My name is Pastor Brien Dunphy, the Family Pastor here at Calvary Old Bridge. As a father of nine children myself, Children’s Ministry has been an integral part of my family’s life ever since my wife and I began attending here in 1998, and began serving in Children’s in 1999.

Coming into a church this large can be overwhelming; coming in with your children can be intimidating. You likely have questions about safety, training, teachers, and bible lessons. My hope is to answer all those questions for you right now.

Safety is the most critical and focused upon aspect of our Children’s Ministry. Our ministry begins in the Nursery (infant to 2 year olds) and spans through “Children’s Church” (3 year olds through 5th grade).

Background Checks & Interviews

Every servant in the Children’s Ministry undergoes a thorough background check. Each servant also must go through a face-to-face interview with a Pastor or Elder. Our goal in these measures is to ensure there is nothing in a servant’s past which would disqualify them from serving with children as well as discover if they have the proper gifting to serve your little ones with the grace and gentleness God would desire.

Registration/Sign-in – Single Point of Entry

We also care for your children’s physical safety through a streamlined “single point of entry” electronic registration and sign-in procedure. This allows for two additional safety measures. First, “single point of entry” into the Children’s Ministry gives our leaders the opportunity to see each and every child and adult entering the area which helps us be alert to any potentially suspicious or dangerous behavior. Second, our Children’s Ministry is consistently patrolled by plain clothes police officers in order to respond in the event of a crisis or emergency.

Health

We also look out for your children’s safety with regards to protecting their health. Sick children are politely turned away from signing in to prevent the spread of illness. We also require that all children wash their hands with the provided antibacterial wipes at every classroom to further protect from illness.

Upon signing into their class, children will either begin a craft or coloring sheet which is relevant to the main lesson they will be taught that day. Soon after their beginning activity, children are all brought together to worship the Lord in song. The worship is always right at the Children’s level and allows them to both learn about Jesus and enjoy praising God. After worship, the children have their bible lesson time.

Ages 3-5: God made me, God loves me, Jesus is my friend

For kids ages 3-5, their lesson comes from the “Orange” curriculum from the ReThink Group. The lessons take the little ones through the major points of the Bible making special emphasis of laying a three point foundation: 1) God made me 2) God loves me 3) Jesus wants to be my friend forever. Ultimately, the purpose of laying this foundation is to prepare the children for their next set of lessons upon graduating to 1st grade.

1st-4th Grade: Scripture Knowledge – Genesis-Revelation

The children in 1st-4th grade use a through the Bible curriculum with Answers in Genesis. This program takes the children from Genesis through Revelation giving them the scripture knowledge they need to hide in their heart, while also providing apologetics so they can defend their faith as well.

5th-8th Grade: Theology - Salvation, Sin, Redemption, etc.

Once the children graduate to 5th grade, they spend the year learning systematic theology. Each week they cover a different, practical theological topic taught at their level. The children learn about salvation, sin, redemption, the power of the Holy Spirit, and more. We find this 5th grade year provides the perfect capstone to the previous learning they have acquired from 3 years old through 4th grade.

Ultimately, we recognize your children belong to you and to the Lord. They are merely “on loan” to us during the service time. While we focus on make the most of the 90 minute service we get with your children, we also look to equip parents in their role of spiritual development with their kids. To do that, the children leave their classes with small descriptions of the lesson they covered as well as discussion questions and memory verse for mom and dad to go over with them.

It truly is our joy to bless your little ones. As such, we work hard to provide a place that is safe, clean, and enjoyable for children to spend their church time.

If you have any questions about this, or any other aspect of Children’s ministry, please do not hesitate to reach out to me, Pastor Brien, at brien@ccob.org.

God bless you and we look forward to your children joining us!!!