At Awana, we believe true change happens in the communities when children and youth are transformed by the gospel and engaged in Biblical discipleship in the presence of a caring adult. We believe that kids can come to know, love and serve Jesus, following Him for a lifetime. This is why, for 75+ years, Awana has been working with leaders in local churches in the US and around the world, providing solutions that equip these women and men to make disciples in children and youth.

Today, God is using Awana to reach over 10 million kids in 140 countries around the world. With over 500,000 equipped leaders in 91,000 clubs/churches, Awana is able to play a vital role in global evangelism and discipleship of children and youth. If you are passionate about being integral to reaching kids with the gospel, join us, and become a part of our global cause.

Summary

At our ministry, we are passionate about forming lasting faith in every child, everywhere! As the Church Relations Officer, you will play an important role in furthering our mission by serving as a senior relational ambassador between Awana and the local church, cultivating deep, trust-based partnerships that advance both the mission of the church and the global disciple-making work of Awana. This role focuses on engaging pastors, missions leaders, and key church stakeholders to help them understand, embrace, and invest in the Awana vision through strategic missional and financial partnership. The ideal candidate is a seasoned ministry veteran with at least 15 years of church or ministry experience, possessing credibility with church leaders, a strong theological and missional foundation, and a proven ability to build bridges between local ministry and global impact.

In this role you will also collaborate with team members across the ministry including Development, Global Ministries, and US Ministries teams to ensure integrated partnership strategies and consistent messaging.

You'll thrive in this role if you can successfully combine your consultative relationship-building, biblical maturity and cultural intelligence with donor development abilitieswhile having a heart for mission work that directly impacts the lives of children and youth around the world. We're seeking someone who views ministry advancement work not just as a series of tasks, but as vital ministry work with eternal value.

This position is primarily remote with frequent travel required based on strategic meetings among church partners and within the organization. Travel is primarily domestic U.S. and may occasionally include international travel as ministry needs would indicate.

Hiring Range for this position is: $80,000 - $85,000

Who We Are Looking For:

Team player who supports, upholds and demonstrates the Awana values in internal and external communications and relationships.
Collaborative partner who has a natural ability to cultivate genuine relationships with external partners and internal teams.
Self-motivated, goal-oriented professional with a passion for helping fuel exponential ministry growth.
Flexible team member who is open to taking on new responsibilities and easily adapts to shifting priorities and needs.
One who can thrive in a setting of organizational values based on prayer, hustle, craft, and love.
Champion of children to belong, believe, and become resilient disciples.

Key Responsibilities:

Church Relationships

Build and steward long-term, trust-based relationships with senior pastors, missions pastors, and key church leaders across an assigned portfolio of churches.
Serve as a primary ambassador for the Awana global mission, articulating how local church ministry connects to and advances global child discipleship efforts.
Facilitate meaningful engagement opportunities for church leaders, including vision briefings, site visits, pastoral gatherings, and curated global exposure experiences.
Provide consultative guidance to church leaders on child discipleship, ministry strategy, and global mission integration, drawing from extensive ministry experience.

Partnership Development

Identify, cultivate, and develop missional and financial partnerships with churches, aligning Awana strategic priorities with each church's vision and ministry focus.
Achieve annual goals of missional engagement and financial partnership development across a portfolio of churches.
Collaborate closely with Development, Global Field, and Church Engagement teams to ensure integrated partnership strategies and consistent messaging.
Track relationship activity, partnership progress, and pipeline health within the Awana CRM, enabling accurate forecasting and stewardship.

Brand Ambassador/Representative

Represent Awana at denominational events, pastors' networks, missions conferences, and other strategic gatherings to expand relational influence as needed.
Encourage churches, pastors, ministry leaders to participate in Awana-sponsored child discipleship events such as Child Discipleship Forum (CDF), and to engage with Awana-sponsored trainings, content and curriculum.

Organizational Stewardship

Uphold and demonstrate the Awana cultural values in all internal and external communications and relationships.
Contribute to special projects, initiatives and evolving ministry needs.
Embrace opportunities for professional development in order to hone your craft and expertise.

What You Need:

Minimum 15+ years experience in Christian evangelical ministry which encompasses missional fund-raising, global focus and travel, and church relationship building across denominational lines.
Strong understanding of church organizational structures and community engagement practices.
Solid understanding of the Bible and the Christian Church in its various expressions preferred.
College education with a concentration in global missions, theology, or similar from an accredited college or university, preferred but not required.
Experience with Awana Club, curriculum, resources, & solutions is a plus!
Ability to genuinely and persuasively communicate the importance of Christian child discipleship.
Keen discernment, active listening, emotional intelligence, rapport-building, and interpersonal skills all with an overarching zeal to engage others in the Awana vision, mission and philosophy.
Intermediate Google Suite skills required. Experience using a CRM (Customer Relations Management system) desired.
Ability to travel required, both locally and out-of-town frequently, and internationally occasionally.
Valid State driver's license required. Valid US Passport a plus.
Eligibility to work in the United States is required; this position is not eligible for employment visa sponsorship.

Spiritual Life

Must be a born-again Christian. Must have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Must be in agreement with the Awana Doctrinal Statement. Must be in fellowship with the body of Christ through a local church. Regularly engages in reading the Holy Bible as a guide and standard for living.

Physical Demands/Working Conditions

While performing the duties of this job, the team member is regularly required to communicate. The team member is also required to regularly utilize computer equipment (e.g., screens and keyboards) to perform work. Awana recommends maintaining ergonomic posture, utilizing properly positioned computer equipment to minimize strain, and taking regular breaks to stretch and move around. Specific vision abilities required by this job includes close vision. The employee is regularly required to move about in his/her work environment, including walking, climbing stairs, driving, lifting/carrying. Travel required.

What We Offer:

As a ministry that equips leaders to reach kids with the gospel and engage them in lifelong discipleship, we value our team that makes this happen and are excited to offer:

Mission-driven work that changes the lives of children and youth around the world.
Remote-first work environment, allowing you to do the majority of your work from where it is you call "home". We also have two office locations designed for collaborative work and connection with colleagues in St. Charles, Illinois, and Nashville, Tennessee, that can be used at your convenience.
Workplace culture that prioritizes prayer, a Biblical worldview, intentional connection, flexibility, family, and community engagement.
Benefits package, including a variety of programs you can choose from to meet you and your family's needs. Some of these include medical, dental & vision health insurance, paid family leave, 401(k) & Roth 401(k) retirement savings plans with employer match, generous paid vacation & holidays, adoption assistance, college scholarship, an employee wellness program, and more!

This Job Description reflects the current assignment of essential functions and is not meant to be all-inclusive. Responsibilities may be assigned or reassigned to this job at any time based on the needs of the organization and may be modified to reasonably accommodate an individual with a disability or for other reasons. Please note, this opportunity is contingent upon favorable completion of reference checks, background checks, and I-9 completion.

Current job openings

Church Relations Officer