Riverside Orchard Children's Ministry
Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me." (Mat. 19:14) With this in mind, our focus is to bring children closer to Jesus through Biblical lessons, role-models, and hands-on activities.
Calvary Chapel Riverside provides a dedicated learning environment for children ages one thru twelve. This allows the adults to focus on the Bible study while the children have their own study geared toward the individual age groups. We place great emphasis on structured learning and worship.
The care and safety of your children is very important to us at Calvary Chapel. Every worker in our Children's Ministry must pass a criminal background check. Children have designated classrooms with scheduled curriculum and activities. Read about Riverside Orchard Children's Ministry and feel free to ask for a tour.
We provide a Mothers Room overlooking the sanctuary. This room is reserved for mothers and their nursing infants. Access for mom's to this room is through the Children's Ministry.
We ask that all children ten or under attend classes in the Children's Ministry. To maintain an atmosphere of learning for the adults the sanctuary service will be reserved for everyone eleven years old and older. Eleven and twelve year olds have a Bible study class every other week to help them transition into an adult setting.
Ages One through Three
Our one through three year old class is an age appropriate mix of Bible based learning and play. Infants to children who are one years old are also welcome in this class.
Ages Four through Seven
By the age of four the children are ready to spend more time on the Bible lesson, so the lesson for our four to seven year olds is more extensive. Crafts and play are then used to reinforce the lesson.
Ages Eight through Ten
In our eight to ten year old class, we use less play and crafts without leaving out the fun! These years are to ready the children for services in the sanctuary. This class uses the same book by book, chapter by chapter, verse by verse format as is used for the adults, in a more interactive style.
Ages Eleven and Twelve
The goal of the Eleven to Twelves Ministry is to transition students out of the Children's Ministry culture and into the adult service culture. We are achieving this by having the eleven and twelve year olds attend the service with the adults one Sunday, and be in a classroom the next Sunday; thereby alternating Sunday's between service and classroom. The children are in adult praise and worship every Sunday service.
On the Sundays that the children are in the classroom, they are participating in a whole Bible overview. This study covers the theme verse of the particular book being studied, the main outline of the book, author, chronology, as well as application geared for their age group. At the end of two years, each student will have their own personal binder filled with 66 pages; one page for each book of the Bible containing the synopsis information noted above. Each class session is taught by a different adult teacher, both male and female, from the Body at Calvary Chapel Riverside.
On the Sundays that the children are in the sanctuary, they are able to meet and interact with the adults that have been teaching their class on the alternating Sundays. We believe that it is important that these students come to know the adults that they worship with, and we would like to see friendships and mentorships come out of this time together. Recognizing that these students are our young brothers and sisters in Christ our ultimate goal is to make disciples, helping them discover the calling that the LORD has placed on each of their lives.