Our Children's Ministry is dedicated to the development of children as life-long followers of Jesus Christ and to the provision of resources that will equip, nurture, and partner with the family and the church community as we invest in their spiritual formation.

 

Sunday Mornings

Worship Care - 9:30 Service. Birth through 3 years.

Nursery - Nursery care is provided for children ages birth to two years.  The nursery is located in the lower building, room L9. We have approximately 25 volunteers who rotate through on an 8-week schedule.

2 & 3 Year-Olds - Our 2 & 3 year-olds are cared for in “the Yellow Room” in the sanctuary building.  We have approximately 20 volunteers who also rotate on an 8-week schedule.  This year our young ones are working through “The Big Picture Story Bible” by David Helm. (From the editor)  Rather than simply retelling portions of the Bible, this book presents the big picture—the unified story running through the Old and New Testaments.  Twenty-six stories together form parts of this big picture.  Simply written and beautifully illustrated, this book teaches children the Bible’s whole story so they can begin to appreciate the fulfillment of God’s promise to his people. 

Children’s Church - Available for children ages 4 years through 1st grade.  We have 13 volunteers who rotate on a 6-week schedule.  Children’s Church meets in room L3 in the lower building after dismissing from the Sanctuary during service.  We are currently working through Gospel Light’s “God’s Kids Grow:  The fruit of the spirit.”  Through gospel-centered teaching and fun activities, our children will explore the ways their character displays God’s good fruit and they will learn about Christians throughout history whose lives demonstrated those character qualities.  As they explore the expressions of each fruit of God’s Holy Spirit, they’ll learn to cultivate attitudes that will lead them to know God better and become the fruitful people He designed them to be.

 

Sunday School - 10:55 a.m. following Worship

Nursery - ages birth to 2 years.  The nursery meets in room L9 in the lower building.  If our children are in Worship Care, they simple stay in the nursery as the volunteers rotate.  Our teachers for the 2011-2012 year are Bonnie Schroeder and Suzan Freeman.  Our nursery curriculum is “A Sure Foundation:  The Wonders He Has Done.”  This is a wonderful curriculum from Children Desiring God and can be found at www.ChildrenDesiringGod.org . This curriculum is designed to be an integral beginning of our ministry to your child.  Our nursery is a place of prayer for young children, a place where they hear foundational Bible stories, and a place where children learn simple truth statements and begin to memorize scripture as they form their language skills.  This is an incredibly powerful time.

2 & 3 Year-olds - again, this class meets in the “Yellow Room” in the sanctuary building.  As with the nursery-age children, if a child attends Worship Care, they will simply stay in the room as our volunteers rotate.  Michelle Miller teaches from the Children Desiring God curriculum for older toddlers:  “A Sure Foundation: His Praiseworthy Deeds”.  Its foundations are the same as the younger version, but whereas the nursery teachers will present only four stories, our older toddlers will be taught 13 stories throughout the year.  Each lesson will be taught for two weeks to help foster the children’s understanding.  More information can be found at www.ChildrenDesiringGod.org.

K4 & K5 - This age group meets in room L4 in the lower building.  If a child attends Children’s Church during worship, their teacher will escort them across the hall for Sunday School. Teachers Kris Herndon and Lisa Robertson are teaching from the Kids’ Quest Catechism Club. It is a 36-week program from Great Commission Press that teaches children Bible truths through simple questions and answers.  The goal of Kids’ Quest is to help children learn that they are made for God’s own glory and to apply this purpose to their life.  Through this, we hope to give kids the language of faith and a God-ward and Christ-ward focus. More information regarding the curriculum can be found at www.gcp.org.

1st & 2nd grades - This age group meets in room L3, the Children’s Church room, in the lower building.  If a child attends Children’s Church during Worship, they will simply stay in this room while our volunteers rotate.  Eliska Mattox and Deby Buchannan teach from the same Kids’ Quest Catechism Club that the K4 & K5 class uses (see details above).  However, because the children are older, they can move at a faster rate and go into more depth with each lesson.

3rd - 5th grades - This age group meets in room L2, in the lower building.  Dr. Roy Flannagan and his wife, Sharon, teach from “13 Very Cool Stories and Why Jesus Told Them.” This fun, interactive study explores the parables that Jesus told.  Our children dive in and discover how Jesus was able to wrap eternal truths in cool stores that still ring true, thousands of years after Jesus first shared them.

 

Age guidelines

Here at Faith Pres. we are committed to teaching your child about the saving grace of Jesus in an age-appropriate manner.  It is for that reason that we like to place children in the class that is most appropriate for his/her learning and maturity level.  This may mean that your toddler moves out of the nursery prior to 2 years or that your 4-year-old stays in Worship Care a few months beyond his fourth birthday.  We want to help your child gain a better understanding of the character of God and how to develop and foster a personal relationship with Jesus at any age.

 

Events

Camp Logos - Mark your calendar!!  Camp Logos 2011 will be June 11-15.  Details to follow, soon! Please contact Michelle Miller if  you are interested in volunteering.  We are looking for leadership team members, teachers, classroom helpers, and workers.

 

Reformation Night - On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed a series of declarations to the church door in Wittenberg, Germany.  The Christian church has not been the same since, and we think that is worth celebrating!  We had some fun and also paid serious tribute to the events that led to the reformation of the Christian Church and a return to her biblical roots. This past year we celebrated on Sunday, October 30th, with a covered dish dinner followed by a costume parade and fun and games.

 

Parents’ Night Out - Our children gather at church for some veggie-cational fun while their parents enjoy a night out!  We have pizza, popcorn, games and activities.  Typically this night correlates with a VeggieTales Premiere movie.  Dates TBA.