Village Kids
Creating kid disciples who go, grow, and overcome.
Nursery – 4th Grade
We desire for each child to know, to love, and to encounter the power of Jesus through worship and God’s Word. Children will experience engaging and creative Bible teaching, dig deep into God’s truths, and apply His word to their hearts in a fun, loving, and safe environment.
Considering Visiting Village Kids?
Expedite your check-in process by creating your profile at home. Check in with a host on your first Sunday and be sure to get your Visitors’ Gift!
Village Kids 2023/2024 Theme: Cultivate
Cultivate: To prepare, to protect, and to encourage the growth of. To cause to grow by special attention.
As we launch into the ’23-’24 ministry year in student ministries, our prayer is that we will be faithful to cultivate the growth of the gospel in and around the lives of our students. As cultivators of our next generation, we are praying we will have eyes that see, ears that hear, and hearts that understand to raise our Village students to be those “who hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.”
Donut Drop-Ins
Sundays | 10:30 – 10:55 a.m. | The Gym
For each of the remaining weeks in September, we will offer Donut Drop-In events to help families connect with other families with kids around the same age. We’ll provide the donuts, you bring the family! Check out the dates for the various age groups:
- September 10: Birth – 4 years
- September 17: 3 year – 2nd Grade
- September 24: 1st Grade – 4th Grade
Village Kids: Child Dedication Class
October 1 | 9:15 – 10:00 a.m. | Village Church of Barlett
If you have a young child you’d like to dedicate to during a Sunday gathering, this class is for you. Come learn about the significance and purpose of dedication as well as what it means for your family in the greater context of Village Church. Sign up today!
Making Young Disciples
October 2 | 6:15 – 7:45 p.m. | Village Church of Barlett
During VBS, we learned about being Kingdom Keepers against the lies of evil. The lies even come after us as parents! Join us as Breanne Fuelling provides insight and tips to address the top cultural lies of parenting and the truths that set us free. Additional nursery childcare will be provided for a fee of $5.00/household. This age includes infants &- toddlers 3 and under. Individuals who check a child into the nursery must remain in the building.
AWANA
Mondays Beginning September 11, 2023 | 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. | Village Church of Bartlett
AWANA meets Monday nights during the school year to engage in large-group teaching, small-group discipleship, and game time. At Village Church, AWANA engages Cubbies (Ages 3-4), Sparks (Grades K-2), and T&T (Grades 3-6). Find descriptions for each age group below:
Cubbies (Ages 3-4): Cubbies introduces kids to Bible memorization in a fun and nurturing environment, including games, puppet shows, crafts, and snacks. Students have lots of fun hiding God’s word in their hearts!
Sparks (Grades K-2): Sparks builds on the foundation that Cubbies laid, while deepening their understanding of the Bible. There are games, small group and large group times, and lots of meaningful connection!
Family Baptism Class
September 24 | 9:15 – 10:15 a.m. | Village Church of Bartlett
We regularly teach classes for students interested in being baptized. This class helps parents of 1st- 6th graders walk through the baptism tenants and process with their children.
SHINE Special Needs Form
Help us SHINE the light of Jesus into your child’s heart to see how He has created them. Complete this form if your Village kid has special needs you’d like us to know about. In sharing this information, you equip us with the details we need to love and serve your child well.
Church Center + Village Kids
Streamline check-in with Church Center. With this mobile app, you can pre-check your student into Village Kids before arriving at Village Church. Be sure to log in and update your information before the next check-in opportunity.
Go & Grow Kits
Our vision is to equip you to build disciples who go, grow, and overcome, and who love and follow Jesus with their whole hearts. We are excited to offer Go & Grow kits for you to work through with your kiddos at home! Each kit will contain a GO opportunity prepared for your students, helping them go into the world & share their faith, as well as a GROW opportunity for at-home discipleship. Kits are available at the Village Kids check in area.
Taking a Next Step with Village Kids
Accepting Jesus
Now that your child has made the choice to follow Jesus, there are three parts to the mission of Village Church that we would like you to help them think about: Go, Grow, and Overcome!
MISSION 1: GO
As a follower of Jesus, your child is now part of the Great Commission! Village Kids will equip you and your kids with frequent opportunities to bring the gospel into your neighborhood, your family, your community, and around the world. Our Go & Grow Kits are a great way to GO on a regular basis. Additionally, be on the lookout for bi-annual family service days through our Bartlett Community Care Collective (BC3) ministry, plus other service opportunities throughout the year!
MISSION 2: GROW
At Village Kids, we encourage your child to GROW as a disciple of jesus in four ways – engaging in church, getting baptized, taking communion, and practicing personal Bible study and prayer. You can read more about how you can use each of these to help your child GROW below!
MISSION 3: OVERCOME
Village Kids are overcomers.
We believe the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord equips us to overcome everything that hinders us from being more like Jesus. Village Kids offers a variety of rental resources to equip parents to effectively disciple their children in areas that are essential for having a biblical worldview and experiential foundation. Additionally, Village Church supports counseling for our Village Kids who may need extra therapeutic guidance. For a list of our available resources, email us at villagekids@vcob.org.
Getting Baptized
Believer’s baptism by immersion is one of the two ordinances practiced at Village Church.
There are two main reasons to be baptized: obedience to Jesus’ command (Matthew 28:18-20) and public acknowledgement of faith in Christ.
We believe baptism is less about a person’s age, and more about his or her understanding of, proclamation of, and personal belief in the gospel. We also believe baptism should be approached with special care.
Village Kids offers a family baptism class to help parents of 1st-6th graders walk through the baptism tenet and process with their children (Kindergarteners may be permitted but must receive permission). The intent of this class is to equip parents to better discern their child’s belief in and understanding of the gospel in order to determine their readiness for baptism. It is a great way for you and your child to learn what the Bible says about making this public profession of faith, and why we believe what we do.
Go to the Hub to see when our next Family Baptism Class is taking place, and fill out the form to be alerted with information about our next class!
Taking Communion
The second ordinance Village Church practices is communion.
Village Kids offers a next step resource: Communion: A Bible Study Workbook for Kids. Our only requirement for kids to take communion is their professed belief in Jesus Christ as their Lord, along with their parents’ permission.
Communion partakers should be able to clearly articulate the gospel and their belief in it. We believe that a young child may not fully comprehend the depths of the gospel, yet they are still capable of participating in the benefits of the gospel. At Village Church we do not see this as a supernatural event, but yet a still significant spiritual event. Jesus established communion in remembrance of what He did for us. Communion is also an opportunity for personal reflection, repentance, and to cherish the forgiveness of Christ.
Communion is offered nearly every Sunday during our church services, and each year at our Good Friday services. We do not practice communion on Sundays in Village Kids.
To get your copy of Communion: A Bible Study Workbook for Kids, please submit an interest form. Copies are available for Village Kids to pick up at the church.
For additional resources about communion, check out either this short video, or this Village Church Q&A Podcast episode.
Practicing Personal Bible Study and Prayer
We believe the word of God comes alive in every believer’s heart and God uses it to teach, train, and equip us for life and godliness. We encourage all of our kids to engage in daily personal bible study and prayer.
Village Kids Go & Grow Kits offer regular opportunities to cultivate the disciplines of personal Bible study and prayer. Check above on this page for our next resource you can join in!
Engaging in Church
There are multiple ways for you and your child to engage with Village Kids!
Sunday Services
At Village Kids on Sunday mornings, we enjoy a time of teaching, activities, worship, and discussion in small groups. Our small group leaders are asked to serve with your kids for a minimum of 8 weeks in a row, so they can have a chance to really get to know their kids, and vice versa! Sunday services are available for ages 0- 4th grade, with an additional separate program for our 5th and 6th grade siblings and friends called “The 5-6.”
AWANA
Village Church has offered AWANA for over 30 years as part of our discipleship to kids. AWANA is a worldwide nonprofit ministry focused on providing Bible-based evangelism and discipleship solutions for ages 2-18. The program focuses on scripture memorization, Bible knowledge, evangelism, and building personal rhythms of Bible study. This weeknight program provides your kids with countless opportunities to hide God’s Word in their hearts, build connections with their leaders, and have fun with other kids!
VBS
Once per summer, Village Church transforms into a wild place full of adventure, generosity, and hands-on Bible experiences. VBS brings God’s word to other kids in our community, as well as our own Village Kids, helping them flourish while they’re immersed in what feels like a different world!
Village Kids Media
