When is it?
Every Sunday during morning worship (11.00am-12.00pm)
Who is it for?
All children aged 0-17 and a young adults discussion group.
What does it cost?
Free
What’s it all about?
Every Sunday morning, we have family worship during which our Junior Church (or ‘Sunday School’) meets. We start and end the service together in the main body of the church but use the hall for our activities.
Our very youngest children (aged 0-4) stay in the main church but we have access to a play corner in the church porch where parents can still hear and join in the main service as children play. Alternatively we have ‘grab bags’ available for young children to use at their seats. We are developing a pattern where on the 2nd and 4th Sundays we will include a junior church leader to run some specific activities with the children in the porch.
Our first group are aged 4-10 (although we are flexible on transition ages dependent upon the needs of the individual children). Our lessons include stories, games, object discussions and creative approaches to explore the bible reading of the day and this is followed up with a craft, colouring or puzzle activity. We encourage lessons to be as interactive as possible and enable the children to explore their own ideas and understanding of faith.
Our middle group aged 11-15 meet and their activities include games, reflective activities and reading the bible story as they start to explore their thoughts and understanding further.
Our eldest group starts at 16+ and works on a ‘when I’m ready’ basis to move into adult church. We are developing a pattern where the 1st and 3rd Sundays will have a led group-based discussion in the hall, whilst on the 2nd and 4th Sundays the young adults will either remain with the main church or lead their own discussion group, all with the aim to gradually transition into regular worship. The young people’s group includes discussion, games and other activities to deepen their exploration of faith.
We are always keen to use a range of different activities and methods to enhance the children and young people’s experience, including making use of the lovely church grounds in good weather. The church also benefits from a quiet corner in the side of the main church with a sofa, quiet mat, sensory toys and noise-cancelling headphones for those that would benefit from this.
We have a small team of Junior Church leaders and are always willing to talk to those from the church who might be interested in volunteering. Here are some photos of the types of things we get up to in Junior Church:
Contact Details
Mrs. Ruth Dickinson
juniorchurch@christchurchunitedcardiff.org.uk