Children's Classes (Sundays 9:30 AM)

VISION

We will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, His power and the wonders He has done... Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget His deeds, but would keep His commands. Psalm 78:4-7

At Randolph Street Church we treasure our children because "sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from him" (Ps. 127:3). We see the love of Christ for children when he said, "Let little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these" (Matt. 10:14). We love serving and praying for the next generation.

Our local church has placed a premium on the education of children since it began in 1924. We strive to do no less in our day.

The parents of the church are primarily responsible under God to bring up their children in the training and instruction of the Lord. Our role in children's ministry is to reinforce the parents' teaching through an array of children's classes and other training opportunities for the parents.

Our goal is to teach God's Word faithfully and model authentic Christianity to our children. We pray that by God's grace, over the years, all the children in our trust "will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor" (Isa. 61:3).

PROGRAMS

We have implemented two solid biblical curriculums for our children each Sunday at 9:30 AM:

1) Children Desiring God (ages 1-2) 

While our infants are cared for on one side of our nursery (Room 206), our toddlers (ages 1-2) experience a teaching session of their own on the opposite side of Room 206 during the 9:30 AM training hour.

2) Generations of Grace (3-years-old through 5th grade)

In the Generations of Grace (GOG) program our kids learn the Scriptures from beginning to end as they travel through the Bible in a consecutive manner. They focus on the major storyline of the Bible and walk through the Old and New Testaments in three years (Genesis - Numbers, Deuteronomy - Daniel, Life of Christ, Acts and Revelation). If a child at Randolph Street began at age 3, by the time they reach age 11 they would have studied through the entire Bible three times at levels geared toward their stage of intellectual growth.

GOG is a unified curriculum, allowing us to keep on the same schedule, the same section of Scripture with each class. This helps families with multiple children in various age brackets to more easily discuss the lesson with their children because they are all studying the same part of Scripture. Parents are given weekly Bible questions (in the church bulletin) to ask their children.

Again, our goal is to create families who love, discuss and obey God’s Word.

CLASSROOMS

• 3 Years - Pre-K: Room 204
• Kindergarten - 2nd Grade: Room 205
• 3rd - 5th Grade - Room 203
• 6th Graders: At the discretion of the parents, 6th graders are invited to remain in the 3rd-5th grade Generations of Grace class one more year, or to join the teen class (6th-12th Grades) beginning "Move Up Sunday," the September Sunday immediately following Labor Day.

*Move-Up Sunday: The children's classes experience their annual "Move Up Sunday" the September Sunday immediately following Labor Day. This is also typically the beginning of a new fall Training Hour semester for the adults and teens.

HOW CAN I SERVE?

All members are invited to consider how they might share in the joy of proclaiming the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord to the next generation by participating in children's ministry. We are currently training and growing our team of teachers and teacher's assistants so as to provide our teachers with an every-other-month rotating experience, freeing them to also participate in an adult Training Hour class on Sunday mornings at 9:30 AM.

See our Executive Pastor (Matt Friend) or Ashley Fisher (Nursery Coordinator) for how you might qualify and be screened to serve in the Children's Ministry Department.

WHAT ABOUT CHILDREN DURING THE 10:30 AM WORSHIP HOUR?

While children enjoy Generations of Grace classes of their own during the 9:30am training hour, we ask that all children, ages 4-years and up, join their parents in the auditorium for the worship gathering at 10:30am.

We do this for three reasons:

• It is healthy for our children to grow up watching and hearing older folks worship their Lord. We realize that smaller children will not understand some of what is taught or sung; however, they will never forget the joyful faces of the older folks who worship God around them.
• While smaller children may be coloring in a coloring book or marking one of our provided Children's Sermon Sheets during the preaching time, we should never underestimate what they are hearing and learning. It may surprise us to know how much they are absorbing as they learn the greatness of their God.
• We believe it is best that children learn to appreciate the worship gathering at an early age. Modern Christianity has too often separated the family from the worship service. It seems that the staggering numbers of teens who leave the Church (never to return) shows the deficiencies of the modern "Children's Church" or "Youth Program." We do not want our children to grow up in other Church venues, never having entered a worship service until the age of 18.

8 Tips for Discussing the Sermon with your Children can be found by clicking here.

Also, view our Philosophy of Evangelizing and Baptizing Children by clicking here.

Please pray with us that our children's programs will help to encourage the discipleship they are receiving from their parents at home. As Psalm 78 says, we truly want the next generation to trust in God and not forget His deeds.