:06] Speaker 6: And we do appreciate that. (laughs)

[23:09] Speaker 2: Thank you.

[23:12] Speaker 6: Oh.

[23:12] Speaker 2: Oh.

[23:14] Speaker 6: Oh, this is for you.

[23:15] Speaker 2: Well, thank you. I’m not gonna open it right now.

[23:17] Speaker 6: That’s fine.

[23:17] Speaker 2: Okay.

[23:18] Speaker 6: (laughs) Come stand right here. (laughs)

[23:19] Speaker 2: (laughs)

[23:19] Speaker 6: (laughs)

[23:19] Speaker 2: So let’s get a picture.

[23:24] Speaker 3: The kid stood still, y’all stand still too. One, two, three. All right.

[23:34] Speaker 2: Thank you, guys, appreciate it.

[23:36] Speaker 6: (laughs) Take one more.

[23:36] Speaker 2: Oh, wait. One more, sorry. (laughs)

[23:39] Speaker 6: (laughs)

[23:39] Speaker 2: (laughs) So thank you, teachers, I appreciate all your help. (audience clapping) Y’all know I don’t need any help crying up here now, so- audience: Aw. (sighs) Didn’t need that. Um, each week as our students come in, um, they have a little jar by their table and, um, we have an opportunity to put change in that jar for our missions offering each week. Um, this year, our missions offering is going to the Gideons International, um, ’cause we wanna every boy and girl to have an opportunity to have a Bible like we do. Um, ’cause they all bring their Bible every week. Um, so I’m gonna ask, um, Brother Phil Purvis, if you would come up. (laughs This man works tirelessly for the Gideons. So, I want to present you with a check from the Awana for $670.

[24:50] Speaker 7: (applause)

[24:52] Speaker 2: So, I believe that will purchase 416 New Testaments.

[24:57] Speaker 8: I will verify it, Mr. Haines.

[24:58] Speaker 2: You will verify it?

[24:59] Speaker 8: It- it seems right.

[24:59] Speaker 2: That’s right. Sounds right. So-

[25:02] Speaker 8: That’s wonderful.

[25:02] Speaker 2: Thank you, Phil. We appreciate it.

[25:03] Speaker 8: Well, I wanna thank you and your leaders for all y’all do, with impacting these kids here. And I wanna thank you for this, all the those you gave, and it’s such a blessing. I know God appreciates it.

[25:13] Speaker 2: Yes.

[25:13] Speaker 8: God’s gonna take your word all around the world, that young people just like these will have a Bible to get saved.

[25:19] Speaker 2: Yes. Thank you.

[25:20] Speaker 8: Thank- thank y’all so much.

[25:21] Speaker 2: Thank you.

[25:21] Speaker 8: God bless you.

[25:21] Speaker 2: Thank you, Phil.

[25:23] Speaker 7: (applause)

[25:27] Speaker 2: So, we wanna share a couple of pictures with you tonight. Um, it’s just a blessing each week to see them come in. Um, they’ve learned the importance of sharing and giving to others. And a couple of ways that we do that throughout the year is through our food pantry, um, through our missions offering, through Operation Christmas Child and other things. Um, so just wanted to share a few pictures with you tonight. Um, our food pantry, like I said, each, uh, we do that, uh, one- one Sunday a month. We alternate with, um, Operation Christmas Child. So this was when we brought in, uh, canned meat and spaghetti and sauce. Uh, peanut butter was a good night. (laughs) So we had peanut butter crackers and cereal and oatmeal. Um, then we had soup night, and instant mashed potatoes and canned potatoes. So, I think I counted up, and this year we were able to donate a little over 500 items to their food pantry.

[26:33] Speaker 2: So thank you so much for-

[26:35] Speaker 7: (applause)

[26:35] Speaker 2: … for that. Um, also with our Operation Christmas Child, uh, we usually try to get with Tonya at the beginning of the year and see what items we want to bring in, the items that are needed the most. So we had, uh, deodorant and ChapStick here. Then we, uh, had some coloring books, pencils, glue, crayons. Uh, I missed the picture of toothbrushes and hairbrushes, so we missed that picture in there somewhere. And then here we had, um, washcloths and deodorant. And again, you can see we have some homemade washcloths there. Um, so this year you guys brought in 1,336 items for our Operation Christmas Child.

[27:22] Speaker 7: (applause) Yeah.

[27:22] Speaker 2: So great job. Also, we have our Awana bakery each year. This year, the cu- kids got to decorate, uh, cookies and so forth. But we also wanted to share with our food pantry and bring a sweet treat into our food boxes. So, our kids brought in cookies and muffins and cake mixes and so forth. And, uh, so, uh, I- I know Miss Glenda really appreciated that. She was able to add that to those boxes. Um, at Christmastime, our Sparks put on a Christmas play, and, uh, we have some, uh, cute little shepherds here, and then our precious little angels. We have a shi- a little shining star there, and then our, uh, shepherds also doubled as wise men. We had to, um, double up there on them. And then this was our entire cast and crew and our- our behind-the-scene workers. So appreciate that. That was… And we had a lot of parents and grandparents turn out for that, so that was a great night.

[28:31] Speaker 2: Um, we do different theme nights throughout the year, and, uh, this year one that, uh, went over really well was to dress like a Bible character. And, uh, so, uh, Miss Charlotte is Mary, and Brayden and Connor are shepherds. Miss Josie was Ruth. I love that they came up with some really great ones this year. Um, Kathryn is Queen Esther. Grady, where’s Grady? Grady’s got… He’s David, and he’s got his little c- uh, slingshot tucked in his belt there.

[29:13] Speaker 7: (laughs)

[29:13] Speaker 2: We had several. Uh, Beckett was Noah, and you’ll see his, uh, animals are all lined up, his arms there.

[29:19] Speaker 7: (laughs)

[29:20] Speaker 2: Um, Audrey was also Mary, and Amelia said she was an older Mary. She was our grown Mary. Um, this one’s great. Graham was Samson, and I believe there was like 100 wadded-up paper towels stuck in there-

[29:43] Speaker 7: (laughs)

[29:43] Speaker 2: … to build the muscles. So I thought that was great. Um, and then we have our angel, Noah. And Ren is… There’s Ren. He’s David. We have another David, Cameron. And Jackson was Noah. We have Taylor as Mary. And Charlie was also Queen Esther. And Mom Katie jumped in there too, so… (laughs) Uh, then another fun night we had was western night. And you can see we had al- uh, uh, there’s a lot of cowboy hats floating around in Woodbury, so we, uh, had a fun night with western night as well. And then our last, uh, opportunity we had for our theme night was career night and what do you want to be when you grow up. And so, we had some, uh, great things here. Connor’s gonna be a musician. And then Robert wants to be a professional basketball player. Charlie wants to be an actress. And Amelia’s gonna be a teacher (baby cries) . And Jackson said he’s gonna help dad out, he’s gonna be a taxidermist (laughs) so dad won’t have to pay for his taxidermy (laughs) .

[31:22] Speaker 2: Beckett is our professional soccer player. Yes, he is. Yes, he is. No, I’m not. Yes, he is. And I’m gonna be a hunter. (laughs) Uh, Brayden wants to be a police officer. And Josie’s gonna be a country music singer. She’s ready to go. And Catherine wants to be a veterinarian. She’s a doctor. This one I loved, Charlotte, hmm (laughs) . Charlotte says she wants to work in an orphanage and take care of babies. Audrey’s gonna be a cowgirl (laughs) . Taylor also wants to be a veterinarian. And Cameron’s gonna be a police officer. And Grady wants to be a doctor. And now Noah said she wants to work at Disney and be a Disney princess (laughs) . And also, Wren wants to be a police officer, so I think, uh, Mr. Lowell is set. He’s got some good upcoming (laughs) candidates there. Um, we’re not a- able to get a lot of pictures of our puggles because they’re usually down in the nursery, but I did want to share a couple of pictures here.

[32:54] Speaker 2: They were, uh, at, um, our Valentine’s time, um, decorating some cookies. So they had a lot of fun with that. Okay, let me get back over here to my last page. So, um, I just wanna thank you parents and grandparents, those that bring these kids every week, um, for giving us an opportunity to work with them. Um, they’re a blessing to us, and thank you for trusting them with us to guide them and to teach them about God each week. Um, it, it truly is a blessing, so thank you for that. Um, tonight, we have cookies and ice cream next door. We have plenty, so we hope you’ll come over and, uh, enjoy some cookies and ice cream with us. So I’m gonna ask Brother Dean if he would, uh, close us in prayer and then, uh, you guys can just head over.

[34:03] Speaker 9: We are grateful for all the families of students and the teachers and, and above all for the end result. For all the seeds of the Word of God that have been planted in lives and the assurance that it’s gonna be bearing fruit for a long time to come (baby cries) . Let’s pray. Father, thank you. Uh, (clears throat) we, so many months back, prayed for workers for Awana. Thank you for answering that prayer. I thank you for the folks who have faithfully, week in and week out, invested themselves in teaching our students. Thank you for the families who faithfully brought their students week in and week out and for students who’ve worked hard to learn the Scripture. And I, I thank you above all that you’re gonna be using that. I thank you that it’s planted in their lives for the Holy Spirit to bring to mind and to use for the rest of their days. Uh, thank you for the opportunity we have now to spend time together.

[35:02] Speaker 9: For the refreshments that have been provided, we ask that you would bless that time and bless the, uh, food that’s prepared. In Jesus’ name. Amen.