The Bible emphasizes that children are equal in the kingdom to adults and that God delights in their faith. It is important that we allow children to be a part of the church body as they become Christians while still having times of age-appropriate teaching and training. It is also important that those who have not yet professed faith are able to experience being a part of the church.

We believe that there is great benefit in our children seeing older, mature Christians worship God with their local body of believers. They learn how to sing, pray, read/listen to scripture, recite catechisms, and many more things that will benefit them in life. We think this is also the best way to help them see the church as more than a place where they get to hang out with their friends. As they grow older, our hope is that they draw on the foundations that were built while they attended worship service at a young age. We encourage kids of any age to attend the worship service. We provide nursery opportunities for children 0-2 as well as a class for kids aged 3-6 which takes place during the sermon. Children 7+ attend the full worship service.

We believe that while a parent cannot determine whether a child places their faith in Christ, God is the one who determines this, we believe the Bible is clear that God has given parents the primary responsibility to do everything they can to lead them to Christ. (Deut 6:6-7) Eli was rebuked because he had not properly trained his children (1 Samuel 2:12, 27-34) We believe that this will involve teaching our children how to prioritize time with God individually through setting aside time for personal devotions as a family, regularly discussing the Bible and worshiping together as a family, and prioritizing the church’s corporate gatherings over other activities.

We want to provide avenues for parents to get trained in how to disciple their children and teach them the gospel at a young age. This may come in the form of book or article recommendations, formal teaching times, and organic relationships between parents in the broader church body. We want to teach parents practical things they can do before Sunday mornings to prepare their children for participating in our worship service.

As older members have capacity and desire, we encourage them to build relationships and spend time with some of the children on a regular basis. We acknowledge that as kids get older, there can be a tendency to listen to anyone but their parents. Therefore, we encourage others, who know children in the church, to pursue relationships with them to encourage them in their Christian walks or to see them as an evangelistic relationship. This is more geared for children who are ~10-18 years old, and we would encourage men to build relationships with older boys and women with older girls. As kids get into their teenage years, we also invite them to join us for weekly Bible studies or discipleship groups as appropriate. Those forums provide great opportunities for mature Christians to speak into the lives of our children.

As we have children and volunteer capacity, we will offer classes and connection times for kids who are included into the service the full time. This could range from 1 class to multiple classes, depending on demand and availability of volunteers. This time will meet at a time outside of the worship service, so as not to conflict with the above principle. In addition to programs that may be offered, we encourage children to connect with other children to develop gospel centered relationships with one another.