Children
From beginning to end, God speaks about the importance of children through His Word.
People brought babies to Jesus, hoping he might touch them. When the disciples saw it, they shooed them off. Jesus called them back. “Let these children alone. Don’t get between them and me. These children are the kingdom’s pride and joy”. Luke 18:15-17 (The Message)
Children are an important part of our church family in Birchwood Community Church. In our Children’s Ministry we aim to
-
introduce children to our Lord God and His Word
-
help them grow their relationship with the Lord, experiencing His personal love
-
and discover His purpose for their lives.
In our main worship service on Sunday mornings, the children spend time with the whole church family before moving to their own rooms for a time of discovery around God’s Word (approx. 45 minutes). We have two groups:-
-
Sparklers (0-4yrs, accompanied at parents’ discretion). Their session includes: True Bible story, singing, play, craft and refreshment.
-
Torches (4-11yrs, primary school age). Their session includes: True Bible story, games, drama, craft activity.
What we teach
In both groups we teach directly from God’s Word in an engaging and age-appropriate way. God is the hero of every lesson. The children learn the truth of the wonderful Good News about Jesus Christ our Saviour. Throughout our children’s ministry we are motivated by God’s love for us and each child.
In Torches, the goal of our syllabus is to engage with the whole Bible - Old and New Testament - over a four year cycle. From June to November we mainly cover books in the Old Testament. From December to Easter we cover Jesus’s Ministry on earth in the Gospels and from after Easter to June we cover Later New Testament books and the early Church.
Other activities
We encourage our children to show God’s love to children across the world, for example supporting an orphanage in Swaziland, and preparing shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child.
We have plenty of other fun activities too, such as:
-
Encounter Family Fun Days
-
Supporting the Muddy Church
-
Themed Parties throughout the year.
Safeguarding
At Birchwood Community Church we take very seriously our responsibility to provide a safe and loving environment for children and youth. We have an active safeguarding policy in place, overseen by Jeanette our Safeguarding Coordinator. This includes regular training, application of safeguarding procedures and a requirement that all leaders are DBS checked.
