“Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.’”
~ Matthew 19:14
Jesus had a special relationship with children. It seems that children lack a sense of self-awareness that adults often have. Maybe this is one thing that Jesus loved about them. Their gaze is usually focused outward, taking the world in, taking other people in, and taking Jesus in. When they come to him, it’s in pure delight over just being with him. They’re not thinking about how this experience affects them or how communing with Jesus looks to other people. It is purely about Jesus and their love for him. It really is a beautiful picture of how God desires our relationships with him to be. How do we nurture this love in our children? How do we help them to know Jesus and to find love and acceptance in his presence? Certainly a child’s family plays the most vital role in faith development, but families often look to the church for assistance. We all play a role. The church, for many years, has strived to know the best way to do this. We do not wish to mimic the culture and yet culture has to inform the ways we reach people, children included. We often rework the ways we “do ministry” in an attempt to meet the changing needs of our communities. That being said, you may notice in the weeks ahead a shift in the way our children are being served.
Beginning Sunday, April 11th, our children (preschool through 5th grade) will join us in worship for the first 10 to 15 minutes. After this, they will go to other parts of the building for their own special time. This will be our primary children’s time—where they learn the stories, the lessons and the skills that are foundational for us as Believers. Our desire has been to find ways to meet the changing needs of our children and the families who bring them to church. We are excited about trying something new and different!
Chelsey Tyree will be the primary teacher for our preschool and kindergarten children. JL Hamblin will be teaching our grade school children. Please lift them in your prayers daily as they will be teaching our youngest Christ followers. There is a critical need, and they are ready to go to work. It has been said that it takes a village to raise a child. We believe that the church is the best “village” for helping to raise our children. Please join us!