Children and Families We believe that the primary teachers of the faith, and the most influential people in a child's life are parents.  We provide a place and resources for families to grow in their intentional discipleship together and individually.  If you are a parent of a child 5th grade or younger, save this page as one of your favorites.  Come here regularly to be encouraged and equipped to raise your child in the knowledge of the Lord, even as you grow in your own faith walk.  You have one of the greatest responsibilities ever given by God - to care for, and prepare for a life of worship and service one (or more!) of His children!  You are not alone in this.  God our Father is with you, and you have an entire church family to walk with you.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments I give to you today are to be upon your hearts. IMPRESS THEM ON YOUR CHILDREN. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. ~ Deuteronomy 6:5-9 (NIV-emphasis added)

Sunday School

Preschool Sunday School
(Age 2 by June 1 through entering Kindergarten this Fall)

Preschool Sunday School Rooms ~ Red Apple Wing
2's ~ 101

3's ~ 105

PreK ~ 107

Kindergarten ~ 102

Elementary Sunday School
(Entering Grades 1 - 5 this Fall)

Elementary Sunday School Rooms ~ Upstairs
1st Grade ~ Room 209

2nd Grade ~ Room 208

3rd Grade ~ Room 204

4th Grade ~ Room 205

5th Grade ~ Room 212

 Children's Ministry/Sunday School Registration Form

   
MOPS supports, encourages, and equips moms
to be the best mom they can be! 

Click HERE for more.

My Time
Weekly/Monthly Parents Day Out Program
Runs school schedule: end of August to middle of May

For more information, click here for the brochure          

                 Parents' Night Out!
Bring your kids for a fun night at Peace!
6 pm-10 pm

 May 4

We are open to kids 18 months - 5th grade. 
The cost is $12 per child for the first two children, 
$6 for each additional child from the same house. We provide fun, snacks, and a movie.

 Download a registration form here.

Children and Parents Worship Together at Peace

A parent's view about worship will be reflected in a child's view.  We encourage families to begin at birth to train children to worship with their families.  We offer worship bags for parents to help engage their children in what is happening around them in worship. 

We also offer a fully-staffed nursery for children under 36 months for those times when very young children need breaks from the length of the worship experience.  We encourage all parents of younger children to read "Parenting in the Pew: Guiding Your Children into the Joy of Worship" by Robbie Castleman.

We regularly offer Parenting on Purpose and Parenting in the Pew classes.  Please join us for these times of learning, some venting, encouragement, trial and error, and growth.  Remember, your goal is to help your child worship, not to sit still and quiet for the entire hour!  We don't want to raise adults who equate worshipping with sitting passively and quietly in the pew.  We want to raise our children to expect God to show up, to freely receive what He freely gives, and to joyfully respond with all that they are and all that they have.  Inbetween parenting classes, try out some of these worship ideas:

• SIT CLOSE TO THE FRONT.  I know you want to be close to the door to make a break for it when the little one starts to pitch a fit, but they can't engage and participate from the back.  They can't see what' going on.  Move down front and let them get involved.  But don't do this until you have a couple of other things in place...see the rest of the list!

• START PREPARING FOR SUNDAY (OR SATURDAY) EARLIER IN THE WEEK.  Call the office, or check the website to find out what the scripture passages are for the coming weekend's worship.  Find out what the hymns are.  Start talking about some of this during the week, or teach a verse to your young child so they can sing that weekend.  Being ready is a big part of parenting on purpose.

• OTHER WAYS TO PREPARE EARLY: get to bed on time the night before, get to church in time to go to the bathroom first, get a worship bag or bring one of your own, set some ground rules (whisper voice for asking questions, stand when everyone stands, fold hands when praying, etc.).

• WORSHIP BAGS: Peace provides worship bags, but you can also make your own personal one.  You'll want to have a couple of things: some that distract and some that help them engage.  Don't bring toys that make noise or anthing that can roll down the inclined floor (just to save you the embarassment)!  Kids love to draw (or scribble).  One idea is to put a blank notebook and some crayons in your bag.  Ask your child to draw something they see.  When they draw something, quietly ask them to tell you what it is.  When you do this you are helping them to engage their surroundings in worship.  Start experimenting with what you might put in your bag to help your child both engage in worship, and also sit quietly in worship when not actively involved.

• WHEN WE ARE SINGING, invite your child to hold the hymnal or the worship folder.  If they aren't old enough to read, tell them to sing "la-la-la" to the sound of the song, or, if the song has a refrain or repetitive part, tell them to sing it with you when it comes up.  As your child learns to read, let them find the hymn number and expect them to sing with you.

• ACTIVELY ENGAGE YOUR CHILD THROUGHOUT THE WORSHIP SERVICE.  Ask them questions quietly in their ear about what is going on around them.  Listen to their answers.  And, when they ask you a question, don't wait too long to answer it if it has something to do with worship.  Their question means they are interested.  If you don't know the answer, tell them, "Let's ask pastor after worship," and then ask us!  It's O.K. to talk to your kids during worship (in fact, we encourage it)!  Just use whisper voices and don't talk about any old thing, keep your conversation to worship-related stuff.

• IF YOUR CHILD BECOMES RESTLESS OR NOISEY to the point of disturbing the people around you, we ask that you take them out of the worship service until they calm down.  We understand that this happens, after all, they are kids.  Don't worry about it.  You can either take them into the foyer where there are speakers to hear what is happening in worship, or you can take them to the nursery if they are under 36 months. 

Faith Alive Bible (NIV) :: This is the Bible we help you parents give to your child at the beginning of their 2nd grade year (usually in August). It has all the words in the New International Version.  It is colorful and full of engaging notes and questions throughout.  As soon as your child starts reading chapter books, put this Bible in their hands and be ready to field lots of questions as the Word of God is opened up to them in a whole new way.  Don't stop reading the Bible with them.  They still need to learn from you how to engage God's Word.  But, now they can begin to explore his Word too.

Parenting in the Pew: Guiding Your Children into the Joy of Worship by Robbie Castleman :: We have been teaching from this book for a number of years now at Peace.  It is a great resource for helping parents think intentionally about what they want to happen for their kids in worship.  Do you come to worship without a plan, with just the hope that your kids will not make some kind of explosion during worship?  Do you wish you could just send your kids somewhere else and you could go to worship?  This book helps you think purposefully about preparing yourself and your kids for the worship experience so that they will be more engaged and learn how to worship from you - the best person to teach them!  Most importantly, it gets at the real core of what worship is all about - meeting God where he promises to be with his gifts.  If you have young children, you need to read this book!

Grace-Based Parenting by Dr. Tim Kimmel ::

The Five Love Languages of Children by Gary Chapman & Ross Campbell ::

Why Boys and Girls Are Different by Carol Greene ::

Right from the Start: A Parent's Guide to the Young Child's Faith Development by Shirley K. Morgenthaler ::

Real Kids, Real Faith: Practices for Nurturing Children's Spiritual Lives by Karen Marie Yust ::

The Hurried Child - 25th Anniversary Edition by David Elkind::