If you sit down for Sunday Service at Goochland Presbyterian on any given Sunday, there's a good chance you hear about the importance of children in the church. Because at Goochland Presbyterian, we believe children are the church and the future of our faith community within Goochland & beyond.
Goochland Presbyterian Family Ministries seeks to partner with families as they care for and nurture little ones in the name of Jesus. We acknowledge that parents and caregivers remain the primary source of spiritual growth and influence in a child's life, and we want to see families grow together in the love of Christ with the church's support. We pray that Goochland Presbyterian is a place where children hear and impart the truth of the God who created and loves them and are equipped to continue to grow to lead lives of faith.
Most families start arriving at church around ten minutes prior to service. As soon as you arrive, if you have children in nursery or little worshippers, you can go ahead and drop your child off in their classroom.
Families check in at the Family Ministries desk beginning 15 minutes before each service. If we need to reach you during the service, we will text the mobile number provided at check-in.
Parents can pick up their children from nursery or little worshippers after communion, and return to our main worship space for final worship songs and benediction.
Ages 6 months – 2.5 years
Caring for the children, helping them feel loved, keeping them safe, and introducing them to Jesus are our top priorities. Children are supervised by our ministry volunteers for the duration of the service, as they take part in independent play, story time and music-based activities.
Ages 2.5 years to 6 years
Little Worshippers is our family ministry's introduction to the traditional Sunday school setting for our children. Little Worshippers will consist of independent play, a weekly lesson in the form of a puppet show, and designated coloring time with a corresponding coloring sheet. Little Worshippers meets for the duration of the service.
Ages 6 years – 5th grade
During Kids Club, our Kids grow in their love, knowledge, and understanding of God through interactive and creative lessons in a kid-friendly environment. From the very beginning, our curriculum points to Jesus as the central story in all of scripture and gives our children space to wonder and marvel at the loving God who created them. Kids learn through play, scripture memorization, storytelling, and hands-on activities, all designed to engage their minds and hearts with the living Word of God, the Bible.
If your child goes to Kids Club, they will join us for the first part of our worship service for music and intro prayer. There will be an announcement to release children for kids club during service, when their teachers will stand and guide them back to kids club. Before we have communion, kids club children will be released back to their parents as we close out our service.
Your child's safety is of utmost importance while in the care of GPC volunteers.
All individuals that volunteer in the nursery at Goochland Presbyterian are either regular attendees or current members of the church. Every volunteer is required to go through our application process, which includes a background check.
For children that are still diapered, we offer the option for a woman volunteer to change your child's diaper or for a volunteer to notify you if your child needs to be changed. Please provide diapering materials at drop off if you'd like a volunteer to take care of diaper changes.
Food is not allowed in the childcare section of the church; only water is allowed. If food were to be present one Sunday for the children, the children's ministry will notify parents in advance in case of allergen concerns.
As we are always looking to improve on our policies and make sure we create the safest environment possible for your children, we require a yearly refresh and training for all volunteers in our nursery, little worshippers, and Kids Club classes.
Goochland Presbyterian's Children's Ministry wouldn't be possible without our amazing volunteers.
Many hands go into making a successful Sunday at Goochland Pres, and we are always looking for new men and women who find joy in serving in a childcare capacity.
Please fill out this application if you would like to join our children's ministry volunteer rotation. Our children's ministry director, Lauren Maguire, will contact you with next steps!
