Motivating and Pacing your T&T clubbers using TruthTrackers

by Linda Weddleawana.org

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Teach me Thy way, O LORD; I will walk in Thy truth.

(Psalm 86:11a)

As Awana® leaders, one of our goals is to see clubbers (and teens) fi nish their books within the club year.

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Why? Not because the clubbers are memorizing Awana books, but because Awana provides a systematic structure for learning God’s Word and acquiring the tools necessary to develop a biblical worldview.

Awana curriculum is based on the questions children and teens are asking about their faith. In fact, we asked more than 4,000 Awana participants: “What is your biggest question about God and the Bible?” We received answers from preschoolers, elementary-age, tweens and teens. We prioritized the ques-tions to discover what the biggest concerns were for each age group and then incorporated those into our program under the concept of the Master Life Threads. Awana curriculum provides an overall biblical worldview development plan.

Of course, the key to benefi tting from the objectives of the curriculum is to actually read the books, do the Bible studies and memorize the verses.

Clubbers in T&T™ learn answers to their biggest questions about God and the Bible and back-up verses to support those answers. As they approach that time of life when they’re asking “why,” we need to provide the foundation for their reasoning.

Yet many leaders have clubbers who, at best, are lackluster in their attempts to pass sections. As a result, we continually look for positive ways to motivate clubbers to become super section sayers. We want them to get the message.

TruthTrackers™ is one way to do so.

But let’s start at the beginning.

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Meaningful Plan

Pacing is a predetermined schedule, which, if maintained, guar-antees you will reach the fi nish line or goal. A serious runner has determined her pace down to the second. She often checks her time midrace to see if she’s keeping up the pace she (and her coach) determined beforehand. The pace is so important that you will often hear an announcer report during the race itself: “She’s three seconds off her pace and will need to make it up this next lap/mile.”

Likewise, an Awana clubber needs to set a pace. Some clubbers do this informally, occasionally looking at the back of the book and seeing how far they need to go to fi nish by the end of the year. But most clubbers need to set a predetermined schedule.

What’s wrong with saying 29 sections the fi rst night of club … or the last night of club, as long as

the clubber completes the book?

Runners who go out too fast can often face problems such as dehydration or exhaustion, which can cause them to falter and lose the race. Clubbers who start out saying an overabundance of sections in one night may continue throughout the year, but most soon tire of the pressure and completely give up to concentrate on the latest computer game or soccer practice.

Runners often hit the wall and feel they simply can’t reach the fi nish line. Likewise, clubbers who haven’t paced themselves will often feel overwhelmed as they take the time to count how many sections they have left to say the last three weeks of club.

What’s Your MP?When a serious runner talks about his MP, he is talking about his Marathon Pace — the pacing sched-ule that assures him he will complete his goal — the 26 miles, 385 feet (42.195 km) of a marathon course.

Your clubbers also need a Marathon Pace to reach the goal — that of completing a handbook during the year. Three key MPs will help you establish this pace in your T&T club:

MEANINGFUL PLAN

MEMORIZING PROGRESS

MENTORING PARENT

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Suddenly, the book-fi nishing goal they aimed for back in September is now something that looks out of reach.

Completing the book would’ve been so much easier if they had had a schedule.

TruthTrackers (based on Psalm 86:11) provides the pacing schedule for T&T.

Most clubs have at least eight months of club — anywhere from August through May. All four T&T books have eight Discoveries or Challenges apiece. Each Discovery or Challenge has seven sections. That all adds up to 56 sections a year or only seven per month. Very doable! That’s only two sections a week.

As a result, if a clubber does one Discovery or Challenge a month, he will complete his book.

Of course, some months (such as December) don’t have club every week. First-year clubbers also need to factor in the Start Zone. But even those inconsistencies can be worked into the schedule since a clubber only needs to complete seven sections per month. And at least one month will have fi ve club meetings.

If a clubber stays on track, completing a Discovery or Challenge each month, he is a TruthTracker.

Think about it like this: If you can count to eight, you can motivate.

If a clubber has earned three bones or patches, you instantly know he has fi ve more to go to fi nish his book.

That’s all there is to it.

The Director/LeaderMegan Lockwood sat at the kitchen table surrounded by all things Awana — handbooks, record cards, and a list of leaders’ email addresses. She had started the morning prayerfully and full of enthusiasm as she carefully designed the year’s club night grid and fi lled in the spaces with the themes: Backwards Night, Food Bank Feast Night, Bring-a-Friend Night, etc., …

But something was still missing. Last year had been a good year — fi ve of the 27 girls had trusted Christ as Savior and several girls had brought friends throughout the year. Yet only seven girls had completed their books. That discouraged her. She knew a lot more than that were capable of fi nishing.

She thought of Sarah. Her parents both came to church. In fact, her mom had been a Sparks® leader for a few years. Sarah always started the year well, but then she’d slack off and by December she wouldn’t be doing any sections at all unless some contest got her momentarily motivated.

And Kristi. She starred in youth theater productions learning unbelievable amounts of dialogue, but for some reason, learning a three-line verse was too hard.

Maria had good intentions. Every few weeks she’d come in with a section half memorized and by the end of the evening usually managed to say it to her leader, which equaled about 10 sections a year.

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All of these girls COULD be book fi nishers … if she could only fi gure out how to motivate them.

Megan sighed and got up to pour herself another cup of coffee. Then, instead of sitting back down at the table, she headed to the garage where her husband was fi xing a chair at his workbench.

“So what are you doing to motivate the boys in T&T this year?” she asked, sitting down on a pile of wood. “Got any plans?” Being director of the girls and having Scott as director of the boys was a good thing. They often planned joint Large Group Time lessons or activities.

“I’ve been thinking about that,” he said. “Every year the kids get busier and busier and learning verses is less and less important — both to the kids and their parents.”

“Except in those families where the parents care about their kids’ memorizing,” Megan added. “Like the Johnsons. No one is busier than the Johnson family, but their kids always come to club with their verses learned, and learned well.”

“Because of that Saturday morning breakfast thing they do.” Scott banged a nail into the chair leg. “Ever since Andrew was a Cubbie, it’s been a tradition in their family to go to the pancake house on Saturday morning and work on their verses while fi lling up on waffl es and strawberries. Then for the rest of the week, the kids recite their verses at least once a day to a parent.”

“They make it fun and they make it a regular part of their life.” Megan sighed again. “But we can’t MAKE parents take their kids to the pancake house or even to make pancakes at home.”

Scott put the hammer down and looked at his wife. “Look, I know some kids have a diffi cult time memorizing. But I think what discourages me most is the parents who tell me that their kids can’t memorize, yet I hear those very kids repeat song lyrics to their

friends — lyrics that are often inappropriate. They have no problem memorizing those.”

“Or sport stats or all the passwords, instructions and character names necessary for computer games.”

“As Joe said at the last meeting, it isn’t the getting-through-the-book aspect that’s so important as it is getting God’s Word embedded in their minds. The handbooks are age-appropriate and present material the kids need to know.”

“If we could only pace them …” Megan sighed.

“Can’t we?”

“But how? More contests? More points? T&T Trading Cards?” Megan stood up again to head back to the kitchen.

“We haven’t done TruthTrackers; maybe we could do that this year.”

“Mmm, that’s a thought. I remember we heard a little about TruthTrackers at a conference workshop last year. I think I still have my notes,” Megan said. “And I know there are TruthTrackers products in the Awana Store.”

“One thing I do remember,” Scott remarked, “is the workshop leader saying — ‘If you can count to eight, you can motivate.’ You know, there are eight Discoveries or Challenges in each of the T&T books and approximately eight months during a club year. So, if the kids do one Discovery or Challenge a month, they’ll complete their books by the end of the year.”

“Now it’s coming back to me. At the end of each month, we honor the clubbers who have completed a Discovery or a Challenge with

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one of the prizes in the catalog or our own rewards — maybe a candy bar or a small game or something.” Megan smiled. “We could do that.”

“And isn’t there a chart and stickers to mark the progress of kids who are TruthTrackers?” Scott stood the chair on all four legs. “I don’t remember that being too expensive.”

“Right, and because it’s on a month-by-month basis, kids can earn the right to be a TruthTracker at anytime during the year. That way even kids who don’t start out well can get on track.”

“I have a few minutes before I need to leave for work.” Scott put his hammer back in the tool box.

“Let’s look through the catalog and write down how we can implement TruthTrackers into our program.”

Memorizing Progress

Pacing has a purpose other than a smooth run on the track. The purpose of pacing is to reach a goal. The runner desires to win and to be the one who wears the gold medal.

Ninety percent of those running a marathon are slower in the second half than they are in the fi rst. We don’t have statistics comparing that with clubbers who say less sections the second half of club than the fi rst — but we’re guessing the results would be the same.

Usually, on the fi rst night of club, a T&T director will ask the clubbers: How many want to fi nish their book this year? Most of the clubbers raise their hands. Motivational contests held those fi rst weeks of club have a lot of participants. But then as the holidays approach and kids and schedules get rearranged, doing Awana handbooks becomes less and less a priority.

Sometimes, after clubbers return in January, section-saying dwindles to a slow crawl. By the end of the year, the same seven clubbers who fi nished their book last year are the ones who fi nish again.

A runner in a race has motivation. He wants to better his best time, to break a record or to earn the gold medal. The resulting honor or prize keeps him going.

Likewise we need to motivate our clubbers. We need to re-mind them the importance of learning God’s Word and hiding it in their hearts and mind. (Psalm 119:11) We need to encourage them. And we need to occasionally reward them for a job well done. Because TruthTrackers awards clubbers monthly, they are consistently encouraged and can easily get back on track if they’ve lost their stride.

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The chart!

The stickers!

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TruthTrackers is a way to reward clubbers each month.The club leadership has several options:

TruthTrackers products from the Awana Ministry Catalog

Prizes you purchase from a local store, such as candy bars or other fun stuff

Products from Awana one month and a local-store prize the next (an option most churches use)

A pack of T&T Trading Cards

Outing points which are earned and then turned in for a special activity, such as a trip to a ballgame or a hike through a local park

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The TruthTrackers chart and stickers are visible reminders (and public recognition) of where a clubber stands in the TruthTracking process.

TruthTrackers encourages clubbers to not only work toward a book-fi nisher award, but to work toward monthly recognition.

The ClubberEvery year Cody Preston would come home from his fi rst night of Awana excited about fi nishing his book. “I’ll do it this year,” he’d announce on the way home in the car.

“Get organized, son,” his dad would say. Cody’s dad was an architect who was known for his attention to detail. Ever since Cody was a little kid, his dad encouraged him to plan his projects. Cody would listen, but then, well … then he’d lose the plans.

Like last year on the fi rst night of Awana, he came right home, got his pj’s on, then sat on his bed and fi gured out how many sections he’d have to say each night to fi nish his book. Then he went down to where his parents were watching the news and proudly showed them his grid.

His dad gave Cody a high fi ve and then his mom told him she had made some cookies and if he wanted a couple (as if he would ever not want his mom’s cookies) he could get some from the kitchen.

Cody headed for the cookies. Then he heard the TV sports an-nouncer come on and he hurried back into the living room, not even realizing he had laid down his Awana chart.

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In no time at all, it was the next Wednesday and Cody had forgotten to learn his verses. When he got home, he searched every corner of his room for his chart, but couldn’t fi nd it (not knowing that he had laid it on top of his mom’s cookbook the week before and it had inadvertently gotten between two pages and was now tucked away on the cookbook shelf).

That was sort of how it went every year.

But this year was different. Mr. Lockwood had told the boys that they were doing TruthTrackers. Every boy who did a Discovery or Challenge within a month’s time would receive 10 outing points and a small prize from the Awana catalog. Clubbers who earned 50 outing points by the end of January would get to go to a basketball game at the city center. Wow! That was cool motivation! Maybe if he was just concerned about doing a Challenge each month, he would have an easier time keeping track. He also liked knowing he could see his progress on the TruthTrackers chart. Mr. Lockwood said they would have another cool outing for those clubbers who earned 30 more outing points by the end of the year.

Then Mr. Lockwood had done a Large Group Time lesson on the importance of memorizing. Cody listened, because he had this idea in back of his mind. He hadn’t really talked to anyone about it, but even though he was just a kid, he had prayed about it. Sometimes his father talked to him about becoming an architect and Cody kind of liked that idea, although he knew his dad would never force him to do it.

But last year a missionary had come to Awana and talked about the need for a new mission hospital in the village where he worked.

That’s when Cody had thought that maybe he could become a missionary architect. Was there such a thing? He didn’t know, but he thought it would be a fantastic career. He could design schools and mission hospitals and orphanages that would meet the needs of the people in the different countries. It was kind of a far-fetched dream, but who knew? The missionary had also challenged the club-bers. “You can start serving the Lord right now. You’re not too young. Prepare yourself by learning everything you can about the Bible.”

Cody fi gured that was another good reason to learn his Awana verses. It would be a good fi rst step to the future, because no matter what he did, he’d need to know God’s Word.

The amazing bookmarks!

Mark your spot in your handbook!

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Mentoring Parents

• Leaders putting TruthTrackers into place• Clubbers motivated to learn verses• Where do the parents fi t in?

Parents are the all-important coaches.

A running coach not only analyzes a runner’s stride, time and race strategy, but he also designs the training to help the athlete run a good race.

Just as good runners have good coaches — so clubbers who do well in their handbooks most often have parents who are right there with them — helping them learn the meaning of the words and concepts, reviewing the verses and giving encouragement.

Even self-motivated clubbers can benefi t from having parents who encourage and take an interest in the clubber’s progress. Just as the coach knows the goals of his runner, so the parents need to be aware of their child’s goals — to get through the handbook during the course of the Awana year.

How can parents help?

• By asking the clubber if there are any words or concepts he doesn’t understand in the sections or verses.

• By helping the clubber learn the verses.• By taking the time to listen to the clubber review the verses.• By memorizing the verses with their clubber — this is best

done by using the parent handbook that corresponds to the clubber’s book.

• By making sure the clubber has his Bible and his handbook when he leaves for club.

• By making periodic progress checkups in the clubber’s book. • By willingness to spend extra time working with the clubber

if he gets behind.

TruthTrackers helps parents understand in an instant where their child is in her book. If the club year started the beginning of September and it is now November, the clubber should be in her third Discovery or Challenge. Of course, it’s OK if she’s a little ahead of schedule, but extra time should be spent with the clubber if she’s behind.

Parents are coaches. A good coach knows all the minute details of an athlete’s race, just as parents should know the details of their child’s progress. TruthTrackers helps them do this.

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You see one of these on a backpack strap ... you’re talking to a TruthTracker!

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The ParentCal Preston thought back to the fi rst night of Awana. Cody had immediately come home and made a chart of how many sections he had to say each week in order to fi nish his book by the end of the year — as he did every year. This year, however, he hung it on his bulletin board rather than lose it in his mom’s cookbook.

Cal remembered Cody being particularly excited because the Lockwoods — the T&T directors — had announced a new plan. They would be doing something called “TruthTrackers” during the year — a motivational tool to keep the kids on track by saying one Discovery or Challenge each month.

Cody was on his Ultimate Challenge Book 2 and it was a hard one — but he started off well, as usual.

At the end of the fi rst month, Scott Lockwood, T&T boys’ director, gave out the fi rst TruthTrackers awards — 10 outing points and a TruthTrackers button. Cody had received two extra outing points because he had also done his Silver and Gold sections. He then began working on the next Challenge.

Suddenly life at the Preston’s house turned upside down. First, Mrs. Preston and all three kids came down with strep throat, which made them miserably sick for two weeks — and Cody missed two

weeks of Awana. They had just recovered from their sickness when Cal’s father had a heart attack which left him in critical condition. The family immediately headed down to Texas for a week while Grandpa Preston slowly began the recovery process.

By the time the family was back, Cody had missed a month of Awana, plus a lot of school.

That’s why Cal sat down with Cody one evening and looked at his book with him.

“You missed one month, Cody. To get back on track, you will need to do two Challenges this next month. I can work with you some — think you can do it?”

Cody fl ipped through his book — that was a lot of verses. At the same time, he enjoyed it when his dad helped him. He had such a cool way of explaining what the Bible meant.

“Sure, Dad. I kind of like this TruthTrackers thing. It helps me know just how much I have to do to fi nish my book. Besides, I really, truly want to go to that basketball game. I need my outing points.”

“I agree,” Cal answered and gave his son a high fi ve. “Tell you what — let’s pray and ask the Lord to give us wisdom and perseverance to get this done.”

Cody slapped his father’s hand. “It’s a deal.”

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Do you see why TruthTrackers is a great motivational tool?

1. Because of the simplicity.2. Because it recognizes consistent pacing throughout the year.3. Because it “levels the playing fi eld” of motivation in your

club. (Some kids’ parents may do a lot to motivate; some very little or nothing. TruthTrackers is an easy way to ensure everyone gets equal recognition.)

4. Because the Awana Store offers specifi c TruthTrackers products.

5. Because it helps:• The leader motivate.• The clubber keep on track.• The parents mentor and encourage.

TruthTrackers is the MP (marathon pace) for T&T, encouraging clubbers to

consistently hide God’s Word in their hearts and minds.

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