Partnering with Parents to Build True Followers of Christ
In all our ministry, we have the same mission: to glorify God by making disciples who enjoy Jesus together. Because we believe that Scripture is clear that parents are the primary disciple-makers in the lives of their children, our hope is to partner with parents in their pursuit of this mission, coming alongside them in the discipleship process.
We do this in a few ways, with an eye to continually improve. We provide times of intentional teaching for children each week, but our primary aim is to equip parents with teaching and resources to help build a strong, gospel-centered foundation for their kids.
See below for the opportunities available to children and students.
Preschool (Birth-K)
As we seek to honor the Lord in how we train up children in his ways, it is our conviction to emphasize the participation of entire families - parents and children together - in the worship service.
At the same time, we recognize that in some seasons families are best served by making childcare available during the service. That is why we are happy to provide a nursery for children from walking through age four.
This pattern is rooted in the practice of the early Christians who included children in their services to have everyone together as much as possible. We also find (Nehemiah 8:2) “Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard” to be a helpful principle.
We don’t see ability to understand as something mandating a parent toward one or the other direction, nor does every child understand at the same time or level, but we find this to be a good principle to keep in mind when thinking of whether to use the nursery or not.
With that said, our aim is to serve you so you and your family can worship the Lord and join in serving the church. Also for those with infants who need to step out of the service to care for your children, there are speakers that allow you to still hear all happening in the service.
Elementary - High School
We think highly of our children and youth. While we know at times age-specific learning and peer interaction is helpful, as a general rule our primary objective is to include children and youth into the the normal rhythms of church life.
While this may be challenging in our contemporary culture, this is what Christians have sought to do throughout nearly 2,000 years of church history.
We have already seen great fruit in keeping with ancient traditions in this regard. Our conviction is that the greatest training happens intentionally and organically in our homes and with the church gathered on Sundays and City Groups. In these environments, children and young adults begin to receive the benefits of participation in the body of Christ as they grow and mature.
One of the main ways we minister to this age group is through a Sunday school with age-specific teaching. All elementary and middle schoolers are welcome to join prior to the main worship service. This takes place every Sunday at 9:30am.
As a church we are continually seeking to grow and improve how we minister to our children and youth and will (as we are able) create new environments for specific teaching and discipleship for kids and youth as the Lord enables us.
