We welcome children with special needs and do all we can to help make it possible for them to participate in our regular children’s ministries.

Children with special needs are able to participate as supported participants in most of our regular children’s ministries, and we also have a special needs room for them when that is helpful.

To coordinate inclusion in our children’s ministries, please contact our children's ministry director prior to attending.

Your child’s safety and security are among our primary concerns. For this reason, we are very careful whom we allow to serve in our children’s ministry. All workers with minors must be approved per our Child Protection Policy. This policy requires workers to be a regular part of our church and to have passed a criminal background check.

We have a detailed Child Protection Policy which includes specific rules and procedures that all children’s ministries follow. As an example, each classroom must have two approved adult workers in it at all times when children are present.

While we love to have your children in our care, we also strive to minimize passing illness from one child to the next. For this reason, if your child has had a fever, colored drainage from the nose, vomiting or diarrhea in the last 24 hours, or there is a skin rash, eye infection or other symptom of illness present, please do not bring your child to class.

On Sunday mornings, we have a Safety Team available on site to provide assistance as needed. In the event of a medical emergency, the child's parents will be notified as well.

We have an emergency evacuation plan for all classrooms. In the event of an emergency, please remain calm and follow check-out procedures at the appropriate time and location.

We typically serve snacks to children as a part of our Sunday morning class routine. 

The snacks we generally serve to preschool and elementary children are various crackers (Goldfish, Cheez-its, etc.), though other snacks will also occasionally be provided. Our nursery classes also serve crackers as well as Gerber puffs, cheerios and rice chex.

We do strive to maintain a nut-free Children's and nursery area.

If your child has food allergies, you will have the opportunity to note this at registration. Feel free to communicate these to the class workers when you drop your child off as well.

A gluten-free snack such as Rice Chex will typically be available.

Please provide a special snack for your child if something else is needed due to their allergies.

For a child in the nursery, we ask that you bring a diaper bag stocked with diapers, wipes, a cup/bottle, an extra outfit and a comfort item (i.e. blanket, pacifier, etc.). Please label any items such as cups or blankets that you send to the nursery with your child. We ask that you do not bring books or toys from home.

Your child does not have to be potty trained to attend our preschool Sunday School ministries.

The Bible teaches that obedience and biblical submission are crucial elements of the Christian life. Cultivating a submissive heart in children and teaching them the importance of obeying biblical authorities is a vital part of their learning to follow and obey Christ. Maintaining consistent biblical discipline in the classroom also teaches each student the importance of applying biblical truth and it provides children with a picture of how God’s loving discipline is implemented in their lives.

Properly done, biblical discipline will bless the teachers as well as the students. (1 Samuel 15:22; Proverbs 22:15, Ephesians 6:1; Hebrews 5:9; Hebrews 13:17; Titus 3:1-2)

In our expectations for children, we seek to maintain a biblical focus on their hearts. We want children to learn more than external obedience and respect, but desire that they have a heart of faith and love for God that leads to external obedience. Also, while we maintain high standards for children, we seek to be realistic in our expectation of them (i.e. asking a two year old to sit still for 45 minutes is unrealistic). We also want to differentiate between childishness (i.e. accidentally spilling water), which is a normal part of working with children, and sinfulness (i.e. maliciously throwing water on another child), which requires discipline.

In keeping these principles in mind, our expectations can be summarized as follows, with each being applied in age-appropriate ways:

We seek to be positive and proactive in maintaining discipline within our ministries. By clearly communicating expectations and by praising obedience and submission, we hope to create an environment in which obedience is the expectation, not the exception. While individual situations vary, we use the following framework in dealing with issues of disobedience.

We recognize that parents are God’s primary instrument in disciplining children (Ephesians 6:4). We do not want to usurp that role from you. We will therefore seek to communicate openly with you regarding your children’s behavior. We will initiate dialogue with you should your child have consistent or significant behavior issues within the class (biting, hitting, cursing, etc.).

We will, however, make an effort to avoid talking negatively about your children’s behavior in front of them or others. Such conversations are best done in private or over the phone.