Children - Fall 2022

“Roots and Shoots” ~ Joni Mindrebo

Roots and Shoots is the name of the Children’s Ministry at Springton Lake Church. On September 11th, we had a strong start on our first day of both Sunday School and the Sunday Rally. The Bible lesson was an unfamiliar one focusing on Jeroboam and his disobedience to God. The children were introduced to the Big Picture Question for the next 5 weeks: What is idolatry? -- The answer is: a sin of the heart in which we love and value something else above God. -- This is a difficult concept for children to understand. – The follow up questions are: What does this mean? What does it feel like to love something more than God? How can I think about and look at my own heart to see if I love something more than God?

The answer to these questions is that you probably do love something more than God. Using Jeroboam’s wicked decision to purposefully lead the people away from the one true God by worshiping false gods is a great place to start discussing these hard heart issues.  Our goal in the Children’s Ministry is to teach the children who God is – His character. We believe that if children know who God is -- they will choose to follow Him and love Him.

Roots and Shoots has a different feel this year. It is one that is driven by a desire to build stronger, deeper relationships with our children in order to lead them into a stronger, deeper relationship with God. Previously, Sunday School teachers taught during the 10:15 Worship Service and they rotated taking turns each month to allow everyone to attend the service for most of the year. After a year of excellent attendance during our 9:00 a.m. Sunday School hour, I saw an opportunity to ask our Sunday School teachers to commit to an entire school year so that they would not miss any of the Worship Services. By God’s grace and call, ten adults have volunteered to teach Sunday school at the 9:00 a.m. hour.  This constancy of the same godly adults being present each week to teach, pray with, and get to know their students will make an invaluable difference in the hearts and minds of our children.

At 10:15 a.m., the children will attend the start of the Worship Services with their parents, and learn what it looks like and feels like to be a part of the church body during corporate worship. After worship and announcements, the children will be dismissed to attend the Roots and Shoots Rally downstairs in Fellowship Hall. Last week, 50 children in grades kindergarten to 5th grade attended the rally! There were another 13 children in the new class we have started for children ages 3 to 4 -- and 7 more babies and toddlers in the nursery. During the rally, the older children will continue to learn the same lesson and major points of the Gospel Project curriculum as taught during the 9:00 a.m. hour, but with different methods and teachers. Disciplines such as an offering, scripture memory, and corporate prayer will also be introduced during the rally. Adults will still rotate monthly, allowing everyone to attend the Worship Services for the majority of the year.

Will you pray for our children this year? Will you pray that God will soften their hearts to the truth of who He is, and discover how much He loves them? Will you pray for the adults who are leading these children? Please pray that God will give them an excitement for what they are volunteering to do, as well as strong relationships with the children they serve. Thank you for your support and prayers for God’s blessing on our Children’s Ministry.