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1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
3 | Representatives wish to recognize Art Rorheim, co-founder of | ||||||
4 | AWANA Clubs International, on his commitment to his faith, his | ||||||
5 | family, his State, his country, and to churches across the | ||||||
6 | world; and
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7 | WHEREAS, Art Rorheim's wife and co-worker for the past 75 | ||||||
8 | years, Winnie, is considered his
most important partner in the | ||||||
9 | ministry; marrying in 1939, they weathered some lean
times in | ||||||
10 | the early years; and
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11 | WHEREAS, In the 1930s, Art Rorheim volunteered as a weekly | ||||||
12 | club leader at the North Side Gospel
Center under the direction | ||||||
13 | of Dr. Lance Latham, and later became the youth director; and
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14 | WHEREAS, Art Rorheim and Dr. Latham were pioneers in | ||||||
15 | creating the youth director post, prioritizing
ministry to | ||||||
16 | children and teens, and created a new midweek ministry called | ||||||
17 | AWANA (Approved
Workmen Are Not Ashamed); and | ||||||
18 | WHEREAS, AWANA blossomed, drawing over 500 children and | ||||||
19 | teens to the Gospel Center
each week; other churches learned | ||||||
20 | about its success and inquired about its availability; and |
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1 | WHEREAS, As the Executive Director of AWANA, Art Rorheim | ||||||
2 | expanded the
organization into a worldwide ministry, with over | ||||||
3 | 14,000 churches, orphanages, and
Christian schools operating | ||||||
4 | in over 100 countries, impacting over 700,000 young people in a
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5 | given week; and | ||||||
6 | WHEREAS, In his mid-90s, Art Rorheim continues to welcome | ||||||
7 | opportunities to share his heart, wisdom,
and experiences with | ||||||
8 | a variety of audiences in various venues, speaking at AWANA | ||||||
9 | Ministry
Conferences, churches, on radio programs, and has been | ||||||
10 | interviewed by a wide range of print, online,
and radio media; | ||||||
11 | he still travels the world to speak at conferences and meet | ||||||
12 | with ministry leaders
and partners; and
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13 | WHEREAS, When Art Rorheim looks back at his years in AWANA, | ||||||
14 | he cannot imagine his phenomenal
journey without Winnie by his | ||||||
15 | side, recognizing that "The Lord brought us together for a | ||||||
16 | reason,
and I'm glad He did"; therefore, be it
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17 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
18 | NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
19 | we recognize Art Rorheim, co-founder of AWANA Clubs | ||||||
20 | International, on his commitment to his faith, his family, his | ||||||
21 | State, his country, and to churches across the world and; and | ||||||
22 | be it further
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1 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
2 | presented to Art and Winnie Rorheim as an expression of our | ||||||
3 | esteem and respect.
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