We believe in the church that Christian education begins in the nursery. For infants, their surroundings are warm and friendly or cold and distant; comfortable or uncomfortable. We strive to have babies feel welcome and wanted. From the beginning, we want church to be a place where children are not only accepted, but a place where “everyone knows your name.”
Because the Methodist Church believes that God loves us before we realize the need for that love, we believe in infant Baptism. If you would like your child of any age baptized, please call Ron King, our Senior Pastor, and schedule a pre-baptism meeting. Baptisms can be scheduled for most Sunday services. The Children’s Council at Shawnee provides a banner for each child who is baptized which is usually presented on the Sunday of the child’s baptism.
We provide Child Care for worship and all-congregation events for children (up to age 6 on Sunday mornings and age 10 on week night events). The staff in this program are18 years of age or older, are experienced and have been through Child Protection training.
Sunday School starts when the child turns two by September of the new school year. We have a class for 2-year-olds and another class for 3 & 4 year-olds. The teachers in these classrooms have had many years of experience and love teaching their “children.”
Once a child is in Kindergarten, they start our rotational Sunday school program, which we call “Caravan 2 Canaan.” This is for elementary children, K - 6. Kindergarteners make up one class, 1st & 2nd graders another, 3rd & 4th graders meet together and 5th & 6th graders meet together.
Our rationale for using the Rotational Model is that children learn in different ways….some children are more visual, some are more verbal, some learn by creating, others learn by experiencing. At Shawnee, each level has an opportunity to learn through creating art, watching films, enacting dramas, playing and working on the computer, and through other kinds of games and experiential kinds of activities. Each five-week session is focused on one particular theme, and we try to cover all the important Biblical themes in the course of a three-year period.
Each class has a shepherd who takes attendance, passes out name tags, and stays with them for the morning. This person fills a “permanent” position that provides continuity, nurture and discipline.
We have five rotations: Art, Audio Visual, Computer, Drama and Geography and Games. Each rotation has a teacher who volunteers to teach for ten weeks at a time, or longer. The children also spend 15 minutes each Sunday morning with our Music Director learning songs, some of which they will sing in worship services.
The Coordinator of Children’s Ministry also spends time with the children on Sunday morning for 5 – 10 minutes, teaching general topics such as the Books of the Bible, Prayer, and other subjects related to the lessons or the current sermon series.
We have several special events throughout the year:
- Children’s Sabbath - A special Sunday morning when children lead worship
- Third-grade Bible retreat, presentation and “learn how to use your Bible class” - All third-graders receive their own special Bible
- Family Fun Fair and Easter Egg Hunt (Youth-sponsored) - An activity to involve the whole family
- Easter Call-to-Worship - A special song and dramatic presentation to begin the Easter services
- Vacation Bible School - 3 yr olds through 6th grade enjoy a week of learning, fun crafts and activities in the summer
- Promotion Sunday - Breakfast treats and a special celebration to mark advancement to a new grade level
- Advent Fair (Youth-sponsored) - Decorating sugar cookies, making ornaments, having supper – a great family activity before Christmas
- Intergenerational Christmas Pageant - Music and drama for all ages, with the main parts given to the K – 6 graders
We would love to have you at Shawnee United Methodist Church. All are welcome. Children are loved and known here, and we strive to introduce them to the God who loves them and “calls them each by name.”
