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Welcome to the

Children & Youth Ministy

at FPC!

We are delighted to partner with parents and love how God promises to bless the next generation as we are faithful with exalting Christ among us.

We will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD…so the next generation would know them…Then they would put their trust in God.

Psalm 78:4b,6a,7a

With Psalm 78 as the foundation, three principles guide our partnership with parents and serving children:

Principle 1

We believe Scripture teaches that parents are called to nurture their children in the faith. At FPC, parents are encouraged to raise their children in the Lord, loving the gospel of grace and teaching them truth by reading the Word of God to and with them, memorizing scriptures, catechisms, and songs of the faith together, and faithfully attending congregational worship

Deuteronomy 4:9…Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children’s children.

Deuteronomy 6:4-7…Love the LORD with all heart, soul, mind…these words, teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.

Ephesians 6:4…Bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord

Principle 2

The Church should come alongside parents discipling and equipping the parents and children (supplementing and reinforcing truth) so the children can set their hope in God and learn to walk in His ways. In our baptism vows, the Church promises to “undertake the responsibility of assisting the parents in the Christian nurture of their child.” 

Deuteronomy 31:10-13 …assemble the people…so that they may hear and learn and fear the LORD your God…their children, who have not known, will hear and learn to fear…

Acts 22:3 …I am a Jew…educated under Gamaliel

Ephesians 4:11-12 …Christ gave some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ.

Principle 3

FPC is committed to living with integrity and transparency around one another.  We value emotional, physical, and spiritual health in all our staff and volunteers. We do not allow abuse of any kind and will report any known offenses to the police. We do not want any child to experience trauma or anything that would be a violation of a person while he or she is in our care. To that end, we ask all staff and volunteers to provide references that are checked, to submit to a background check, and have conversations regarding past experiences with the session or nursery/children’s director. Any caregiver or teacher/assistant must be a known member of the congregation for a minimum of 6 months, and every event with children is staffed by two unrelated volunteers.

To honor our covenant commitment to one another, we will labor to equip parents and disciple children and youth.

EQUIPPING PARENTS

    • Adult Bible study
    • Congregational worship
    • Small group gatherings for building relationships
    • Library of resources available
    • Adopt a Family relationship
    • Small group book studies on marriage/parenting
    • Quarterly conversation starters for parents

DISCIPLING CHILDREN

    • Sunday morning Bible study, age appropriate classes
    • Congregational worship
    • First Catechism and Westminster Shorter Catechism
    • Learning and then singing together a hymn of the month
    • Encouraging scripture memory
    • Sunday morning papers for following along in the service
    • Library of resources available
    • Opportunities for building relationships with adults committed to telling the next generation the glorious deeds of the Lord
    • Opportunities for building relationships with peers
    • Regular youth meetings
    • Summer and winter camp

FOR PARENTS

Conversation Starters

Questions you can consider to be strategic in your discipleship in the home.

    • Is our great hope for our children to put their hope in God or is it something else?
    • What do we want our children to know and understand about God and His Word?
    • What do we want them to understand about the gospel?
    • What marks of faith and spiritual maturity do we want them to have?
    • What portions of the Bible do we want them to be able to quote from memory by the time they graduate high school?
    • What kind of single or married person do we want them to be?
    • What kind of husband and father, or wife and mother do we want them to be?
    • How would we want them to respond when tragedy, trial, or suffering happens?
    • What will fortify them against the temptations of wealth, pleasure, and success?
    • What do we want them to be trusting in when they are taking their last breath?
    • What kind of conversations do we need to have in our home with our children?
    • What habits do we need to start or stop in order to nurture our great hope?

(Most questions are taken from Zealous: 7 Commitments for the Discipleship of the Next Generations by David Michael and Habits of the Household: Practicing the Story of God in Every Day Family Rhythms by Justin Whitmel Earley)