An update from the Kids Ministry TeamWelcome to 2024! We hope that you had some beautiful moments as a family over the last two weeks. There is something special about starting a New Year – the invitation to reflect, recenter, and look ahead at what’s next.Reflection on 2023Kids Ministries had a lot of shifts in 2023! We are so thankful for all the kids who have engaged in weekend Kids Ministries (with Saturday starting up again), Summer Day Camps, TreeHouse Preschool, Buddy Break and our first Kids Night in October. During our Christmas Eve services, it special to see kids invited onto the stage to bring their gift to the manger. Thank you to the 250+ volunteers who helped make all this possible this year. We are praising God for all the ways that He has worked!New for 2024This weekend our regular programming resumes with a slight change to the way our preschool classes will work. Preschoolers will still attend the same classroom they attended in December. Instead of moving up when they have their birthday, we are asking parents to keep their child in the same room until July and then move up them up to their new classroom. This will allow us to keep our room numbers/ratios more balanced during the winter/spring months. So instead of the rooms being called by their Age, we will start referring to preschool rooms by their color (Yellow Room, Orange Room, Green Room). Your child’s name tag will indicate which colored room they are attending.For Elementary kids, this month’s theme is Pixel Party! We will be working together to create a giant pixel art piece in the hallway and learning this Bible verse, John 1:14 “So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.”Kids Night – Friday, January 26Registration is open! This is a great event to invite a friend from the community for a fun night of gym games, activities and a cookie decorating snack. We will be exploring how wide, high, long and deep is the love of God. Volunteers are needed! As a thank you to any parents who volunteer, you receive a discount code for your child(ren)’s fee and get to enjoy a pizza dinner before the event. Register hereTreeHouse Preschool Open HouseWednesday, January 24 | 3:30-6:30pmRegister here Our TreeHouse Preschool is a ministry of our church offering half day programs for 3 and 4 year olds. We look forward to welcoming new families in September 2024 so if you are interested please bring your child to our Open House to check out our program, meet the teachers and ask your questions!Invitation to PartnerOur Kids Ministries have seen significant growth in the past year. If you are not serving yet, we would love to invite you to partner with us in some way:In the Classroom: We have wonderful teen leaders but need parent helpers too. We can work with your availability (weekly, bi-weekly, once a month, on-call). This is a great way to serve together as a family, couple or with a friend and not only be a blessing to others but also build community for yourself.Special Needs Ministry: It's our desire that that every child and family feels loved and cared for by our church. We have a couple children who would like to attend Kids Ministries but need an adult buddy to support them. If you have training in this area or a heart to help in this way, please connect with Pastor Heather.Service Coaches: We are looking to train up a few people who would be interested in serving as a point person alongside one of our Kid’s Ministries Staff during the services. This person would be able to help troubleshoot, support classrooms, and encourage our volunteers as they lead our kids.Click here for a full list of volunteer opportunities.As you step into 2024, our prayer is that you and your family would deeply know the love that Jesus has for you. Thank you for allowing us to be apart of your family journey.Please reach out if you have any questions or ways we can support your family.Pastor Heather Spronk, Heather Allers & Keri LaRocque