"You know, kids are the same the world over — they respond to those who love them."
— Art Rorheim, co-founder of Awana
ROCKFORD — Spreading the Good News to children and having fun while doing so.
That's how Arthur Rorheim lived. The pioneer in children's ministry and co-founder of Awana died Friday. He was 99.
Rorheim lived in Rockford for more than 25 years at the Fairhaven Christian Retirement Center.
"He spent his entire life making sure children knew the Gospel," said Rorheim's granddaughter, Kim Ahlgrim, of Cedarville, Ohio.
In 1941, Lance "Doc" Latham, pastor of the North Side Gospel Center in Chicago, and Rorheim, the church's youth pastor, laid the foundation for the principles of Awana.
Awana, derived from 2 Timothy 2:15, stands for Approved Workmen Are Not Ashamed. The Bible-centered weekly club meetings featured a curriculum designed to appeal to children ages 2 to 18 in and outside of the church.
Awana soon blossomed, attracting more than 500 kids and teens to meetings each week. Other churches in Chicago and around the Midwest learned of the program's success and inquired about its availability. Rorheim and Latham founded Awana as a youth and children’s ministry for churches in 1950.
By 1960, 900 churches had started Awana programs, and by 1972, Awana began its first international club in Bolivia.
Today, the Streamwood-based international evangelical nonprofit serves churches from 100 different denominations and has an outreach of more than 3.7 million children as well as millions of adult alumni in over 100 countries.
Rorheim would go on to visit some 50 countries to spread the word about Awana and lead the national and international expansion of the organization until retiring as executive director in 1990. He then served as Awana president until 1999 before assuming the role of co-founder/president emeritus.
Rorheim met his wife, Winnie, at the North Side Gospel Center. They wed in 1939 and were married for 76 years before Winnie died Dec. 21, 2015. She was 97.
"You couldn't think of one without thinking of the other," Ahlgrim said of her grandparents. "It's nice to know that they are back together."
While Rorheim is known worldwide for his passion for Christ and leading countless others to Him, Ahlgrim remembers her grandfather for his dedication to his family.
"He was such a good grandfather. Family reunions were so much fun. He had magic tricks and games. He played the harmonica. He was fun to the very end, and he prayed for us every day."
Alhgrim said her grandfather, whom the grandchildren called "Paco," lived to see five generations of children. "He knew all their names and everything about them," she said.
Jeff Schacherer, who worked closely with Rorheim at Awana and frequently traveled with him, is among friends and co-workers who praised Rorheim for his wit and love for children.
"He had a passion for life and he felt a need to share it with others," he said. "He had tremendous energy because he had a passion for helping others connect with God."
When they traveled together, Rorheim wanted to sit separately so that he could have the opportunity to share his faith with the person sitting next to him.
"He didn't see bodies," Schacherer said. "He saw souls."
Chris Green: 815-987-1241; cgreen@rrstar.com; @chrisfgreen