Our vision for Children’s work at CBC is “helping children explore the love of God.” We believe it is so important to give time and space for children to connect directly with God in a variety of ways. We are all different, and God loves to connect with all of us.
Our children’s ministry caters for children aged 0-11 at our 10:30am service each week. Each children’s group has a Bible verse, that we pray for the children in their group over the year. We currently use a mixture of Scripture Union resources and our own to help us follow the themes that the main church services are using. Each Group has Teams that are DBS checked, 3 each week in Crèche, 4 in Little Sparks & All Stars, 3 in Sparklers & Trailblazers and 2 in each of the other groups. We are fortunate to have 3 teams in each group, which rotate round.
After 20-30 minutes in the main church all together, our children are then invited to leave for their individual groups.
Crèche is close to the Forum and all other groups for 2-11 year olds are located upstairs.
Run-down of Children’s Groups on Sundays:
Crèche – For 0-2 years old.
“ Let the children come to me” Mark 10 v 14.
This room is set up from the start of the service, and has a link to the main service so you can feel a part of it. It’s staffed when all the children leave the main hall (about 20-30minutes into the service) by 2 adults and a young person. Its aim is to allow you to have some time out, and enable you to partake fully in the service, whilst your baby/child is looked after with a variety of toys, books, a drink and a snack.
Little Sparks – 2-4 years old.
“Let the children come to me” Mark 10 v 14.
The children come into the room and find their picture with their name on it and register, then they have a Bible story, using props, a craft that relates to the story and a variety of free play opportunities. Part way through they have a snack and a story, and usually end with a song or two.
Sparklers – 4 yrs old – end of Reception (4-5 years old)
“Be full of joy in the Lord always. I will say again, be full of joy” Philippians 4 v 4.
We start with Circle Time in this group – where we have a chance to give and then pray about the collection, or thank God for the things that are important to us. Sometimes we have a prayer cube, or use the parachute to help us. We then sing a song of worship together, using actions and/or pictures. We then find our names on picture cards and pop them on the register. We normally have an activity to introduce us to the Bible theme, Bible story, snack and craft.
All Stars – Yr. 1- Yr. 2 (5-7 years old)
“Give all your worries to Jesus, because he cares for you” 1 Peter 5 v 7.
This group has a Circle Time too (see above). Then we have activities, Bible story, craft, prayer activities, snack and time to relate what we’ve heard to our own lives.
Trailblazers (TBs) – Yr3 – Yr4 (7-9 years old)
“The Father has loved us so much that we are called children of God. And we really are His children” 1 John 3 v 1.
We have refreshments, take a collection, talk about our weeks and look at our prayer book, at prayers answered and prayer requests. We play games, read the Bible, apply it to our lives, and give space for the children to connect directly with God.
Avalanche – Yr5-Yr6 (9-11years old)
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” Romans 15 v 13.
We come to our group, give to the collection, pray, have a catch-up, play games, read the Bible, share what is going on in our own lives, pray for each other in different ways and are inspired to get to know God better and live our lives for God.
For 11years+ take a look at our Youth Groups Page
Our youth work goes right up to 18, with groups on Sundays for all.