Awana was founded as a youth program at the North Side Gospel Center in Chicago, Illinois, by Pastor Lance Latham and Art Rorheim. Their goal was to develop a program that would appeal to young people, reach them with a Christian message of salvation and grow them spiritually through biblical studies. Other churches heard about the success of the Awana program and asked if they could use it. By 1960, Awana had grown to 900 churches. Today, more than 12,000 U.S. churches have Awana programs and can be found in all 50 states. Outside the United States, Awana can also be found in more than 6,000 churches in 109 countries and six continents.

Awana missionaries and volunteers run local, state and regional competitions between churches' Awana programs. These involve Bible Quizzing, AwanaGames, Awana Grand Prix and Sparks-a-Rama. High-school age Awana students can also participate in an annual national event called Summit.

Awana missionaries help churches start the Awana ministry, train church leaders how to introduce kids and youth into the Awana program and instruct church leaders at Awana Ministry Conferences on how to better utilize the Awana ministry.

Awana missionaries are completely "faith supported" by donations from churches and individuals, thereby acquiring all of the funds necessary to keep each of their ministries funded in addition to receiving all funds needed for their personal housing and income needs.