Children's Events
We've planned some really special activities for children this year at Advent.
Check them out below and note upcoming events using the links to the left.
At Advent, we offer our children the opportunity to connect to God, connect to others, and begin transforming the world. From regularly scheduled programs such as Rotation Sunday School and Wednesday Night Discipleship to special offerings that include Vacation Bible School, summer day camps, and field trips, Advent provides a safe and fun environment where children can grow their faith. The Advent Staff, The Children's Committee, and the Advent Family at large recognize the significance of including children in the worship experience. At Advent, children are truly welcome!
Sunday School - A Chance to Connect with God and with Others
Advent offers Sunday School classes for K3-5th grade. Sunday School allows children to connect with God by learning more about God and God's Word. These classes also give children a time to be children as they learn and play with their peers!
Pre-School Sunday School
Volunteers staff both the K3 and K4 Sunday School classes. These classes combine a Bible story and activities with playtime, music, or a craft. While the children begin to learn some of our most-loved Bible stories, they also have time to play with their peers in an environment that models for them the love of God. The variety of activities creates a fun atmosphere, so children want to return to Sunday School each week.
Kindergarten Sunday School
The Kindergarten group has the benefit of teachers and shepherds (who assist the teachers). This class combines a Bible story and activities with music or a craft. The children actively participate and usually have some memento or some other item that they can bring home to share with their parents.
Rotation Sunday School
Our first-fifth graders participate in a Rotation Sunday School. Children, grouped together by age, spend six weeks in study with a single Bible story or Scripture-based topical lesson. During the six weeks, children explore the same lesson through Storytelling, Games, Cooking, Science, and Art. A different volunteer staffs each learning station, but a shepherd, assigned to each age group, accompanies the children through each station. The rotation culminates in a sixth Sunday when all grades come together to review and celebrate what they have learned. While the activities challenge the children and pique their interests, the text is primary, and the teachers encourage the children to memorize Bible verses associated with the lessons.
Wednesday Night Discipleship - Begin Transforming the World!
These 30-minute sessions focus on mission education. Through stories, music, guest speakers, and hand-on activities, our children learn about some of the wonderful mission work Advent supports. The children also learn ways they can help complete mission work.
In Spring, our studies focus on international missions centered on a theme of Adventure and Service.
The children will spend three weeks learning about Africa, specifically Tanzania. Through pictures, songs, and testimony we hope to teach the children about the special relationship Advent shares with the people of Tanzania.
For the next five weeks, children will explore the Nothing But Nets Organization, a Methodist sponsored organization that seeks to eradicate malaria by distribution of mosquito nets to needy families in malaria-prone areas of the world. This study time will coincide with a very special Advent endeavor. Advent's own March Madness will include, among other activities, an Elite 8 dribble-a-thon where parents and children will work together to keep eight basketballs in motion for 8 hours in an effort to raise $8000 for Nothing But Nets. To join in the planning of this activity, please email Laurie Brown-Pressly at laurie@advent-umc.org.
The Spring will conclude with a three-week study of UMCOR and some of the work the organization is doing abroad. These sessions should truly help our children and their families understand the significance of missions in the life of Advent. It will affirm that children, too, can help transform the world!
Each class is staffed by at least one teacher and one shepherd. Teaching materials are provided!
If you are interested in helping our children learn more about these exciting mission opportunities, complete a volunteer pew card or email Laurie at laurie@advent-umc.org.