Growing in Faith A Guide to Faith Formation
Children, Youth & Family Programing Calendar 2024/2025
Sunday School Registration
3 yr. olds-6th Grade
We are looking forward toward the fall and the starting of our program year! To assist with planning for the upcoming year, we are asking families to register for Sunday School early. Click the link below to get started. We have some exciting ideas and can’t wait to see everyone in the fall!
https://forms.gle/9F4XCFrmkdyrBy3X9
Confirmation Registration
7th-9th Grade
Confirmation classes are right around the corner! To help us with planning, we have an online registration form. There will be a meeting on Wednesday September 11th at 6:30pm for students and their Parents/Guardians to hear about what to expect for the coming program year. If you can not make it, please let us know and we will reach out to you with information starting on Thursday the 12th. To help you save time, please preregister your student before the meeting. The link can also be found on the church website, or scan the QR code. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please contact Pastor Loren, Pastor Eliza, or Ken Dessellier
https://forms.gle/WUgjNizowf1c5cqC8
Itty Bitty Book Club
Itty Bitty Book Club is back for a new year! If you have a little one who isn’t yet to Sunday School age (3 years old), please join in. Through a combination of monthly gatherings and a subscription option, help your little one learn more about Jesus and their faith. Here are the details:
- Monthly Gatherings – The Itty Bitty Book Club will meet at Bethlehem three Sundays this fall. On the 2nd Sunday of each month, the gathering dates are: October 13, November 10, and December 8. We meet from 9:45-10:15am in the Mother’s room behind the sanctuary.
- Subscription Pack – The Itty Bitty Book Club subscription pack is available if you want to bring these stories and corresponding faith practices into your home! For $27 you will receive the three books (one per month) and a curated activity and spiritual practice for you to engage with your child at home. If you choose this option, you can pick up your pack at the monthly gatherings or they will be mailed to your home that week. You do not have to be a member of Bethlehem to sign up for a Subscription Pack! This could be an awesome gift for a godchild, grandchild or friend.
Registration is required for the Subscription Pack. Cost is $27. You can register using this form: https://forms.gle/3ASFJcXrfo68SVat6 and Payment can be dropped off at the church office or made online.
Sunday School
Jesus shares with us with the importance of knowing the story, loving the story, and recognizing that it is our story. In Matthew chapter 6, Jesus says “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth. Instead, store up for yourselves treasures in heaven. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” It is our commitment that our children grow up loving the Bible story as their own. It does take a village and, most importantly, God’s faithfulness to us all. Our treasure is in Christ our Lord, and our joy is in sharing the good news of the gospel with those who are most dear to us. We are excited to journey this path with you all.
We welcome all children to our Sunday school program 3 yr. old – 6th grade. We strive to offer children a positive learning environment where their faith is nurtured and strengthened. We seek to model Christian community through safe, caring relationships and shared experiences among students, teachers, parents, pastors, and others in the congregation. Sunday school meets upstairs in the My Place room at 9:30am for large group opening with songs. After the large group opening, all students are dismissed to their classrooms. We offer a rotation style Sunday School where students will learn the same story for 3-4 weeks from different aspects. Groups are divided by the student’s grade and classes include Kitchen, Arts & Crafts, Movie, and others.
Children are invited to participate in worship services and encourage their sense of belonging within our worshipping community. We know that the way we welcome children in church directly affects the way they respond to the Church, to God, and to one another. Jesus said, “Let the children come to me.” Let them know they are home here, and that this is just as much their house as it is ours. If you have young kids in worship, bring them to the PrayGround! Located at the front of the sanctuary. We want our children to be able to engage in worship – just like they do during the children’s sermon; we all love that, right? – and in order for them to be engaged, they need to be able to see. In the PrayGround kids are able to see and free to wiggle!
Sunday morning childcare – We have a spacious Mother’s Room equipped with a changing table and comfortable seating to use while nursing your child. The Mother’s Room is located in the northeast corner, behind the sanctuary. We also have a self–use Play Room that is downstairs behind the kitchen.
VBS – Family Vacation Bible School is held for one week during the summer. Our children have a great time learning about Jesus through story, craft, music, snack, and outdoor activities.
Milestone Ministry
Milestones are significant cultural, developmental and spiritual markers we all experience throughout our lifetimes. We believe the promises we make at baptism point to the spiritual milestones in our children’s lives. Bethlehem is committed to remembering, celebrating and upholding the baptismal promises. Most milestones will take place on Sunday morning during Sunday School.
The milestones we will celebrate this year include:
– 3-year-old, entry into Sunday School and first bible
– 3rd grade, bibles
– 5th grade, 1st Communion
– 7th grade, Start of Confirmation
– 9th grade, Affirmation of Baptism
– 12th grade, Senior Recognition Sunday
