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A brief sketch of what the Bible teaches about our children:
- Children are a gift from God and valuable, unique members of the community.
- Children can grow in faith and learn to make wise choices.
- Children love to laugh and have fun.
- Children, just like grown-ups, are desperate for Christ's redeeming love.
Philosophy of Ministry to Children
Our philosophy of children's ministry includes three principles:
Gospel Teaching
We believe our kids need to learn about who God is and what He has done. We want to continually point them to Jesus.
Integration into the Body
Our hope is that significant, lasting relationships are developed between our children and older members of the congregation. We want to invite children to walk with adults and give them practices to grow into. We believe that children have spiritual gifts and can begin to serve at a young age.
Parent Modeling
The Bible is clear that parents are the primary teachers and disciplers in a child's life (Deut 6:4-9) and study after study confirms that the most significant influence on a child is the primary care-giver. In other words, "the apple often doesn't fall far from the tree." Our children often grown up to be a lot like us and, as parents, this truth is both encouraging and terrifying. So, as a church, our focus to foster an atmosphere in which imperfect parents grow in their walks with Jesus and are assisted in helping their children grow into the faith.
For Further Reading
- Shepherding a Child's Heart by Ted Tripp
- How Children Raise Parents by Dan Allender
- Is it a Lost Cause? by Marva Dawn
- The Jesus Story Book Bible by Sally Lloyd Jones
Check out these bulletin boards for Bible stories, craft ideas, and more: -
We love kids and are excited when they come to our gatherings. We have taken many steps to help children participate as much as they can in our worship gatherings including:
- Offering Children's worship bags
- Inviting kids to come up during the Lord's Supper to be prayed for
- Providing the nursery for the benefit of the children and their guardians. Offering nursery, however, doesn't mean that we aren't happy to see kids of all ages staying for the whole gathering. It's up to each family to decide how their kids will participate in worship.
For Infants and Toddlers (Ages 0-3)
- We offer a nursery, overseen by screened, qualified adults. We ask that each parent or guardian sign all children in, and out.
- Our nursery has a room for 0-1 year olds and a room for 2-3 year olds. Children in the 2-3s group participate in a Bible story and simple craft each week.
For Children in Elementary through High School (Grades 1-11)
- Twice a year (Fall and Spring), we offer 6 to 8 weeks of Sunday School for children in 1st through 11th grade. Students in 1st through 4th grade learn the big story of scripture through The Gospel Story Curriculum. Students in 5th through 11th grade read and discuss books related to a Biblical worldview.
For more information contact Tiera Latham, ncrkids@northsidechurchrva.org
Preparing your children for Sunday worship:
- Speak of worshipping as an opportunity to praise God and know him better.
- Encourage your child to get a drink of water and go to the restroom before the service starts.
- Pray together for the service, either at home before you go to church, or when you get to church.
- Talk with your child about the different elements of the service.
- Help the child to find the Scripture passages in their Bible and to follow along as the scripture is being read.
- Mention the service in casual conversation at home. Recall enjoyable moments, reviewing things your child remembers and encourage them to ask questions.
In the Northside, for the Northside...