children & family ministry

Our Mission

Our Ministry Values

We are Christ-Centered.
We are Child-Targeted.
We believe that parents are the best ministers of children and youth!
We value children as full members of the body of Christ, with given gifts and talents.
Our Congregation supports parents and families in the fulfillment of their baptismal promises.
We are relevant to today's kids.
We teach God's word creatively.
We will keep children safe spiritually, physically, and emotionally.

We partner with families

Milestone Ministry: The development of a Milestone Ministry is a crucial step in developing a partnership between the home and congregation in nurturing and passing on faith. A milestone is any event in the lives of children, youth, or adults that we can use to celebrate or nurture our faith. They can be as varied as a baptism, birthday, teaching a child to pray, or a first communion. They can be as secular as the birth of a sibling, high school graduation, or getting a driver's license. It is where family life intersects faith, and where we can help adults reach out to children and youth at times when personal contact is already happening, times ripe for spiritual, personal, and relational enrichment. Our goal is to put together a team of individuals who can provide resources for families to identify and mark faith milestones. Many parents, grandparents, godparents and others want to pass their faith on, but are sometimes unsure of how or where to begin. It is our intention to provide the Milestone Ministry Team with the training and resources so that they can reach out to families and mark these milestones!

Cradle Roll/Record Keeper: It is crucial that someone be assigned to establish and maintain accurate records of children and youth in the congregation. A newborn child's name should be entered on a roster that includes other information such as parents name, address, telephone number, birthdate and eventually the baptismal date. The following are examples of how these records will be helpful in planning for Christian education in your congregation

• how many children are in each age group? Will we need to group grade this year?
• who will be the children in the first communion class? Invite the whole family!
• who are the parents of our 3 year olds? Let's provide them with Bible story picture books.
• When will each child begin Sunday School? Let's send them a postcard.

Nursery Coordinator: Send postcards, monthly schedules and make phone calls to Huggers and Rockers during the week confirming weekend commitments.

Huggers and Rockers: Spend an hour each week holding and showing God's love to our precious little ones during worship celebrations in order to support parents who are in worship or class.

Parenting Workshops: plan and coordinate parenting workshops that meet the needs of the different stages in the lives of their children. Advertise these through the Sunday School classes. (Group classes by Sunday School class breakdown for an easy way to reach parents).

To Reach and Teach Children

Classroom Angels: Loving, patient person who will support children with special needs. Angels attend weekend classes and/or events offering one-on-one assistance with activities and building relationships with children. Angels are matched to each child according to skills.

Relevant and effective teaching Strategies: we will constantly evaluate our program to ensure that we are actually reaching and teaching our children through our choices of curriculum, training of teachers, and evaluation of our space.

To Love God

(Ways to serve in Worship Opportunities)

Rainbow Bags/Worship Toolkits: Children belong in worship. As the youngest members of the family of God, children offer the community enthusiasm, joy, an open heart, and a desire to know God. At Peace we welcome young people of all ages in the worship services and yet, parents often find themselves in an uncomfortable position as they struggle with how to nurture their child's experience of church, partake fully in the Eucharist, and at the same time remain respectful of others worshiping around them. We plan to engage parents of young children by assembling activity bags with quiet toys and things to do and maybe even a tissue or two!

Kinderpraise/Children's Choir: lead praise and worship music that enhances curriculum for children during weekend classes. Opportunities include playing instruments, singing and movement. Able to perform at some weekend celebration times and/or children's.

Love One Another

(Ways to serve in Fellowship Opportunities)

Caring for Teachers: These individuals will intentionally pray for and support one of our Sunday School teachers. They will check in frequently, provide support for, and do what is necessary to keep the teachers' recharged and ready to minister to our children.

Family Fun Nights/Fellowship Events: Dream, design, coordinate and facilitate special events that encourage fellowship and fun with families.

Special Celebrations Coordinator/Team: Assist the Children's Ministry team in designing, coordinating and facilitating curriculum, activities, games, and crafts for special celebrations including Ash Wednesday, Holy Thursday, additional Christmas and Easter worship celebrations. Families.

Grow in Christ

(Areas for serving in a discipleship/teaching capacity)

Sunday School Ministry Opportunities:

Welcomer: Students, parents and teachers alike deserve to be greeted in the hallway with a warm smile and a friendly good morning. A newcomer or visitor will especially appreciate this welcome when it is followed by help in finding a classroom, introductions to teachers and students, and help in locating other parts of the church such as the nursery, restrooms, fellowship hall, sanctuary, and even the telephone.

Sunday School Opening Coordinator: This gathering time could be a wonderful time of songs, games, drama, and other activities that unpack our lessons in a dynamic way each week. This person should coordinate with the worship design team to plan and execute our 9:30 openings each week.

Teacher: Team up with other teachers to guide a group of pre K-7th graders in large group learning, small group discussions and facilitate praise and worship during weekend worship celebrations. Curriculum, supplies, snacks and bimonthly training provided.

Rotation Leader: Lead a rotational activity such as cooking, crafts, drama, or storytelling for a three-week period in an area of your interest.

Helping Hands: Support numerous children's ministry events camps and programming from your home. Helping hands serve children by cutting, coloring and creating craft materials and resources needed for various programming opportunities.

Curriculum Manager: Order, sort and distribute curriculum to teachers, prepare memory verses.

Supply Organizer: Assist the Children's Ministry team in organizing, restocking and maintaining closets containing art and teaching materials, snacks and paper products.

Vacation Bible School Coordinator: VBS has the potential to strengthen, energize and expand our children's ministry in phenomenal ways. We can reach kids in our community with the message of God's love and give kids in our church the opportunity to grow closer to God!

Communicator: What is happening in Sunday school needs to be shared with the entire congregation and likewise what is going on in other areas of congregational life can be enhanced through the Sunday school. This can only happen if someone works hard to see that communication is consistent and correct. Suggested vehicles for communication include:

• a monthly letter to parents describing upcoming events
• a one page teacher newsletter
• temple talks done by the children!
• regular coordination with the church calendar
• recommendations to the Christian Education committee and/or church council
• a "What's happening in our Sunday school" column in the congregational newsletter
• reminders in the church bulletin
• bulletin boards and displays

Family Devotions

Intergenerational Learning Leader

Discipleship Path Teacher: Do not miss an opportunity to teach a Sunday School class for 8-10 weeks as we strive to develop transformational ministry for the children in grades 3-6. Choose a class that fits your passion, whether it is Bible skills, the power of prayer, mission opportunities, or helping kids to discover their spiritual gifts!

Reaching out to the Community with learning opportunities: plan, coordinate, and execute workshops that are relevant to today's culture that we can invite the surrounding community to.

Go In Christ

Family Mission and Ministry Opportunities

Coordinator: Research, design and facilitate service projects in which children and their families can participate in and through local non-profit organizations. Assist in planning monthly mission projects for children and families, maintaining mission stations, collecting and distributing contributions.

Community Outreach: An effective Sunday school lifts up those opportunities where the community and the congregation intersect. With a little knowledge about your community and with a little creativity, ministry in daily life takes on new meaning.