Kids

Pre-Kids Church (ages 3-5)

            Pre-Kids Church is fun, exciting, engaging, and (did we mention?) fun!  The curriculum allows us to be action-packed and totally Biblically based!  This age group has a limited attention span, so we progress rapidly from one activity to another.  If it’s a nice day outside, we may even head outside to work off some extra energy.

            Every week we have a coloring sheet that we take home.  It lists our Scripture Memory Verse that we worked on that week, our Power Point phrase which is the main theme or motto if you will, for that week, and our Bible Story Reference Scriptures, so that parents can easily see what we learned on any given week.

            The children are rewarded with coins that are saved at church (because this age group is a little young to remember to bring them back), and used once a month at our Incentive Store.  (Please see more about this awesome program in the Incentive Store section).  They can also earn extra coins at home by having parents fill out the table with all the good deeds that they’ve done.

            We try to teach them that God is the same everywhere they go, and He loves them very much!

If you have any questions or concerns about this age group, please see your child’s teacher , Debi Hall, or Angie Kovarovic

Jr. Kids Church (Kindergarten – 2^nd grade)

            Here at Jr. KIDS Church, Jesus is #1!  There are a variety of activities we use to teach, such as Bible lessons, hands-on crafts, Bible lesson video.  Little ones don’t like to sit for very long, so we found a curriculum where they don’t have to.  We may stand and march to recite the Memory Verse, and then sit and watch a five-minute video.  Each week we have a Power Point Phrase that we focus on.  At the end of class, each child goes home with a coloring page containing the Scripture Memory Verse, Power Point phrase, and Bible story Scripture references.  This sheet is handy for parents to reinforce throughout the week what the kids have been taught on Sunday, thus bridging the gap between home and church.  If it’s a nice day we may go outside for some exercise and fresh air (which we all love).  We play bubbles, hopscotch, basketball, or just run and play.

            The kids are rewarded with coins for good behavior.  These coins, as well as any they earn at home, are kept at church.  (This group is a little young to remember to bring them back each time).  Each month, we open the Incentive Store, where we spend our hard earned coins.  (For more about this awesome program, please see the Store section).

            Our focus is our Savior Jesus Christ.  The kids love to learn about Him and we love to teach them about Him as well!  We teach them how to pray, with words and how-to’s that they understand.  We teach that Jesus loves them very much.  We try to enforce the God is the same at church as He is at home, school, or the store, so we should just be ourselves wherever we are!

If you have any questions about this age group, please see your child’s teacher , Debi Hall or Angie Kovarovic

K.I.D.S. Church (3^rd – 6^th Grade)

            K.I.D.S. stands for Kids In Divine Service, and here in KIDS Church, that’s exactly the point.  By this age, kids are starting to get out of that “baby/youngster stage”, are able to feel sympathy, and are generally ready to start giving back a lot more in class.  Instead of going from high energy to low energy quickly and repeatedly, (as in the younger classes) we go from high energy (where we play our games, have praise, and move around) to low energy (where we have our offering, teaching, worship, and Bible and object lessons.  We are committed to bringing the truth of God’s Word to this generation for Jesus.

            The heart behind KIDS Church is to have a real relationship with Jesus Christ, not just to know about Him.  We “practice” a lot of things from praying to sharing Jesus with our friends.  The curriculum is designed to take Bible lessons from the Bible and help apply them to everyday life.  God wants to be a part of every facet of our lives.

            We try to help them understand the importance of giving back and not focusing on only themselves.  We use our offerings to sponsor a local school, and have had amazing success with this program.  Please see the Coins for Christ section for more details.

            We reward them for good behavior with coins (that they are responsible for).  We hope to teach them the importance of being a good steward.  They can earn extra coins by doing kind things for others outside of church.  We’ve had parents comment that what started as a “means to get the coin” has turned into a habit, and now they do whatever deed without thinking about it (and sometimes for free!)  For more information on this program, please see the Incentive Store section.

            KIDS Church is published by Gospel Light Publications.  Its creator is Bill Wilson, founder of Metro Ministries in New York City’s inner city.  Bill and his team minister to thousands of kids every week.  With so many kids, one might get lost in the crowd, but Bill and his team perform weekly home visits to every child.  To that end, we strive to make KIDS Church family-centered as well.  Any parent at any time is invited to visit any classroom.  We as teachers and leadership try to attend as many games, recitals, plays, or other special events as we can.  When we have so much going on in our lives, we tend to segment our lives into “work life” “home life” “church life”, and so on.  Our kids experience that same segmentation.  We strive to blur those segmenting lines as much as we can.  God wants us all: spirit, soul, and body; He deserves nothing less.

Incentive Store (The Reward Zone)

            We have an Incentive Store stocked with all kinds of goodies: sports equipment, dolls, knick-knacks, sports cards, pencils, cars, pictures, and lots of miscellaneous treasures.  Kids ages 3 thru 6^th grade earn coins while in class for attendance, knowing Bible lessons/verses from past weeks, bringing their Bibles to class, bringing a friend to class, or other positive classroom interactions.  They can earn extra coins by having their parents fill out their coin table sheets with extra good deeds that they’ve done at home, school, or anywhere else outside of church.

            Each month the Reward Zone opens and they can spend their hard-earned coins.  Coins for ages 3 thru 2^nd grade are kept at the church and parents are encouraged to visit their classrooms often to see how they’re progressing.  Grades 3^rd thru 6^th are taught the importance of good stewardship.  They are responsible for their coins.  A reminder letter is sent home the week before the store opens so that they can be ready.

            Around holidays, birthdays, Mother’s or Father’s day, and other special occasions, we encourage them to shop for others.  The kids love to brighten up their loved ones face with gifts that they worked really hard for.  We love the unintentional lessons that this program has taught.  The law of reciprocity really does work!

            Donations of items as well as monetary contributions are greatly appreciated.

If you have any questions about this program, please see your child’s teacher or see Darla Henricks.

Coins for Christ

            Each week in every class, we take up an offering.  Money is collected and either put back into the Children’s Ministry, or deposited in a general fund.  While this is an “every week occurrence”, we also take up a special offering called Coins for Christ.  We have “donation cans” set out and kids can drop their spare change in.  Adults can drop in coins, too.  Although the name is “Coins” for Christ, we will gladly accept paper as well.

            With the money, we sponsor a local Pekin area school.  So far we’ve been able to buy a pair of gym shoes for every kid, gym clothes, back packs, school supplies, another large donation of shoes, as well as other needed supplies.  It’s important to teach the kids the importance of giving back to your community.  While support for starving people in faraway lands is important and needed, we want them to see that there is something they can do to help kids just like them, right in their own backyard.  They get to see, touch, and pray over every donation we send.  We actually had the school request that we quit helping so much!  We are hoping to add other schools to our help list, as the needs arise and we are able.

For more information about this tremendously awesome blessing, please see Darla Henricks.

So that’s our Children’s Ministry in a nutshell, but the surface has barely been cracked.  Come join us.  Laugh with us.  Learn with us.  Grow with us.  Celebrate incredible life changes as we live in these Days of Grace.