Elementary Ministry at First Presbyterian
Elementary Sunday School
Sunday Mornings 10:00-11:00 am
Fall classes
K – 3rd Grade - Building A 3rd Floor
4th & 5th Grade Girls – Room A 311 (3rd Floor)
4th Grade Boys - Room A-307 (3rd Floor)
5th Grade Boys- Room A 212 (2nd Floor)
K-3rd Grade Sunday School uses Group's Faithweaver Bible Curriculum. This program takes students beyond head knowledge of the Bible and into a growing relationship with Jesus. Each week, students are encouraged to share how they've lived out their faith during the previous week - all in a fresh, fun, and meaningful way.
4th and 5th Grade Sunday School uses Group's Preteen curriculum, Grapple. In each lesson students dig into the Bible to grapple with faith and life issues such as "What if Jesus is a Liar?" or "Why can't I go to PG-13 Movies"? To help preteens feel comfortable sharing the issues they grapple with, we have a separate boys' classroom and a girls' classroom.
Visiting for the 1st Time?
Welcome! Please feel free to take your child directly to the 3rd floor of Building A. They will be directed to the grade-appropriate classroom and welcomed by one of our many Sunday School teachers. A greeter, information center host, or nursery host can also assist you.
Questions?
Visit our Children’s Ministry Info Center in Building A in the corner of the first floor hall near the Marshall Street entrance. Ask one of the information center hosts, nursery hosts, or greeters to direct you, or contact Sharon Spencer at x236.
Children's Church (K-2nd grades)
From October to May, Children will be dismissed from the 8:45 am and 11:15 am worship services prior to the start of the sermons. Escorts will take them to Room A-314 during the 8:45 service and Room C-211 during the 11:15 service. Parents should pick up their children from these class rooms when the service is conclude.
Should children be in worship?
It is our hope and goal as a church to help all people engage in worship, giving God glory for all He has done and will do in Jesus Christ. This includes children! In fact, childhood is likely the best time for a person to become engaged in worship. Learning about worship from a young age will help children foster a life-long relationship with the Lord, and His gathered people, the church.
The best way for children to learn about and engage in worship, is to be in worship. They learn about worship by experiencing the flow of a service, by observing others worship, and by participating themselves. Don’t underestimate how much a child can learn in worship and teach us. Children are often learning in worship even when appearances say otherwise. Not only do children learn in worship, but the rest of the congregation is enriched by their presence in worship. God made us to be a people who worship him as a diverse body, all ages and stages included. We gladly welcome and encourage you to bring your children to worship.
Each child is unique, and you know your child best. With that in mind, there are options other than the main service designed to help children learn about and engage in worship.
- Worship Care for infant and crawlers, 8:30am-12:15pm
- Backyard Theatre for preschoolers, 11:15am (worship care at 8:45 service)
- Children’s Church. Kindergarten – 2nd grade will be excused before the sermon at each service, 8:45 and 11:15, except the first Sunday of each month when we celebrate communion.
Children’s Church: 8:45 and 11:15 services
Children’s Church is designed for children in Kindergarten through 2nd grade. It will be offered at both morning services, except the first Sunday of each month. Children will be offered the opportunity to go to Children’s Church before the message. Children’s church (CC) is the children’s “Word” portion of worship. As the older children and adults learn about God’s word from the sermon, the children in CC will get to engage in learning about the word as well, in a way that’s developmentally appropriate for them. In CC, children will be learning about the elements of worship, such as the Prayer of Confession and Assurance of Pardon. There will also be times when the children learn the same Scripture text explored in the sermon. CC will also include a time when children can respond to God’s word. Worship is not simply about learning about God, but responding to God. The content of CC is designed to help children become life- long worshippers within the family of God, and to help your family talk about God during the week. If your children attend CC, make sure to ask them what they learned and share with them what you learned and how God is at work in your life.
Communion Sundays – no Children’s Church
On the first Sunday of each month, we celebrate communion together. On these Sundays, we will not have Children’s Church so that children can participate in the celebration. This brings us to another question about children and worship. When is it appropriate for children to celebrate communion? In the Presbyterian Church, the Table is open to all baptized children who are being nurtured in the faith.
“Baptized children who are being nurtured and instructed in the significance of the invitation to the Table and the meaning of their response are invited to receive the Lord’s Supper, recognizing that their understanding of participation will vary according to their maturity.” (Directory for Worship, W-2.4011b)
“It is the responsibility of the whole congregation, particularly exercised through the session, to nurture those who are baptized to respond to the invitation to the Lord’s Supper. When a person is baptized as a child, the session shall equip and support the parent(s) or those exercising parental responsibility for their task of nurturing the child for receiving the Lord’s Supper. When the child begins to express a desire to receive this Sacrament, the session should take note of this and provide an occasion for recognition and welcome.” (W-4.2002)
As a church, we want to take our role in nurture seriously. That’s why we teach children about worship and communion in Sunday school and in Children’s Church. Nurture primarily happens through you, the parent. The shorter answer to the question about whether your child is ready to take communion, is to talk with him about worship and communion as it comes up naturally. When your child starts to express interest in receiving communion, make it a special time to celebrate together the next communion Sunday.
As you talk with your child about communion, remember that communion is grounded in Jesus’ grace and mercy. It’s not about our sense of worthiness or our grasp of theology no matter what our chronological age.
When my child is in worship
There is much you can do to help your child engage in worship while they are with you. “Busy Bags,” with activity sheets are located at the main entrance of the worship center and sanctuary. A brochure called, “Introducing your Child to Worship” is also available at the information centers and the children’s window. The brochure has tips for introducing your children to worship, engaging them in worship, as well as some practical tips about communion.
If the phrase “kids in worship” makes you think “This doesn’t apply to me,” then this section is for exactly mean to for YOU!
Kids in worship – Does this matter if I’m not a parent of young kids?
The discipleship committee has been thinking about the best way to teach and engage children in worship. Bottom line –all kids are invited to worship, and many will be in worship with you. “Okay” you may think, “But I don’t have children that age, so does this really matter to me? Yes! When we baptize children, we promise as a congregation to nurture them in the faith. When we welcome children in worship, even when they wiggle, we are enacting that promise. We are communicating to them that they belong and are valuable to God’s family. We are also creating space to help them experience and be formed by worship.
Welcoming children in worship is not only good for them; it’s good for the rest of us. Children remind us what worship is all about – not us, Worship is about God, His love for us and His desire for us respond to his love with our praise to him and our service to others.
When you see children in worship, engage with them, encourage them, and encourage their parents. Greet them during the service and share your name, help them open their hymnals, be patient with their wiggles, and be ready to learn from their worship and response to the Lord. Remember the words of Jesus:
“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them. Mark 10:14-16
