Children and Families

Children and Families

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Children and Families at Central

The spiritual development of our children is an important part of life at Central. To support this we have a Children and Families Coordinator, Colin Watson. His  role is to support the children and families of CBC, working closely with Pastors Jim and Stuart as part of the pastoral team. Aspects of his job include:

  1. Pastoral support for families.
  2. Supporting our volunteers who work with children eg. Training, practical administration tasks
  3. Oversight of the Children’s Ministries.
  4. Evaluating and developing the resources and materials we use to teach our children.
  5. Organising events for children and families which will build relationships and at times have an outreach focus.
  6. Developing links with groups, children and families in our community.
     

WHAT CAN WE PRAY FOR?

All of the above, but particularly . . .

  1. Pray for good relationships with our children, families and volunteers.
  2. Pray for God’s leading in how we ‘get better’ in our ministries.
  3. Opportunities to connect with our local community

CHILDREN AND FAMILIES MINISTRIES

Check all upcoming events on our Calendar by clicking here

ON SUNDAY:

CRECHE: for 0-2s. Our wee ones are introduced to Jesus through song, play and stories.

SPARKLERS: for 3-4 years. We use a variety of material to share the Gospel in an age appropriate way. We have a high ratio of volunteers to children with many of our helpers having experience in Early Years education.

SUNDAY SCHOOL: Children aged from Primary 1 to Primary 6 meet in the large hall in The Link. We usually have around 30 children with a wide range of abilities and needs. We use the Go Teach Programme (https://goteach.org.uk) which is  supplemented by games, video clips, songs and other resources to teach the children themes in the Bible and the way they link together. We aim to have 4-6 adults (all with PVG disclosures) supporting our youngsters. Using the Bible is central in our lessons so towards the end of the session we will split into smaller groups where we can further discuss the Bible passage whilst the children are engaged in active play, craft and follow up activities.

On occasion we will ask some of our church family to share their testimony or ask our missionaries, who are back in Scotland, to talk about their ministry.

In all that we do we want to be honest with our young folk about what it means to be a disciple of Jesus ie. dying to self and living for Him.

SUNDAY SCHOOL PLUS is typically be for young people in P7 and will has a transitional approach, hopefully being a bridge from Sunday School to Bible Class. However, should someone in P6 or S1 want to join this group then this can happen.

OTHER DAYS OF THE WEEK:

LITTLE BLESSINGS - PARENT, BABY & TODDLERS GROUP

Meeting every week on Thursdays 10am – 11.30am in The Link. 

The focus is primarily on fellowship and outreach. The team of volunteers is led by our Karen Keir (Women’s Pastoral Coordinator) but also includes Sarah Thompson (Biblical Counselling Intern) and Colin Watson (Children & Families Coordinator)

CLUB CENTRAL

Club Central meets once a month on a Friday 6:15pm – 7:30pm. This is primarily an opportunity for relationship building through fun and food. Primary age children come and enjoy games, craft, snack and a short talk with a Christian message. Many of our children bring school friends and neighbours who don’t come to church. Parents and carers are welcome to stay for a chat and a coffee in relaxed surroundings whilst they wait for their kids.

WHO LET THE DADS OUT?

A Saturday morning chill out for dads and kids aged 0 – 7. Again, an opportunity to enjoy fellowship and food hopefully leading to meaningful friendships. This is an ideal time to invite those who don’t come to church to be introduced to Jesus through our hospitality. We meet usually on the last Saturday of the month

LOADS O' . . .

Loads o’ …. Events have included Load o’ Lego, Loads o’ Art, Loads o’ Bikes, Loads o’ Sport, Loads o’ Talent, Loads o’ Bouncing, Load o’ Christmas, Loads o’ Easter

These are more opportunities for relationship building through activities in the church and in the community, particularly in partnership with The Overgate Shopping Centre where we can access their community space called Gather. Increasingly these events provide opportunities to share the Gospel and to act as bridge to regular church ministries such as Little Blessings and Who Let The Dad’s Out.

FAMILY EVENTS/OUTINGS

We can’t ‘run the race’ alone so times when we get together and enjoy one another, laugh and cry together are important. We plan a variety of events throughout the year in the hope that there will be something that will appeal to everyone at least once! On occasion we have had Kids@Central Playdates at various venues throughout Dundee, usually at local parks but sometimes at other venues eg. V&A Dundee , RYZE Trampolining Park

Other examples include: Easter Egg Hunt at Slessor Gardens, Light Party at Halloween, Christmas Fayre, Christmas StoryTime @ The Overgate

PRAYER PARTNER PROGRAMME

Prayer partners are linked with individual children or siblings, praying in an informed and focused way. Quarterly Cuppa and a Catch-Up events gives families and their (usually more senior) partners a chance to share and give updates regarding the children.

TRAINING

We acknowledge the experience and expertise our volunteers bring to our Children’s Ministries. However, from time to time we have in house events that help develop and shape how we best can serve our young people eg. Improving Communication with children who have Additional Support Needs. On other occasions we may attend conferences/ online training delivered by other organisations eg. Care for The Family www.careforthefamily.org.uk, Faith in Kids www.faithinkids.org Parenting For Faith www.parentingforfaith.org, Scripture Union www.content.scriptureunion.org.uk

You can contact Colin at childrenandfamiliescoordinator@centraldundee.com