Cindy Call to Ministry

Awana was started at the church I grew up in when I was a senior in high school. Being involved as a leader was a natural fit for me. I continued serving in Awana for a couple of years into college. During my college years, God called me to junior high ministry. Our church did not offer junior high Awana at that time (I didn’t even know it existed), so my involvement with Awana was put on hold for a time.

After several years of junior high ministry, it was time for a break and in 1993 God put me back into Awana. I started with 3^rd grade girls (Chums) and moved to Guards when these girls started 5^th grade. It was about this time that I realized Awana had a camp in the summer. I started looking into it, and the summer of 1996 I served at Awana Scholarship Camp as a counselor. Besides the usual camp ministry opportunities, camp also provided a great opportunity for me to get to know my Awana Missionaries, Tom & Marti Chance. I also learned about JV, Awana’s ministry to junior highers.

Over the next club year, I looked into JV, and volunteered my time at area events such as Bible Quiz, Awana Olympics (now AwanaGames), and Scholarship Camp. In the fall of 1997 God brought together my ministry in Awana and my love for junior highers and we started Awana JV at the Evangelical Free Church in Pleasanton. During the summer prior to that, I devoured all the information I could about JV and much to my surprise, Tom & Marti asked me to teach JV Basic Training at a summer meeting and again at the Fall Conference, I also continued my involvement at area events. Sometime during that year (1998), one of my good friends, also an Awana leader, said to me “Cindy, I think God has a bigger plan for you in Awana.” I really couldn’t imagine what that could be. As far as I knew I was doing everything I could. Since I was a single woman I wasn’t qualified to be on the Ministry Team nor could I be an Awana Missionary, what else could there be? Little did I know she was right. . .

On April 21, 1999, Tom & Marti had a club visit not far from where I lived. They asked if we could get together and talk before they went to the club meeting. At my dining room table in Livermore, Tom & Marti told me they had praying during the past year about hiring an office assistant to help them in their ministry, and that God kept bringing my name to mind. Would I consider joining them in the Awana ministry?

It was a difficult decision, because it meant moving away from my family, my friends, my church, and quitting my job to go to a new place, find a new church, make new friends, and start a new job with a significant cut in pay. After a prayer and counsel, I came to the conclusion that this was where God was directing me.

I started working with Tom and Marti as their assistant in August 1999. The 8 years I have been working with them have been a great experience and have helped to equip me for the next phase of ministry to which God is calling me.

Sometime around 2005, Awana changed it’s policy and decided that women and singles could become Awana Missionaries. I asked the Lord, “is that what you want me to do?” “Not yet” was the answer I received. In July 2007, I sensed that it was now God’s time for me to pursue becoming an Awana Missionary. I completed the application process and was accepted to Missionary Candidate School in October 2007. Throughout the whole process God continued to confirm that this in fact was what He wanted me to do.

I graduated from Awana Missionary Candidate School on March 4, 2009 and am now serving as Awana Missionary.