Our mission is to provide a gospel centered curriculum that welcomes, supports and nurtures our young people across every stage of their spiritual Journey.
Sundays
Each Sunday we will offer 3 components of Sundays School.
Education, Worship, Community
9:00- Education: All ages will meet at the Courtyard gate between 8:45-9:00 for Education hour. Here the children and youth will divide into their age groups and walk with their leaders to their meeting spaces. Leaders will lead each group during the education hour in prayer, study and reflection.
10:00- Worship: At 9:45, groups will meet back in the courtyard to attend a portion of the 10:00 church service. The children/youth can choose to sit with their classes or with their families. During the service, children ages 4k-5th grade will be dismissed during the service for Children’s Chapel, in the Godly Play Room, with their leaders. If you chose not to attend the education hour, your children are welcome to join Children’s Chapel at any point during the Worship hour.
11:00- Community: At the completion of the church service, all age groups are encouraged to stay for community during on the lawn. Here we will have games, refreshments, and fellowship for all ages.
Children’s Ministry
Children’s Ministry is divided into three age groups to better accommodate developmental milestones and personal faith journeys.
Nursery/Family Room (0-3 years): The nursery will be staffed with two leaders from 8:45-11:15 in our upstairs nursery. Here our little ones ages 0-3 will begin building their spiritual foundation through play and discovery. Our leaders will bring the nursery children into the Godly Play room for the weekly story at the 9:00 education hour and then take them back into the Nursery for reflection. Nursery children will enjoy story, crafts, and feast each week.
Parents of children ages 0-3 are warmly invited to stay with their children for the Godly Play story and during the service. This year the Nursery will also be offered as a family room for our 10:00 service. The service will be live-streamed on our nursery TV and parents are welcome to make themselves comfortable with their little ones in this space.
Godly Play (4K-3rd grades): Our children 4K-3rd grade will continue to use the Godly Play curriculum. Godly Play is a Montessori-based curriculum with a focus on “making meaning through story, wonder, and play while nurturing spiritual lives by honoring the centrality, competency, and capacity of children.” We have several trained Godly Play leaders will be leading this group in our upstairs Godly Play room at the 9:00 education hour. Nursery children are invited to attend with their parent or a Nursery leader for the story but will have their reflection using resources in the Nursery.
Lounge Bible Study (4th grade and up): This Summer we opened our Lounge Room—our upstairs Sunday School room setup like a living/dining room. During the 9:00 hour, children and youth grades 4th and up will enjoy a lesson (same topic as the Godly Play story) in a study-based format.
For Fall, our theme will be “The Promised One” (September 10-November 5th) with a focus on faithful people of the Old and New Testaments, saints, and modern day faith leaders. On All Saints Day (11/5) our children and youth will dress up like a saint/faith leader and participate in a parade and party. November 12th-January 7th we will continue our theme of “The Promised One” with a focus on Advent.
Youth Ministry
Youth Ministry focuses on ages 6th-12th grade. Each Sunday is divided into 3 components: education, worship, and community. Youth group meets twice a month after the 10:00 service for Manna—feast and study—in the courtyard.
9:00 Education-Youth have many options this Fall during the 9:00 education hour. They are welcome to utilize the 9:00 Adult Education programs, volunteer their time and talents in the Nursery or Godly Play Room or participate in the Lounge Bible Study.
10:00 Worship-Both Youth groups will attend the 10:00 church service for their hour of worship. Here they can sit together as a youth group or with their families. Youth are also welcome to volunteer in Children’s Chapel with a max of 2-3 youth at a time.
11:00 Community/Youth Group
Youth Group (6th-12th) will meet twice a month this Fall for Manna. Here we will feast together and study the Gospel readings and service topics of that Sunday. We will be using resources from Journey to Adulthood, faithtogo.org, and d365 devotional app. Please refer to the weekly youth emails for Manna dates.
On the Sundays that youth are not meeting for Manna, we invite the Youth to participate in community on the lawn. Here we will have games, snacks and opportunities to mingle with the entire parish.
Outside of Sundays, youth have planned SJBTS youth events as well as opportunities to join other diocese youth for EDSD youth events throughout the year.
Special Events
Spiritual journeys need to be nourished and supported in a variety of different ways and settings. Events outside of church are always being planned and curated to help grow our faith and community.
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