Here at Calvary, our passion for kids, as we serve alongside the parents, is to see them redeemed, grow up in faith, and become lovers of God and others. We are excited about the opportunities to serve the families God has brought to the church and are committed to helping in any way possible to strengthen families and train children in godliness. Some of the ministries we offer are listed below, and if you would like more information, please feel free to contact Pastor Bryan Heller at pastor.bryan@cbcjoliet.org.
You can view our Student Ministry Statement here.
Click to learn more about our children’s ministries:
Nursery Ministry | Sunday School | Children’s Church | Vacation Bible School
Nursery Ministry
Calvary’s Nursery Ministry desires to provide a safe and comfortable environment of child care that both provides for the needs of the children placed in our care and gives peace of mind to the parents. We want parents to know that their children will be cared for by trained, godly men and women who will not only seek to meet the child’s physical needs, but are committed to praying for the child’s redemption and spiritual growth, as well as teaching and modeling Biblical truth. Nursery is provided for children two years old and under at all regular gatherings.
Sunday School
Calvary’s Sunday School classes are unique in a number of significant ways. First, the teaching is exhaustive. That is, children going through our Sunday School curriculum will not simply hear the top fifteen to twenty bible stories, but rather will be exposed to virtually all the narratives present in the Bible. If a child begins Sunday School at Calvary at age two, by the time he graduates from the sixth grade, he will have walked chronologically through the whole Bible three times. Second, the approach that we take to teaching is God-centered. This means that in their classes the children do not only learn moral lessons like “I should share” but are rather challenged with big truths like, “God is Almighty.” We believe that the main character of the Bible is God, and we desire that our children walk away from Sunday School with a greater appreciation of His character. Thirdly, our Sunday School program is also family oriented. Not only are there helpful take home sheets about the lessons, but also all the children, regardless of age, will be hearing the same story for the week in an age appropriate way. For example, if the lesson is “Jesus Raising Lazarus from the Dead,” then both the kindergartener and the fifth grader will have heard this story.
We provide classes on Sunday mornings for children from age 2 through 6th grade. These classes meet at the same time as our Adult Bible Fellowships (9:30 a.m.).
Children’s Church
While we encourage families to participate in corporate worship together, we also realize that it is sometimes challenging for small children to listen quietly for an entire service. For this reason, during our regular morning worship service we provide children’s church, where kids in pre-school and kindergarten hear age-appropriate bible stories. During this time the teachers further reinforce the lesson that was taught in Sunday school to help the little ones better understand and apply the biblical truths they have learned for the day.
Vacation Bible School
At Calvary, our goal for Vacation Bible School is to awaken spiritual interest and feed spiritual hunger by exposing children to the Truth. Through creative lessons, fun activities, and craft projects, biblical truths are taught, reinforced, and applied. Our desire is to not only reach the children in our congregation with the Gospel of Christ, but to reach the boys and girls in our neighborhood and community with this life-giving message. Our Vacation Bible School is offered for children ages 2 through 6th grade with an Adult Bible study as well. Please mark your calendar and plan to join us on this exciting week of exploring God’s word! For the date and times, see our church calendar.