Faith Formation for Children

Sunday School is offered September – May at 9:45 a.m.
*View the 2022-23 Christian Education Booklet for details about educational opportunities for all ages!

Classes offered for Children

• Nurseries (Second Floor): Infant, Toddler, 2’s and 3’s
  The nursery is open and available for infants and toddlers during both morning worship services and Sunday school. During the Sunday school hour, volunteer teachers lead toddlers and the 2’s and 3’s in a special, age-appropriate class. Nursery staff and volunteers are under the nursery coordinator’s supervision.
• Children, Worship, & Wonder (CWW, Children’s Worship Center, Third Floor): 4-year-olds through 1st Grade
  Young children need a special environment where they can meet and worship God. Following the Children’s Time during the 11:00 a.m. worship, children (ages 4 years through 1st grade) are excused to the Children’s Worship Center. They learn the stories of our faith and worship God in a setting and style geared toward their needs and stages of development. CWW nurtures children’s innate sense of wonder, as they develop a sense of awe and reverence for worship.
• Preschool (Second Floor): 4-year-old Sunday School
  Children will enjoy learning about God’s Word through many different learning styles. Teachers work with children using age-appropriate lessons and play through art, music, and storytelling. This class will use curriculum which walks through key Old Testament and New Testament Bible stories each year.
• The River (Third Floor): K through 3rd Grade
  Younger elementary aged children will enjoy our Workshop Rotation Model Sunday school called The River, a name the children chose themselves. Using the Spark Rotation curriculum, kindergarten through third graders will spend four weeks on a Bible story, and visit different workshops each week in order to experience the same story from different perspectives. The workshops include “MArts” (Music & Arts), “God’s Table” (Cooking), “Holy Word, Holy Motion” (Bible Storytelling through games and drama), and “Holy Explosion” (Science).
• Faith in Action (Third Floor): 4th & 5th Grade
  Each week during Sunday school, 4th & 5th graders will gather together to learn about God’s Word for their lives. Each semester they will have the opportunity to put God’s Words to action as they work together on a special mission project. This class will use Holy Moly curriculum, which walks through key Old Testament and New Testament Bible stories.

• Kids’ Fellowship (Sundays 5:00-6:30 p.m., Fellowship Hall): 4-year-olds through 5th Grade
  Kids’ Fellowship begins with dinner provided by families for children ages 4 years old through fifth grade. After dinner, the children divide by age and progress through an engaging evening of recreation and music. Children will have the opportunity to run and play, experience Bible stories through Story and Stretch, and enjoy the opportunity to make music through a special weekly music experience.
  As part of the Sunday Night Kid’s Fellowship, the Music Experience (formally known as Children’s Choir) will gather upstairs in the Children’s Choir Suite in two separate groups at two separate times—divided by age. Music will focus on FUN, using voices, instruments and movement while preparing a Christmas Pageant to be presented on December 11 and a Sunday worship service in the spring.

Vacation Bible School (ages 4K* – 5th grade) July 25-28, 2022

• Morning VBS “With Us in the Wilderness” 9:00 a.m.-12 noon
  • Children ages 4-years-old through rising 5th graders joined us as we stepped out into the wild to follow God’s Spirit. Starting with God’s people in the wilderness, we journeyed through Old Testament prophets to the New Covenant we have in Jesus. Exploring the stories of Moses, Elijah, the Magi, and John the Baptist, we had a great week of VBS!
  • Thank you to all the staff, volunteers, parents, and children who made VBS such an amazing week; we had a wonderful time learning and growing together!
  • Our mission project supported the Humble Hikes program. The Humble Hikes is a part of the Humble Hustle program here in Roanoke. The program aims to expose black youth to the outdoors, and provide education in environmental sciences, environmental activism, advocacy, and available resources in our community. We hope the donations raised will support this important initiative and help the youth in our city to remember God is with them in the wilderness.

• Child of God with the Rev. Elizabeth Link
  • Join Rev. Elizabeth Link for Child of God, a podcast for children and families. Each episode shares a story about God’s people and the ways we are a part of God’s family. The episodes are brief, but meaningful, and you can catch them while traveling in your car, while doing chores, or getting ready for bedtime, naptime, or to start your day! You may subscribe and listen to Child of God with the Rev. Elizabeth Link through your favorite podcast platform or by visiting our Podcasts page. Check out the introductory episode below!