Children’s Ministries

Bethel’s Children’s Ministry Team 2004 - 2005

Laura M. Leonard = Children’s Ministry Coordinator

Patrice Sera = Children’s Ministry Lead

Chris Freckmann, Cathryn Gunn, Laurie Bryson & Joy Freeman = Publications Team

Sunday Morning Programs

“Kid Connection,” our Sunday morning program for children Newborn through 6th grade, is off and running again at rapid speed. Our Nursery Staff has grown by one, which has allowed our wonderful caregivers to have more “one on one” time with each child during the worship services.

Our Preschool classes, the “Little Lambs” and the “Sonbeams” merged into one room this year, due to lower numbers of younger children. The children enjoy learning the day’s Bible lesson in a large group setting, and then move on to singing, snack time or an activity that goes with the day’s lesson. The children leave each week knowing God loves and cares for them.

Our Elementary classes, “Faith Followers,” “Brave Believers,” “Christ Crusaders,” and “Jr. Teen Mentors” are focusing on “Making It Connect,” a sequential journey through the Bible. The students are looking at Creation and the First Families from some of the stories in Genesis and Exodus as well as being asked to “Think Big.” This is thinking about things that are important to God. The Ten Commandments, the Salvation message, the story of Joshua, the people of Israel crossing the Jordan River, and how to remember to be thankful are just a few things the children are learning this year. All of the lessons this year focus on deepening the children’s relationship with God. The children are learning about prayer, Bible reading, confession of sin, making God first priority, loving God wholeheartedly and standing up for God. The children leave each week having learned how to grow into Christ’s likeness, to reach out to others, and to become more fully devoted followers of Christ.

We’d like to thank our “Kid Connection” Team for contributing their time, love of the Lord, and energy in making our program wonderful for every child who attends each week.

Nursery = Newborn - 18 months old

Christina Hill, Lisa Read, Luanne Fisher & Melina Tulshibagwale

Little Lambs = 18 months - 36 months old & Sonbeams = 3 and 4 year olds

Maria Rehbein, Laura French, Angela Brown & LeSonia Leimer

Faith Followers = Jr. Kindergarten - Kindergarten

Kryssie Mingst & Carol Wheaton

Brave Believers = 1st - 3rd Grade

Cassandra Messner, Patrice Sera, Ruth Seyer, & Christine Lutke

Christ Crusaders = 4th - 5th Grade

Anita Tighe, Adriene Needham, Deirdre Lum, & Audrey Ostrowski-Gallagher

Jr. Teen Mentors = 6th Grade Bible Study

Tom Barbaro, Eric Messner, Jean Vaughn, Ralph Miller, Alice Isaacson, & Ruth Seyer

Elementary Areas = 9:45am Opening, Art, Music, Snack, & Bible Games

Molly Schrey, Cindy Kurtz, Doreen Baldwin, Katlynn Hoegel, Jenny Rowen,

Vicki Bohan, Donna Price, & Alice Isaacson

Offering

This year’s offering will be given to Heifer International, a great outreach that helps feed hungry families around the world. Heifer’s animals (and training in their care) offer hungry families around the world a way to feed themselves and become self-reliant. Children receive nutritious milk and eggs; families earn income for school, health care, and better housing; communities go beyond meeting immediate needs to fulfilling dreams. Farmers learn sustainable environmentally sound agricultural techniques. Our goal is raise $500.00 in order to purchase a cow for a needy family. As of January 9th, we have raised over $140.00 towards our goal.

Missionaries

The children continue to write letters to Kurt & Karyn Morrill in France. Kurt and Karyn are serving the college student population there.

Special Groups and Events

G.O.T.C.H.A.

Our 4th - 6th grade program, G.O.T.C.H.A. stands for Growing Outward Through Christ in His Awesomeness. G.O.T.C.H.A. balances socializing, spiritual growth, 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 lives in fun and exciting ways. We have over 40 children currently in our program.

Upcoming Events:

February 13th Bowling 12:30 - 4:00pm

March 12th Family Dinner/Movie 5:30 - 8:30pm

April 24 Laser Quest 12:30 - 4:00pm

May 22nd Family Carnival “Hawaiian” Theme 12:30 - 2:00pm

June 4th Swim & Pizza Party 12:00 - 4:00pm

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. 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.

October 23rd Family Game/ Pumpkin Carving Night 6:00 - 9:00 pm

(We had over 80 people join us.)

January 9th Family Ice Skating Day at Vallco 12:30 - 4:00pm

March 12th “Dinner and a Movie” Night at Bethel 5:30 - 8:30pm

May 22nd Family Carnival “Hawaiian” Theme 12:30 - 2:00pm

Vacation Bible School

Last summer’s V.B.S. week during July 26th-30th was a huge success! We had over 190 children attend our “Lava, Lava Island” program. 24% were Church Members, 8% were School Families, and 68% were Non-Church & Non-School Families. V.B.S. is one of Bethel’s largest outreaches for Christ to our community. We encourage you to sign up and help this summer as we explore the “Serengeti Trek” Where kids are wild about God! Mark your calendars now! V.B.S. is the week of July 18th-22nd and we have three different programs to help with: Our Preschool Program (4 & 5 year olds) = “The Lion Cub Club,” our lower elementary program (K-3rd grade) = “Serengeti Trek,” and our upper elementary program (4th-6th grade) = “Mt. Cross Adventure.” Registration begins at our Family Carnival on Sunday, May 22nd and will end when we are full.

Team V.B.S. 2005

Laura Leonard, Molly Schrey, Vonny Kleveland, Tracey Johnson, Robyn Winegardner & Pastor Rick Sherrill