Hi there! We’re so excited to meet your family and get to know your kids. If you have questions about Children’s Ministry, contact any of the staff listed below.

We want your first visit to our church to be fun and simple; it’s our hope that you will experience our warm community and that your kids will be free to encounter gospel grace during their visit.

Sunday Children’s Ministries

Children are encouraged to participate in the entire worship service alongside their parent/guardian; here are additional options for your family, based on your kids’ ages (view classroom map):

  • Nursery: Ages birth–24 months will be cared for in our nursery during all our services and the Discipleship Hour. Your littlest ones are placed in nursery rooms according to age groups. Children graduate up to the next room based on their age, and also on milestones such as crawling and talking.
  • Children’s Worship: K–3rd grade during the 8:45 or 11:15am services begins at the last song before the sermon and lasts to the end of service; scroll down to learn more. Side by Side childrens’ worship guides are available to help your child follow along during worship.
  • Discipleship Hour: K–6th grade classes are available at 10:15am; learn more. We follow the Fairfax County school system cut-off date of September 30. Children graduate up to the next class each year on the first Sunday after Labor Day.
  • Kids Communities: Grades 4–6 have the opportunity to fellowship and learn on select Sunday evenings through Club 45 and Communicants.

If you have teens, we encourage you to explore our Youth Ministries!

When You Get Here

where to go

On your first visit with us, please stop by our Family Welcome Desk, which is located in the Grand Foyer on the lower level of the church. A volunteer will be ready to check in your kids and help you find the classroom(s) you need. All classrooms are located on the lower floor of our church.

CLASSROOM MAP

 The Nursing Mother’s Room is located on the upper floor in the parlor, to the right of the sanctuary.

Safety

We seek to provide a safe, healthy, stimulating environment where your kids feel confident to learn and explore. All regular volunteers are screened and the church implements a Child Safeguarding Policy, which includes staffing each room with a minimum of two adults.

SAFEGUARDING POLICY

To ensure safety, we implement an electronic check-in system. For your first visit, please visit our Welcome Desk to check in your children.

Intergenerational Worship Services

Children of all ages are encouraged to participate in the worship service, whether that’s for the whole service, a couple of songs, or participating in Children’s Worship (for Kindergarten through 3rd grade).

WHAT IS CHILDREN’S WORSHIP?

Children’s Worship is an optional time designed for children aged Kindergarten–3rd grade that takes place in a separate room from the corporate worship service during the sermon through the closing benediction.

Children begin in the service with their parents; before the sermon, they’ll be invited to continue in worship in a service designed especially for them. In Children’s Worship, we will learn about the different elements of worship, sing songs, and have a pastor come and deliver a short sermon on the same passage as the main service.

GOALS OF CHILDREN’S WORSHIP

  • Give children the opportunity to both participate in the corporate worship service with their families and engage in a service designed especially for them.
  • Prepare children to fully participate in corporate worship by helping them understand the different elements of worship — what they are and why we do them.
  • Most importantly, we want to raise up a generation of true worshippers! We want to help our children grow in their relationship with the Lord and their desire to worship him.

WHAT ELSE SHOULD PARENTs/GUARDIANS KNOW?

  • If your child is already in the habit of sitting through the entire worship service, we encourage them to continue to do so.
  • Prior to heading into the Sunday worship service with their child, parents should check their K–3rd grader into Children’s Worship via our secure check-in system.
  • During our worship services, we sing a Song of Preparation before the sermon; at this time, children will be invited to join the Children’s Ministry leader who will take them to their Children’s Worship classroom. If a child does not already have a check-in nametag, their parent/guardian must walk out with their child and check him/her in at a nearby station.
  • After the service, parents will head to the Children’s Worship classroom (Room 12) to pick up their child(ren). Any children who are staying for the Discipleship Hour may remain; after Children’s Worship, leaders will walk all remaining children who have been checked into the Discipleship Hour to their class.

HAVE Additional Questions?

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Can my child aged 0–Pre-K remain in the nursery for a service and the Discipleship Hour?

  • Can my child aged 0–Pre-K remain in the nursery for a service and the Discipleship Hour?

  • Will leaders bring my child from Children's Worship to their Discipleship Hour class?

  • I'm facing a unique challenge; can you help support my child in worship?

Yes, nursery-aged children (ages birth–Pre-K) can remain in the nursery for both a worship service and the Discipleship Hour.

If a parent/guardian is participating in…

  • The 8:45am worship service and the 10:15am Discipleship Hour, they may check in their birth–Pre-K child to the nursery beginning at 8:30am and pick up after their 10:15am class has ended.
  • The 10:15am Discipleship Hour and the 11:15am worship service, they may check in their birth–Pre-K child to the nursery beginning at 10am and pick up after the 11:15am worship service has ended.

Yes! If a parent is participating in both the 8:45am worship service and the 10:15am Discipleship Hour, be sure to check in your child (ages K–3rd Grade) for both Children’s Worship and their 10:15am Discipleship Hour Class.

After Children’s Worship, leaders will check name tags to confirm the children who are staying for the 10:15am Discipleship Hour and will walk your child to their class. Parents are also welcome to pick up their child from Children’s Worship, reunite for a time, and then bring their K–3rd grader to their Discipleship Hour class.

We recognize that there are families with various circumstances, such as a family with a special needs child or a single parent facing the demands of parenting without a partner.

Please reach out to any of our Children’s Ministry staff to let us know how we as a church body can come alongside you to offer support as your family worships together.

Staff Contacts

Mary Palekas
Director of Children’s Ministry
[email protected]

0–Pre-K

Melanie Janetsky
Assistant Director of Children’s Ministry: Preschool & Nursery
[email protected]

K–3rd Grade

Holly Harnsberger
Assistant Director of Children’s Ministry: Preschool & Childcare
[email protected]

4th–6th grade

Emily Pirozzolo
Assistant Director of Children’s
Ministry: Upper Elementary
[email protected]

Children’s Ministry Newsletter

Our Children’s Ministry e-mail newsletter is sent once a month, with helpful updates, event registrations, and other ways your family can get connected to our church.

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