One of Children’s Ministries goals is to come along side parents/guardians as they train up their children in the way they should go.  With that in mind, we were able to help children know more about what they believe and how they can share their faith with others.  This was accomplished through our Kids’ Evangelism Explosion program and Vacation Bible School “Hooked on Fishing”.  We saw many children receive the Lord as their Savior and many others recommit their life to Christ through these programs.

Our Kids’ Club program on Wednesday Nights continues to evolve as we write our own curriculum. This year’s theme is CE3K which stands for Christ Encounters of the Third Kind.  There are three different kinds of close encounters a person may experience.  Close encounter of the first kind is a sighting, close encounter of the second kind is physical evidence, and close encounter of the third kind is contact.  This year we’re looking at the people Jesus came in contact with while He was on earth.  Our program is growing and we have team of enthusiastic leaders!  

Sunday School and Children’s Church continue to strive in helping children to grow in their knowledge of God, Jesus, Holy Spirit, His Word, His Plan, and how they fit into that plan.  We also emphasize the importance of relationships.  We do this through worship, games, sharing prayer requests, wearing name tags, etc.  We continue to encourage children to learn and memorize God’s word and this past quarter we had 33 students receive the Perfect Memory Verse Award. 

Another huge part of Children’s Ministries is our volunteers.  This past year we had over 200 volunteers help equip, empower, and encourage the children who attend these various programs. Recruiting and training volunteers continues to be one of the biggest challenges to this ministry. If you would like to serve this ministry please do not hesitate to contact me.

Rebekah Pearce came on in June as our Children’s Ministry Intern and has done a fantastic job!  Not only does she help put all of these programs together but is also involved with training the volunteers and teaches the children as well.  She is a huge asset to this ministry. 

Looking forward to an exciting 2009!