With the beginning of a new ministry season comes new and exciting changes to our usual routine of Family Ministry. This past Wednesday saw the successful Fall launch of our Family Ministry Night, and this upcoming Sunday—September 17th—will mark the beginning of a few tweaks to the way Children’s Ministry will run on Sunday mornings. In preparation for these changes, I wanted to take a few moments to give an update to ensure that everyone is on the same page moving forward.
First—an update on Family Ministry Night. This year we have pushed back the start time by 30 minutes to 6:00 pm. The first thirty minutes (6:00 pm-6:30 pm) are set aside as an open gym time for families to gather, socialize, and work out some energy before classes begin. As a note, this is a time where children are not supervised by volunteers, and so any families that want to participate will need to stay with their children during this time. After the gym time, families will check into the Children’s Ministry beginning at 6:30 pm.
After gym time, children will now gather all together as a group for 15 minutes of singing songs, memorizing the Bible, and hearing the Bible story together. From there, they will split off into their classrooms and learn with their teachers until 7:30 pm. Unlike previous years, there will be no gym time afterwards so that families can get home at a reasonable time!
Secondly, beginning this Sunday morning, our children in the Kindergarten class will stay with their families for the first half of our service. We will all sing together in our worship time, and the Children’s Moment will take place directly before the sermon. After the Children’s moment, our Kindergarten children will be directed to go with their teachers into their classrooms. Our Nursery/Preschool class will remain unchanged, so feel welcome to continue dropping off your babies and toddlers before the service starts! If you have children in the Kindergarten class, We still suggest checking your children into the Children’s Ministry before the service starts; otherwise we may have a large lineup at the check-in counter!
Additionally, we will be welcoming parents to join their children up at the front for the Children’s Moment if they would desire. We recognize that some children may benefit from having more parental involvement when sitting up at the front, and we encourage families to feel more than welcome to do whatever suits their needs best.
As always, if you have any questions, you are more than welcome to reach out to me at any time. I am so thankful for the Lord’s provision leading up to the launch of this new Ministry season, and I trust and pray that he will do remarkable things in the hearts of all our children this year. As we move forward, please join me in praying for that very same thing for the weeks and months ahead!
All the best,
Luke
