CHILDREN’S MINISTRY
Vacation Bible School 2012--see below
Mark 10:14 tells us that Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”
We Love God’s Kids!!! At Spirit of Joy, we recognize that children are not 
only our future, but they are our PRESENT! Our Children’s Ministry focuses on teaching God’s Love to our children in many fun ways. They might not even know that they are learning – they just think they are having fun with friends. We believe that the best way to teach TO children is by having fun WITH them!
Our children are amazing gifts from God and watching their faith is such an incredible blessing to all! Please contact our Director of Children’s Ministry at jean@dreamwithus.com if you have any questions about this ministry.
"Raise up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old, he will not depart from it."--Proverbs 22:6
Sunday School - Our Sunday School (SS) time is full of fun-filled activities that teach about God’s Love.
May 6 and 13 Sunday School:
[SS Music & Opening at 9:00 am in Fellowship Hall
followed by SS Classes at 9:30am.]
During the fall, our students are all learning each week an important bible lesson from the Old Testament. In the spring, we continue the fun with learning important lessons from the New Testament. Our chosen curriculum provides age-appropriate resources to make Bible lessons memorable for each age level. We also offer an adult version of these important lessons.
Our Sunday School families (and the congregation) are invited each Sunday to join us for our SS Opening where we sing songs, introduce the week’s SS lesson, have announcements and often a drama or puppet show. We make sure our opening dismisses in time for the parents to attend worship OR join their own Sunday School class. We offer 5 different classes based on age (ages 3, 4 & 5 years old; 1st & 2nd grades; 3rd & 4th grades; 5th & 6th grades and an adult class). Each class has volunteer co-teachers sharing the teaching responsibilities on a rotational basis. We require two adults in each child’s classroom for safety.
June & July Sunday School - Over the summer months, we offer an abbreviated Sunday School program for the children to attend during our 9:30 Contemporary Worship Service. For the last couple years, our fun theme has been Sunday Zoo Camp. During Sunday Zoo Camp, volunteers relate zoo animals to bible lessons with fun facts, stories, crafts and/or games.
What: VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL-- Please join us this summer
as we enjoy another Holy Land Adventure and step back in time to Babylon. Kids (& volunteers) will get to meet Daniel and learn about his breathtaking experiences. As they watch Daniel’s courage and faith in action, they’ll explore how they too can faithfully follow God today – no matter what (just as he & his friends did). Our children will visit with Daniel, explore memorable marketplace shops, take part in fun games, sing & dance to catchy songs, and sample tasty tidbits as they discover more about Daniel’s adventures in Babylon.
Where: Spirit of Joy Lutheran Church, 1159 North Greenfield Rd., Gilbert, AZ 85234
When: Monday, June 25-Friday, June 29, (8:45am-Noon)
(& Potluck Brunch/ Wrap Party: Sunday, July 1st 10:45)
Why: To share God’s Love with our children.
How: Register Online:
https://www.groupvbspro.com/vbs/hl/sojvbs
For more information or questions please contact Jean at jean@dreamwithus.com
Kids in Worship – We love to see our children in worship; so during the contemporary worship service, we bring them up front for the sending song so they 
can join the praise team in making music for God using simple musical instruments.
When we have 3 worship services each November through April, we are hoping that you will worship together as a family during either the 1st or 3rd service and enjoy Sunday School (for kids and adults) during the 2nd service. When we only offer 2 worship services (May-October), we’ll make sure to bring the kids back into worship in time to rejoin their parents near the end of the contemporary worship service. This will allow our kids to participate in communion, the blessing, and of course play instruments with the praise team during the sending song.
Our Children’s Ministry is almost always working on either a fun song or program to share God’s love with the congregation through our children. Almost every month we get our kids to sing fun songs for the congregation that they have learned during Sunday School or in one of the Wednesday Night Children’s Choirs.
Our congregation has also been blessed by wonderful Christmas and Easter 
performances from our kids. It’s always hard to tell who loves the “performances” the most— the kids performing them or the congregation watching them.
Vacation Bible School – Each of the past 
four years we have been blessed with a week of awesome learning and fun with 50 to 60 incredible children from both our SOJ family and our community, as well as over 30 volunteers. Children and volunteers alike have reported being moved by the Vacation Bible School experience. We are so excited to see how this ministry will continue to grow.
Faith & Family Night - This is a great opportunity for the entire family on Wednesday nights. It is an intergenerational program that starts with a meal at 5:30pm for everyone to eat in fellowship together, a brief devotional at 6:15pm, and then everyone goes to their respective classrooms for Christian education at 6:30pm. Programming is provided for students ages 3 through adult. A nursery is also provided for our littler ones. Our children will enjoy fun lessons, games &/or crafts led by volunteers!
During our Wednesday Faith & Family Nights, we will be splitting the children into two age-based groups:
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Children age 3 through 1st grade, and
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Children in 2nd grade through 6th grade.
The older group will start with Rock Solid Followers (Bible Lessons from Paul) from 6:30 – 7pm while the younger group will be in choir having fun with music. Then the younger kids switch to Rock Solid Followers from 7-7:45pm while the older kids go to music/choir time. [Please note: The adult programming ends at 7:30 so there is some adult free/socialization time before the kids have to be signed-out of their classrooms at 7:45.]
Parent/Kid's Night Out – Almost every third Friday of the month (from 5:30pm to 9pm), Spirit of Joy invites member families and friends to have a night out. We are providing free child care for children age 3 (potty trained) to 6th grade.
In a world where families are pulled in so many different directions, we want to offer some alone time for our parents. This also provides a night out for the children where they can come to our church facility and participate in games, crafts, 
movies, and other wonderful opportunities for creative play. In fact, the kids always have so much fun, we can’t decide if it’s more for the parents or the kids.
