Children

Service Times

9:00 Service: Infants – 5th grade

10:45 Service: Infants – 5th grade

4th & 5th Grade class sits together for music in the worship service.

Click here to download The Spiritual Journey brochure.

Jennifer Smith Director of Children’s Ministries

Welcome to GracePointe Kids! Our program, spiritually guided by Pastor Stan Mitchell, directed by Jennifer Smith, and navigated by a volunteer steering committee of parents and teachers, is focused on a child’s spiritual formation from birth through fifth grade. Our Sunday morning, Christian education classes are supported by volunteer teachers and assistants who provide warm and loving classrooms within which children feel a sense of security and trust. Our curriculum is designed to advance each child’s unfolding understanding of the God who loves them, through a solid Bible education, centered on defining spiritual moments (Baby Dedication, First Communion, Water Baptism). Our community gives children and families unique opportunities to connect through special events such as Vacation Bible School, an Easter Egg Hunt, Fall Celebration, Breakfast with Santa, Family Movie Nights at the church, and much more.

For a little more on our philosophy please click here.

Parental » Process » Personal Developmental Model of Human Spirituality

The spiritual development of children generally progresses along a continuum. It begins with a parent or authority-figure based faith, is shaped by the people and environments that surround them, and moves incrementally to a more personal faith. It can aptly be described as the Parental » Process » Personal Developmental Model of Human Spirituality. Scripture teaches that God created human beings in His image. (Gen. 1:26-27) As such, children are born in union with God. They experience that union from their earliest moments of life. (Ps. 22:10; 139:13)

While children are born with an innate awareness of God, their understanding of Him is essentially shaped by the authority figures in their lives. (Prov. 22:6) This is the same process by which they learn everything from colors to shapes, mathematics to worldviews. Because faith is not an exception to this process, children, essentially, possess a view of God commensurate to their influences.

Many children in their early elementary years begin the gradual, necessary process of differentiating from the spiritual ideas of their authority figures. Until this point, children are following their parents as their parents follow God. When the individuation ensues, the child gradually begins to look around their parents, attaching more directly to God. This graduated process can extend well into the adult years for many. Through this process of taking ownership of their own thoughts and beliefs, a person’s faith deepens to the level that God intended: a transformative, unique and sustainable relationship with Him. (2 Tim. 1:5)

At GracePointe we are dedicated to the process of your child’s faith being made personal. This is a journey that works most effectively when parents and church leaders commit to a fully collaborative effort. To this end, we will always be ready to meet with you to discuss the nuances of your child’s spiritual development.

Our Classrooms

Infant

GracePointe’s Infant classroom is enveloped by a warmth for the children, making it much like a nest within which the youngest members of our congregation are protected, nurtured, cherished and safe within the arms of God.

Toddler

Within this highly exploratory stage, the children in our Toddler environment experience accepting and nurturing care in a warm and loving environment. A child in this classroom is beginning the process of becoming cognitively acquainted with the idea of God, especially in the general sense of God as their loving Creator. Accordingly, this special age group participates in a curriculum designed for Toddlers that helps them develop their sense of security and trust in their world as well as in a God who loves them.

Preschool

GracePointe’s Preschool community builds upon the spiritual foundations prepared in infancy and toddlerhood. Through cultivating their belief in themselves as beloved children of God, these children are bathed in the awareness that God, as their loving Creator, loves them and will always be with them. Our teachers and our curriculum foster their understanding of a personal connection to God and how they can directly communicate with Him.

Early Elementary

GracePointe’s Early Elementary classroom provides a joyful and nurturing environment in which the children develop the awareness that Jesus, as the ultimate example, is beginning to affect their choices. Our Early Elementary curriculum is designed to help children respect each other’s unique gifts and complexities, as well as develop compassion toward others through the understanding of living the Golden Rule and the encouragement toward making good choices.

2nd and 3rd Grade

GracePointe’s 2nd & 3rd Grade classroom provides a supportive and encouraging environment as children in this age group are introduced to theological concepts and ideas. Appropriately, our 2nd & 3rd Grade curriculum helps children to develop the understanding of what becoming a decided follower of Jesus means, and by making this choice they can develop a happy and healthy life. Our 2nd & 3rd Graders are taught to understand the value of making good choices through the love, encouragement, and support of their authority figures and peers.

4th and 5th Grade

GracePointe’s 4th & 5th Grade classroom provides an environment of safety and acceptance while helping children build an understanding of the practical applications of a relationship with God. Our 4th & 5th Grade curriculum teaches this pivotal age group to understand the value of God robing Himself in flesh and living a human life, and what this means to them. Children in this class are given the validation and confidence in their relationship with God in a way that will tether them to the arms of their loving, heavenly father as they begin to navigate their own path through life.

If you love working with kids here is the place to start. Simply fill out this short form and one of our GPKids staff members will be in touch with you to get you started.

Click here to go to the registration form.