Welcome to Shalom Kids! We are so excited to have your kids join us!
We aim to be a ministry that welcomes and invites every child to begin forming a personal relationship with Christ by building relationships with each child and partnering with families to make disciples.
KID ZONE
Kid Zone is available for all children Kindergarten – 5th grade during the morning worship service. Children will engage in the first part of the worship service where they will sing, pray, and participate with their families in the service, and then all children will be dismissed to the basement for age-appropriate teaching. Kindergarten and 1st grade will have large group time together in the Fireside room while 2nd-5th grade will have large group together in their own space.
Large group time is filled with games, skits, large group lessons and more. The children then break into their age groups to discuss the lesson and do an age appropriate activity. When the service is over, there are refreshments and games and activities for the kids to do downstairs while parents can enjoy coffee and fellowship upstairs. Parents are free to come pick up their children any time after the service in the basement.
Children & Worship
Children & Worship is available for children ages 3 and 4 (on or before December 31) to help make worship time meaningful to them. On Sunday morning after joining adults during their worship time of singing and prayer, the little ones are dismissed to have age appropriate Bible lessons. Loving teachers instruct them about God and His word through singing, prayer, stories with figures and response time with an activity or craft to reinforce the story. There is also a snack and water provided. Any young visitors are more than welcome to attend.
Nursery
Nursery is available during the service for children ages birth-3 years. It is staffed by wonderful, nurturing volunteers who show Jesus’ love to all the young children.
If you have signed up to volunteer in nursery and need to find a substitute, please see the serving schedule in the Midweeks Announcements email.
GEMS
The mission of GEMS Girls’ Clubs is to help bring girls into a living, dynamic relationship with Jesus Christ. Our vision is to see girls around the world actively and enthusiastically expressing love for God and others. Shalom’s club strives to do this through weekly Bible studies, crafts, worship, devotions, badge work, and building relationships with their peers and counselors. GEMS is for girls in 2nd through 8th grade and meets the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays from 6:30-8:30 pm starting September 27th.
Cadets
Shalom’s Cadets ministry is led by men of God who are dedicated to bring boys into a living relationship with their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The club does this through studying the Bible as the guide to life, experiencing the presence of the Lord in His glorious creation, learning the skills of an outdoorsman which builds a boy’s character, and developing a boy’s understanding of his place in God’s world to help him to be a faithful steward. Cadets is for boys in 3rd through 8th grade and meets most 1st and 3rd Wednesday nights from 6:30-8:30 pm.
Safety at Shalom Kids
We prioritize safety at Shalom and all of our volunteers who work with children have gone through background checks. We want all families to feel that their children are being well taken care of while on Shalom’s church campus. Please reach out to our Children’s Ministry Director, Elizabeth Akindejoye, with any questions about our children’s programs at Shalom.
FAQs
Children from ages 3 to 5th Grade join our main service for the first part of our worship service. After our offering time, children are dismissed most Sundays for age-appropriate continued worship and education.
Children & Worship (ages 3 and 4) – You are welcome to walk with your child to our Triple Room where they will find a spot on a carpet square to participate in our Children & Worship program. If your child isn’t comfortable to stay by themselves the first few times they attend, a parent/guardian is welcome to stay with them.
Kid Zone (Kindergarten & 1st Grade) – The Sundays that we have Kid Zone all of our Kindergarten and 1st grade kids meet in the Fireside Room in our basement for their Large Group time.
Kid Zone (2nd – 5th Grade) – The Sundays that we have Kid Zone, all 2nd-5th grade kids meet in our basement in the chairs with other children from their grade level.
Children & Worship (ages 3 and 4) – You will pick up your 3 or 4 year old child from the Triple Room where they were dropped off at. The leader will make sure a parent comes to get them and will send home the craft and other fun items for that morning.
Kid Zone (Kindergarten – 5th Grade) – We have fellowship time with lemonade down in the basement after Kid Zone is over. Children are welcome to stay downstairs until their parent/guardian picks them up or they are allowed to go upstairs to find their parent/guardian. It is helpful if you communicate with your child before church where you want to meet after the service is over.
We believe that children are an important part of the family of God and that they belong in worship alongside their families. Communion Sunday there is only Children & Worship for our 3 and 4 year old children. Also on months that there is a 5th Sunday, one of those Sundays will be a family worship Sunday where children Kindergarten and older sit with their families in the main service.
We have Shalom Kids’ Kits available on these days where there isn’t programming offered during the service for elementary children. There are a number of engaging activities for all ages in the narthex of the church, so be sure to leave a few minutes before the service to allow your child to pick from all the different age-appropriate activities we have for them to use during the service.
Nursery – Infant to 2 years old
Children & Worship – 3 and 4 year olds (If you have a 5 year old in Transitional Kindergarten, they are welcome to join this program as well.)
Kid Zone – Kindergarten and 1st Grade Large Group; 2nd-5th Grade Large Group; Small group time by each separate grade level, mixed genders
All adults (18 and older) who volunteer or are staff who work with children go through a background check. They also go through a training on expectations of working with children. We also have a security team that is present every Sunday to ensure the safety of not only our children, but all of our church attendees.
Children & Worship
Each week of Children & Worship there is a time of singing, a Bible story using wooden characters and felt backgrounds, prayer, as well as a craft that ties in the story for that week, snack time, and some play time at the end.
Kid Zone
Kid Zone starts with Large group time where each group (K-1 and 2-5) spends time looking at the main idea for the week, the theme Bible verse, and time in God’s Word for the story that week. Then groups are divided up into their grade-level small groups where they dive deeper in the story and life application discussion questions and a game or activity that ties it all together.