Church Relations Officer

Equip Leaders – Reach Kids – Change the World

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.

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 abilities while 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

• 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.

• 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.

• Identify, cultivate, and develop missional and…