The Orchard [Grades Primary - Four]
The Orchard is the name or our ministries to children in school grades primary through four. As in all our ministires to children, our mission is to "Partner with Parents to Inspire Children to live LIFE God's Way!"
On Sunday mornings our Orchard ministry features a specially designed age-appropriate large group worship time, small groups for every grade level, games, snacks, and much more! We could not possibly be more excited about what God has done in our church and in the lives of the children through The Orchard!
Introduction Video
It's hard to fully grasp what The Orchard is like unless you've been there. Since the next best thing would be to visit virtually, we created this introductory video back in the early spring of 2007. Take a look:
Frequently Asked Questions
Do my children attend the main adult worship service with me?
On sunday mornings, The Orchard is structured so that children can attend the main worship services in the sanctuary with their parents. What we mean is that whichever worship service you as parents plan to attend (either 9:15-10:30am or 11:00am-12:15pm) we encourage you to take your children with you for the first 15-20 minutes. During each of the two main worship services, children will be dismissed after the first 15-20 minutes. We believe that it's important for families to participate in worship together, and for children to understand worship from an adult perspective.
If I am attending an Adult Elective, where do my children go for the first 15-20 minutes while other children are in the main worship service with their parents?
During the time that some children are in the worship services with their parents, those children whose parents are attending an adult elective will be in the gym for Community Time. The content of this aspect of our Sunday morning ministry is exactly the same at 915am and 1100am. During this time children will review the previous week's memory verse, learn the memory verse and the theme for the current week, and play low impact games which introduce the new theme. We understand that this aspect of our ministry may create confusion however we have chosen this method because we value allowing families to worship together at whichever service the parents plan to attend.
What will the schedule be on Sunday Mornings for my children in The Orchard?
On Sunday mornings, The Orchard will run as follows: 9:00-9:15am Registration in the main church lobby; 9:15-9:30am Worship with Parents or Community Time in the gym; 9:30-10:30am Small Groups for every age level; 10:30-11:00am Registration for children joining The Orchard for the second half of the morning and games / snack time in the gym for all children; 11:15-11:30am Worship with Parents or Community Time in the gym (identical to the earlier version at 9:15am); 11:30am-12:15pm Orchard Large Group, a worship environment designed specially with children in mind.
What is the Orchard Large Group Like?
Each week in the Orchard Large Group we strive to communicate our biblical themes in the most kid-centric, exciting, and fun ways possible. We always have upbeat exciting music, object lessons, and games. We often have drama and special guests, videos, and more! As we move to the future we will also have more and more leadership roles for children to explore not only learning, but also serving in ministry.
Are parents allowed to visit The Orchard?
While we encourage you to attend the main worship services in the sanctuary, we welcome visitors in all aspects of our minsitry. Please notify the staff at our registration desk of your intent to visit and they will escort you to the area of ministry you wish to see and introduce you to the lead staff in that area.