Awana

What Awana does

Awana Clubs International is a privately held, non-profit Christian ministry organization founded in 1950 and headquartered in Streamwood, Illinois. It designs, produces, and distributes Bible-based evangelism and discipleship curriculum for children and youth ages 2–18 through a global network of partner churches, schools, and missionaries. Its core products include Awana Clubs (a midweek, age-tiered program covering large-group teaching, small-group discussion, scripture memorization, and Awana Games), Brite (a downloadable, weekend curriculum offered on a size-based annual subscription), ChildDiscipleship.com (a resource platform with training, podcasts, and the Friday Family Email), and the Africa Child & School Initiative, which delivers biblical materials and educator training to public schools. The curriculum is organized around a "3B Philosophy" (Belong, Believe, Become) and is available in multiple languages including English and Spanish.

Awana's business model combines donor-funded charitable contributions, church membership fees (which include a 30% discount on handbooks, awards, and gear), and curriculum subscription revenue such as Brite, alongside fixed-price programs like the $650 Africa Schools Kit. Distribution relies on a paid missionary network that supports launching and sustaining Awana clubs, supplemented by direct e-commerce through store.awana.org and childdiscipleship.com. Its customer base comprises more than 103,012 churches and schools across 140 countries, reaching approximately 10.94 million children weekly and supported by an organizational headcount of 101–250 employees.

The organization maintains ECFA accreditation, a Charity Navigator four-star rating, and a Platinum Candid Seal. It is governed by CEO Matt Markins and staffed by regional directors such as the Director of Relations for Awana Latin America and Regional Director for South America. Awana has no parent company, no subsidiaries, and no disclosed equity funding; operations are independently funded through donations, memberships, and curriculum sales.

Name

Awana

Legal name

Awana Clubs International

Website

https://awana.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1950

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Awana Clubs International is a non-profit Christian ministry, founded in 1950, that develops Bible-based discipleship curriculum for children and youth and distributes it through 103,000+ partner churches and schools across 140 countries, reaching nearly 11 million children weekly via a paid missionary network, memberships, and curriculum subscriptions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Children's Ministry Curriculum

NAICS

Educational Services (611), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Children’s Religious & Values-Based Publishing (MPAJAFAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Digital/Interactive Curriculum Content (Apps, Games, Multimedia Lessons) (EDACAJAK), Religious Education, Kids & Family Faith Programming (MPABALAM), Faith-Based Nursery & Playgroups (EDACACAK)

Keywords

• Biblical curriculum programs
• Children's ministry resources
• Discipleship training
• Weekend church curriculum
• Youth ministry programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Streamwood

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: Awana is a donor-funded ministry that relies on charitable donations to support its global mission of child discipleship. Donations fund the Child Discipleship Fund which fuels ministry to reach children worldwide.
2. Church Membership and Curriculum Sales: Churches pay for Awana membership which provides access to training, support, and discounts on handbooks, awards and gear. The organization sells curriculum materials, handbooks, and club supplies through the Awana store.
3. Brite Curriculum Subscriptions: Brite offers annual subscription-based curriculum with fees based on the number of children in a church's ministry. Separate subscriptions exist for Brite Elementary and Brite Preschool.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Awana develops and distributes age-segmented biblical discipleship curriculum for children and youth (ages 2-18), anchored by the 3B Philosophy (Belong, Believe, Become). Its core products are Awana Clubs (midweek church curriculum with scripture memorization, small group time, and Awana Games), Brite (downloadable weekend curriculum), and ChildDiscipleship.com (parent and ministry leader resources), supplemented by missionary-supported church launches, the Africa Child & School Initiative for public schools, and an e-commerce store for handbooks, awards, and gear.

Product overview

Awana is a global child discipleship ministry offering a multi-product ecosystem focused on biblical formation for children ages 2-18. The portfolio comprises three core curriculum programs: Awana Clubs (midweek programming with Bible memorization and games), Brite (weekend downloadable curriculum), and ChildDiscipleship.com (parent/church resources including the Friday Family Email and podcast). Geographic expansion is driven through the Africa Child & School Initiative reaching 11,000+ schools, and Awana GO for global missional engagement. Training is delivered via Awana Basics Online, Resilient Child Discipleship Training events, and the annual Child Discipleship Forum. The products share the '3B philosophy' framework (Belong, Believe, Become) and are available in both English and Spanish, with distribution through an e-commerce store and missionary network.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Awana Clubs: Midweek Bible curriculum for children ages 2 to 18 with large group time, small group time, and Awana Games.
• Brite
• ChildDiscipleship.com

Products and services

• Awana Clubs Age-differentiated midweek Bible curriculum program for children ages 2-18 run by partner churches. Each club session combines large-group Bible teaching, small-group discussion, scripture memorization, and Awana Games, with a handbook and award system that tracks progress.
• Brite Weekend Curriculum Online, downloadable weekend children's ministry curriculum that walks preschoolers and elementary-age kids through the Bible chronologically with videos, games, and parent resources. Sold as separate annual subscriptions for Brite Elementary and Brite Preschool, scaled by ministry size.
• Africa Child & School Initiative (ACSI) Initiative that brings Awana's biblical materials and educator training into public schools across 17 African countries, combining coordinator guides, promotional tools, donation forms, and videos with school-level training and the Africa Schools Kit.
• Awana GO (Great Commission Kit) Global outreach program that equips churches to connect children and adults to global missions through Reach Kids Lessons, fundraising tools such as Verse-A-Thon and Fun Runs, and the Hard Places Kit.
• Kids Reaching Kids Child-to-child outreach program operating under the Africa Child & School Initiative, in which children share the Gospel with peers across cultural contexts to foster cross-cultural disciplemaking among youth.
• ChildDiscipleship.com Web platform aggregating gospel-rooted children's ministry resources for church leaders and parents, including training, podcasts, the Ministry Year Planning Guide, the Friday Family Email newsletter, and access to the Child Discipleship Forum.
• Resilient Child Discipleship Training (RCDT) Regional Saturday training events that equip ministry teams with practical, Gospel-rooted, research-backed discipleship tools designed to anchor children's hearts to Jesus.
• Awana Basics Online Online training hub at basics.awana.org delivering role-specific resources for Awana Clubs teams and age-group teaching strategies for new and existing Awana churches.
• Child Discipleship Forum (CDF) Annual two-day forum for children's ministry leaders that brings together expert speakers for biblical and practical guidance on shaping the spiritual future of the next generation.
• Africa Schools Kit School discipleship kit that bundles the coordinator guide, promotional tools, donation forms, and videos needed for a public school to deliver Awana's biblical content, priced at $650 per school.
• Family Discipleship Guide Downloadable guide for families that helps them set meaningful discipleship goals, choose guiding Bible verses, and build simple rhythms for fostering lifelong faith in children.
• Awana Club Store Online e-commerce storefront at store.awana.org where churches purchase Awana Clubs membership, handbooks, awards, gear, and curriculum materials, with a 30% discount for member churches.

Quantifiable outcome

• Nearly 11 million children engaged weekly with the Gospel globally
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Appleton Alliance Church (Wisconsin)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAppleton Alliance Church in Wisconsin partners with Awana to reach thousands of kids in West Africa. This church partnership model demonstrates how U.S. churches can engage in global missions through Awana's infrastructure, combining local outreach with international impact through coordinated ministry programs.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Orange (The reThink Group): Orange is one of the largest providers of Christian children's ministry curriculum in the US, competing head-to-head with Awana Clubs across preschool through middle school and targeting the same church leader buyer with the 252 Kids and First Look programs.
• Gospel Light: Gospel Light publishes Sunday school and children's ministry curriculum sold to churches — overlapping with Awana's midweek Clubs and weekend Brite offerings in buyer (church curriculum buyer), content (Bible-based lessons), and distribution (e-commerce + church partnerships).
• David C Cook: David C Cook is a major evangelical curriculum publisher (including Sunday School and children's ministry lines like Bible-in-Life and Echoes) that competes with Awana for church curriculum budgets through direct sales to children's ministry leaders.
• Group Publishing: Group Publishing specializes in VBS (Vacation Bible School), Sunday school, and children's ministry curriculum, with very direct competition in the church curriculum space and a similar handcrafts-and-print materials model.
• Scripture Union: Scripture Union runs international Bible-based children's and youth ministry programs (similar to Awana Clubs) in over 130 countries, making it one of the closest global mission-aligned peers and the most direct international comparison set.
• Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF): CEF runs Good News Clubs and 5-Day Clubs — direct, faith-based children's evangelism and discipleship programs delivered in churches and schools worldwide, competing for the same volunteer and church-leader mindshare as Awana.

Broad incumbents

• LifeWay Christian Resources: LifeWay is a large, diversified evangelical publisher and ministry resource provider (parent of ministrygrid, Bible Studies for Life, etc.) — overlapping with Awana in children's curriculum but operating across a much broader ministry resource portfolio.
• Compassion International: Compassion is one of the largest Christian child-focused nonprofits, operating child sponsorship and development programs in dozens of countries — comparable in global child-focused ministry scale and donor-funded model, but with a sponsorship rather than curriculum core.
• Focus on the Family: Focus on the Family is a broad Christian family and child-discipleship organization producing family content, curriculum, and resources — overlapping with Awana's parent-facing ChildDiscipleship.com family resources and podcast.

Emerging players

• Parent Cue (Orange): Parent Cue is Orange's family-facing app and resource platform for parents — a directly comparable peer in the family/parent discipleship content layer that Awana's ChildDiscipleship.com platform is also pursuing.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCux3DZHEysGzw6e-JmktmHA
• Facebookfacebook.com/AwanaHQ
• Instagraminstagram.com/awana
• Pinterestpinterest.com/awana
• Xx.com/Awana

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Awana