Children's Ministry at FBC Fenton — What Your Kids Will Experience Every Sunday

# Children's Ministry at FBC Fenton — What Your Kids Will Experience Every Sunday

If you have children and are visiting a church for the first time, one of your most important questions is: *what will actually happen to my kids while I'm here?*

It is a completely reasonable thing to want to know. The children's ministry of a church is not a side feature — it is one of the most significant investments a church makes, and it has lasting consequences in the lives of the families it serves.

At First Baptist Church of Fenton, children's ministry is something we take seriously — not just as a service to parents, but because we genuinely believe that children are full members of God's family and that the faith formed in childhood is often the faith that endures for a lifetime.

Here is everything you need to know.

## Our Philosophy of Children's Ministry

Everything we do in children's ministry at FBC Fenton flows from a single conviction: *the home leads, the church supports.*

Deuteronomy 6:4–9, known as the Shema, gives the foundational model for passing faith to the next generation: parents are the primary disciplers of their children. Faith is not primarily something children acquire at church on Sunday morning — it is something they absorb in the daily rhythms of home life, as their parents talk about God "when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise."

This means our children's ministry is designed to do two things: engage kids directly in age-appropriate teaching and community, and equip parents to continue the conversation at home throughout the week.

We are not trying to replace the family. We are trying to serve it.

## What Sunday Mornings Look Like

When you arrive at FBC Fenton with your children, here is what to expect:

**Check-In.** We have a simple, secure check-in process for all children in our ministry. Children receive a name tag, and parents receive a corresponding tag. This keeps our environment safe and gives parents peace of mind throughout the service.

**Nursery (Birth through Age 2).** Our nursery is staffed by trained, background-checked volunteers and provides a safe, clean, nurturing environment for our youngest children. We want parents to be fully present in worship knowing their infants and toddlers are being cared for well.

**Preschool (Ages 3–5).** Our preschool program uses age-appropriate curriculum to introduce young children to the foundational stories and truths of Scripture — who God is, who Jesus is, and that they are loved. Learning happens through storytelling, songs, crafts, and play in a joyful, safe environment.

**Elementary (Grades K–5).** Children in kindergarten through 5th grade receive structured Bible teaching that covers the arc of Scripture — Old Testament and New Testament — with clear connections to the gospel. We use curriculum that takes both the Bible and children seriously, asking real questions and pointing kids to real answers.

All children begin the service with their families in the main worship space, then are dismissed before the sermon for their age-appropriate programming. This means your children experience worship alongside you — singing, seeing what gathered prayer looks like, and understanding that Sunday is something the whole family does together.

## What We Teach

At FBC Fenton, children's ministry is built on the same convictions that shape our adult teaching: the Bible is true, the gospel is the center, and every story in Scripture points toward Jesus.

We want children to leave our ministry with:

**A knowledge of the Bible's big story.** Creation, fall, redemption, restoration — the overarching narrative of Scripture that gives every individual story its meaning.

**A personal grasp of the gospel.** What did Jesus do, why did He do it, and what does it mean for me? We want every child who comes through our ministry to be able to answer this in their own words.

**A love for the church.** Children who grow up feeling that church is something meaningful — not just something their parents make them do — are far more likely to remain in faith as adults.

**A foundation for asking hard questions.** We do not shy away from questions in children's ministry. We want kids to know that doubt and curiosity are welcome, and that the Christian faith can bear their honest engagement.

## Awana — Wednesday Nights

In addition to Sunday mornings, FBC Fenton runs Awana on Wednesday nights at 6:30 PM.

Awana is one of the most effective children's discipleship programs in existence — designed around Scripture memory, discipleship community, and just the right amount of organized chaos that makes kids actually look forward to Wednesday night.

Children in our Awana program memorize Scripture at ages when the brain is uniquely capable of retaining it — and that hidden Word has a way of surfacing exactly when it is needed most, decades later. We have seen it happen again and again.

## Safety and Volunteer Standards

Every adult who serves in children's ministry at FBC Fenton has completed a background check and received training in our child protection policies. We take the safety of every child in our care with complete seriousness.

We follow clear procedures for check-in and check-out, maintain appropriate adult-to-child ratios at all times, and operate within a culture of accountability that protects both children and volunteers.

## Family Discipleship Resources

Every Sunday, families receive take-home materials that connect the week's children's curriculum to family conversation. We believe the most powerful moments of faith formation happen not in a classroom but at a dinner table or on a car ride home when a parent and child process what they are learning together.

We also offer periodic parent workshops and resources on topics like how to talk to your kids about God, navigating faith conversations with teenagers, and using tools like family devotionals and prayer rhythms at home.

## For Families Visiting for the First Time

If you are bringing your kids to FBC Fenton for the first time, please arrive a few minutes early so we can walk you through the check-in process and make sure your children feel comfortable and welcomed before the service begins.

Our children's ministry team loves what they do and genuinely looks forward to meeting your family. We want Sunday morning to feel like something your kids are glad they came to.

We gather at 860 N. Leroy St., Fenton, MI 48430. Service begins at 10:30 AM every Sunday.

If you have questions before your visit, feel free to call us at (810) 629-9427 or email pastorjbell206@gmail.com. We would love to connect with you.

*"Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it."* — Proverbs 22:6