Children's Sunday Mornings

Children’s Ministries at Free Christian Church are dedicated to laying the spiritual foundation that, in God’s timing, will lead children into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. We strive to foster a love of His Word, teach Bible truths with relevant application to their everyday life, empower them to share God’s love with others and involve them in age appropriate service.

Sunday Morning Schedule

School Year 2009 - Andover Campus

Download a Registration Form
Please turn in your completed form on Sunday or email to Kathy Shannon

School Year 2009 - North Andover Campus - NEW!

Download a Registration Form
Please turn in your completed form on Sunday or email to Kathy Shannon

Nursery

Cuddle Corner, our nursery for your infant or young toddler, is a safe, clean and friendly environment designed to allow parents to worship or serve on Sunday mornings without the worry for the safety and well being of their little ones. Infants are given loving care by our dedicated nursery staff which places a special emphasis on security. A silent paging system is available to reach parents if needed.

Each child in our nursery will begin to associate God and the Lord Jesus with loving people and enjoyable activities; to develop and awareness of the name of Jesus and associate Him with being loved; to feel secure and loved at church by having physical and emotional needs met by caring adults.

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Early Childhood

Our Early Childhood (ages 2-kindergarten) program is designed to help the child know that God loves and cares for us; that God sent Jesus to show His love for us; that God’s Word helps us learn about the greatness and goodness of God and the Lord Jesus. Children are taught and teachers model that you demonstrate love for God through kindness, helpfulness and thankfulness and by talking to God in prayer.

By the time a child completes the Early Childhood program he or she should be able to:

• Tell that the stories in the Bible are true
• Tell that the Bible is God’s message to us
• Recognize by sight Bible words such as “Jesus” and “God”
• Listen with understanding to Bible stories and verses
  
• Tell that God gave the Bible to help us learn about His love and His plan to send His Son, Jesus
  
• Name everyday actions that show obedience to Bible verses
  
• State in his or her own words Bible truths about ways to love and obey God.

The early childhood program involves lots of hands on activity capitalizing on a child’s need to experience life with all of their senses.

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Primary

Between 1st and 6th grade our students do 4 rotations through the Bible visiting Old and New Testament passages each year in a sequential order. Age-appropriate Bible Learning Activities are designed to encourage active participation. Units of study are built around a Bible personality or an event. An in-depth Bible character study presents a picture of a real person and the way God works in his or her life. Both positive characteristics to be followed and negative characteristics to be avoided are highlighted. The exemplified qualities and values of Christian character and a close walk with God are taught during the course of the study. As these qualities and values are learned by students a specific application to each one’s personal life is communicated.

During the four primary grades we strive to help your children know that God loves and helps us and has a plan for our lives; that God sent his Son, the Lord Jesus, to be our Savior. Students respond by trusting Jesus as Savior, by thanking, serving, trusting and praising God, by believing God’s promises, obeying His commands and by telling others about Jesus.

Upon completion of the primary curriculum the students should master the following Bible Skills:

• Name the books of the Bible
  
• Locate Bible references
  
• Use a children’s Bible reference book
  
• Identify the basic theme content of all Bible book divisions
  
• Complete the age appropriate Bible Memory Plan.

Special worship and missions lessons are integrated into the curriculum though out the year. Classes also collect a children’s offering each Sunday which is donated to a missions project or service agency choose by the Sunday school children as a whole. The past three years the kids have sent their offering to Harvest Hands Ministries to help send children in Mexico to school and provide them with clothing and supplies as needed. Each class is also encouraged to complete a service project as a class during the year.

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Preteens

Recognizing the uniqueness of this age group in today’s world we focus on life issues that are relevant to the students’ everyday life: popularity and success, rules, communication, integrity, failure, hope, spiritual gifts, prayer, service and sharing their faith.

Our goal is to help students to live for Christ every hour of every day and every day of every week, to know that God wants us to trust, love and obey Him; that God can help us grow in Christian maturity. Students are challenged to serve within the church and the community according to their gifts; and demonstrate attitudes and action that reflect love for Jesus.

Participation in this program will teach students the following Bible skills:

• To implement basic inductive e Bible study skills
  
• To find information in a concordance, Bible dictionary and cross-reference Bible
  
• To identify the basic theme content of selected books of the Bible
  
• To complete the Preteen Bible Memory Plan
  
• To develop personal Bible study skills

Students are encouraged to participate in Club 365 which meets monthly for service projects and relationship building social opportunities. We attend a weekend spiritual retreat for this age group each January.

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Good News Mystery Box

Children ages 3 through 4th grade join their families upstairs for the beginning of the worship service once a month, usually the last Sunday of the month. Following Praise and Worship the students are invited up front to sit with one of our pastors. One of the students, selected the previous month, presents the mystery box containing an object they chose to the pastor, he shares a teaching moment based on the object and prays for the children.  The students are then dismissed to Sunday School.

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Special Friends Program

This program gives children who are developmentally, medically or physically challenged the opportunity to participate in Sunday school. FCC welcomes all children and wants them to learn about Jesus and experience God in their life. For those who need special assistance in order to fully participate, every effort is made to connect the child with one-on-one assistants who consistently help him/her as needed. Those children requiring medical assistance will be paired with one of our Parish Nurses. For more information contact the Children’s ministry office.

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For more information contact:

Kathy Shannon
Director of Children's Ministries
978-475-0700 ext. 12
kshannon@freechristian.org

Anne Samuelson
Children's Ministries Assistant
978-475-0700 ext. 26
asamuelson@freechristian.org

Liz Lerman
Children's Ministries Assistant
978-475-0700 ext. 15
llerman@freechristian.org

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