Children's Ministry Programs

2003‑2004

All of Bethel's Children's Ministry programs offer different opportunities for children, Newborn ‑ 6th grade. Here are the areas we are proud as a church to offer this year.

Sunday Morning/ "Kid Connection":

Nursery Care: Newborns ‑ 18 months old

Preschool: "Little Lambs": 18 month ‑ 36 months old

"Sonbeams": 3 and 4 years old

Elementary: "Faith Followers": Jr. Kindergarten ‑ 1st Grade

"Brave Believers": 2nd ‑ 3rd Grade

"Christ Crusaders": 4th ‑ 5th Grade

"Jr. Teen Mentors": 6th Grade

Special Groups/Special Events:

Cradle Roll: Newborn – 3 years old

Family Events: For families with children 3 years old ‑ 6th Grade

G.O.T.C.H.A.: Children in 4th ‑ 6th Grade

Jr. Teen Mentors: 6th Graders

V.B.S.: Children 4 years old ‑ 6th Grade

What is Kid Connection?

Kid Connection is Bethel's Sunday morning children's ministry program for children 18 months old to 6th grade. It is a place where children grow up learning to love God, are actively serving His purposes, and are in the process of growing to honor God in all areas of their lives.

What is happening this year?

Preschool Area: We will be focusing on the a variety of Bible stories and songs in the preschool program, which shares the love of Christ with each child.

Little Lambs: 18 months ‑36 months old

Sonbeams: 3 and 4 years old

Our Kid Connection preschool program is divided into two different classes. The "Little Lambs" and the "Sonbeams". In each class students will be introduced to a Bible lesson in a large group setting. Then they will have a singing time, snack time and an activity that goes with the day's lesson. We believe that the child will leave each week knowing God loves and cares for them.

Elementary Area: We will be focusing on "Doing Life with God in the Picture" and the "5" G's in the elementary program, which guides believers toward growing into Christ‑likeness and becoming fully devoted followers of Christ.

Faith Followers: Jr. Kindergarten ‑ 1st Grade

Brave Believers: 2nd ‑ 3rd Grade

Christ Crusaders: 4th ‑ 5th Grade

Jr. Teen Mentors: 6th Grade

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Offering:

We are collecting our offering this year to support Kurt & Karyn Morrill in France. Kurt and Karyn are serving the college student population there.

What are the "5" G's?

Grace: We want kids to accept the gift of grace (Salvation) and extend grace to others. (Evangelism)

Growth: We want kids to grow in knowledge of God and His purposes, grow in understanding of how God's purposes include a plan for each of them, and grow in character, being transformed from the inside out by the power of Christ.

Group: We want kids to experience friendships in a community where they can know and be known, love and be loved, serve and be served, celebrate and be celebrated.

Gifts: We want kids to explore how God has created them and how they can serve others with the talents they have.

Good Stewardship: We want kids to develop hearts that recognize that all they have belongs to God and desire to use their resources and time for His purposes.

We at Kid Connection believe that by teaching and modeling the "5" G's throughout the curriculum, we hope to partner with each parent in helping to raise children who are growing toward full devotion to Christ, and who can meet the immense challenge their generation faces in the world around us.

Each Sunday from September 14th through May 23rd, the children at Kid Connection will explore various aspects of the "5"G's as they learn and apply the Bible stories to their everyday lives. The children will be challenged to think about how they can "Do Life with God in the Picture."

Who are the wonderful Teachers and Mentors who are helping this year at "Kid Connection"?

Nursery: Newborn ‑ 18 months old:

Christina Hill, Lisa Read, & Melina Tulshibagwale

Little Lambs: 18 months ‑ 36 months old:

Maria Rehbein, Jen Rowen, Vonny Kleveland, & Cara Hedgecock

Sonbeams: 3 and 4 year olds:

Andrea and Dennis Reak

Faith Followers: Jr. Kindergarten ‑ 1st Grade:

Vicki Bohan, Taryn Maloney, Kryssie Mingst, & Lori Sellers

Brave Believers: 2nd ‑ 3rd Grade:

Minnie Sudarsanam, Cassandra Messner, Ruth Seyer, & Christine Lutke

Christ Crusaders: 4th ‑ 5th Grade:

Eric Messner, Patrice Sera, Beth Dabagian, Deirdre Lum, & Audrey Ostrowski‑Gallagher

Adult Mentors: 6th Grade:

Marianne Nadell, Vicki Bohan, Taryn Maloney, Kryssie Mingst, & Lori Sellers

6th graders / Jr. Teen Mentors:

Kimmy Sanchez, Patrick Kelly, Kristen Bryson, Lindsay Bryson, Shannon Maloney,

Alexandra Nadell, Linnea Pierson, Derek Booth, Amber Myerholtz, & Grace Erhardt

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What is a Jr. Teen Mentor?:

A Jr. Teen Mentor helps by supporting Bethel's Children's Ministry program, "Kid Connection", by being Courteous, Loyal, Respectful, Shows Perseverance, Demonstrates Integrity, Has Self‑Control, and Demonstrate Discipleship to those around them through the "5"G's. They are mentors and buddies to the Jr. Kindergarten ‑ 1st graders and they help plan our G.O.T.C.H.A events.

What is G.O.T.C.H.A.?

Bethel Lutheran Church's new 4th‑6th grade youth program. G.O.T.C.H.A. stands for Growing, Outward, Through, Christ in, His, Awesomeness. G.O.T.C.H.A. balances social, spiritual, and outreach to others with Christ as its center. G.O.T.C.H.A. is a place where children are fed the Word and taught how to apply God's truths to their everyday life in fun and exciting ways.

Upcoming Events:

February:27‑28 Lock In at Bethel 7:00pm ‑ 9:00am

March:20th Family Dinner/Movie Night 5:30pm ‑ 9:30pm

April:25th Laser Quest 12:30pm ‑ 4:00pm

May: 23rd Family Carnival 12:15pm ‑ 3:00pm

June: 12th Pool & Pizza Party 11:00am ‑ 4:00pm

What are Family Events?

Families are important to Bethel. We know in today's world it is sometimes hard to find quality time with your family in a Christian setting. This year, Bethel has created some wonderful opportunities for families to get together with other families from our church and school community, to fellowship and grow closer to God and His purpose for our lives.

Events this year include:

December 7th: Family Ice Skating Day at Vallco

(We had over 100 people join us for ice skating this year.)

Coming Up ...

March 20th: "Dinner and a Movie" Night at Bethel 5:30 ‑ 9:30pm

May 23rd: Family Carnival at Bethel 12:15 ‑ 3:00pm

What is Cradle Roll?

Cradle Roll is a program that gives "new" parents Christian resources and parenting tips on how to enrich their "new" babies life through Christ. New parents will relieve the "Christian" parents monthly newsletter and various teaching tools that can he used during the first three years of their child's life.

What is V.B.S.?

V.B.S. stands for Vacation Bible School. Vacation Bible School is our one week program in the Summer where children can bring their friends to learn about Jesus and experience his great love for them. This year V.B.S. will be in July. Mark those calendars for the week of July 26th‑30th. We always need help, so come out and support our children by helping in some way. Big or small, we love it all!

Much thanks and "Big" hugs to everyone this year! Please continue to pray for our many ministries that help spread Christ's eternal love to our children.

Laura M. Leonard

Children's Ministry Coordinator

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