Children - East Ridge Church of the Nazarene

We will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, His power, and the wonders He has done. Psalm 78:4

SUNDAY MORNING MINISTRIES

Early Childhood Ministry

Children are important to us at East Ridge! Our earliest childhood ministries begin in the nursery. Our crib nursery attendants will lovingly care for your babies from birth through the time that they are beginning to walk, when they “toddle” into our second nursery. The toddler nursery children play and share beginning age-appropriate learning experiences with our nursery attendants and teachers. During these years, the very first seeds in their little spiritual gardens are planted as they begin to learn about God’s world and the love of Jesus through Bible stories, pictures, songs, and movement activities! J We provide nursery care during the Sunday School hour, as well as during the morning worship service. You will be required to sign our “check-in” sheet at our nursery windows in order to ensure the safety and identification of your child. At that time, you will be given a number that will help us contact you easily if you need to return to the nursery.

Precious Jewels

During the Sunday School hour, children age 3- early preschool are our Precious Jewels. In this class, our teachers continue to nourish these little “sprouts” that have begun to grow in the Lord. They have a variety of Bible learning experiences that include listening, acting, playing, singing, and lots of fun and meaningful hands-on activities.

King’s Kids is our Preschool Worship Time for children from age 3 – pre-kindergarten. This active group of children meets during the entire worship service for singing to the Lord, listening to and participating in Bible stories, and applying Bible truths to their little lives through snacks, activities, and play.

Sunday School

We have a Sunday School class for all ages in the East Ridge Elementary Ministry, beginning with our pre-kindergarten and kindergarten class and ending with our 4th/5th grade Sunday School class. In Sunday School, our children are nurtured in their faith by loving, caring Christian adults through our Faith Connections Curriculum. Faith Connections emphasizes understanding, internalizing, and applying the bible and its principles to life through a variety of methods in order to reach each child’s specific learning style.

Kids Worship
After Sunday School, the children in preschool through grade five meet upstairs in the children's wing for a time of worship through music. Then the preschoolers return to their classroom for an age-appropriate Bible lesson and application of their own. The elementary children are taught Bible stories that come to life in Kids Worship through fun and interactive experiences that help to reinforce and apply Biblical truths to young lives.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT MINISTRIES

Praise!
Praise! is our children’s choir which meets on Wednesday nights from 6:15 to 7:00. This is an elective ministry that includes children from kindergarten through grade 5 who LOVE to sing praises to the Lord!

We really believe in building bridges with children at East Ridge. During the school year, we provide a relationship-building experience for the children before our regular meeting time at 7:00. The Junction and CrossRoads are places of “meeting” - where healthy Christian friendships are formed and nurtured between children and loving Christian adults. From 6:15-7:00, children from age 2 through 1^st grade share play experiences with loving Christian adults in a safe and comfortable setting that we call The Junction. You might find them reading together, doing puzzles, playing games, coloring, or just playing with the toys before their classes begin. From 6:15 to 7:00, children in grades 2-5 meet at CrossRoads to play board games with Christian adults, tackle the challenges of jigsaw puzzles with friends, and just chat while doodling and coloring with markers and crayons.

Group's "Living Inside Out" combines exciting, interactive large-group energy with safe, share-your-faith small group relationship building to inspire kids to live out their faith everyday, everywhere... in front of everyone.

Each lesson begins with all the children together, sharing in worship through music and God's Word. They will participate in interactive lessons that will bring God's Word to life. Then they will split into three groups: preschool, early elementary, and older elementary. In these groups they will experience fun activities that will help them apply the lessons to their lives. We want our children to learn God's Word, but we also want to see them start to live it out in their everyday lives.

BIBLE QUIZZING!
East Ridge has a hard-workin’, scripture-memorizin’, God-lovin’ group of children who spend extra time digging into God’s word and hiding it in their hearts! Oh – they ALSO compete at zone and district levels against other quiz teams from other churches for awards! Quizzing is for kids 1-5 grades and meets Sunday morning at 8:30 a.m. It requires a dedicated child who is willing to be faithful to bible memory work and to the commitment to placing God’s Word in his or her heart. Oh – and they also have lots of fun, tasty snacks, and wonderful, shared bonding experiences along the way!