Children’s Ministry
What if your favorite time of the week was Saturday night or Sunday morning? I’m not talking about an Ohio sporting event, but I am talking about our children’s program at Heritage. Children’s classes are offered at all of our weekend services and staffed by volunteers who truly care about the next generation. Starting at birth to fifth grade, our classes are designed to help your child take the next step in their journey with Jesus. But our connection does not end with the weekend experience because several opportunities are available for a parent or child to attend a study or community group to strengthen their walk with Jesus. Please contact us with any questions you have.
Ministries on the Weekend - Heritage Kids
Nursery- 0-24 months
Here at Heritage Christian Church we provide your baby and/or toddler with a safe and loving environment. Our church nursery is staffed with experienced adults who are properly trained to care for your child and show God’s love to your child through interactive play. The children’s wing entrance and exit is supervised and only accessible to entry by volunteers, staff, and parents and children who have an ID tag. We have an alpha-numerical parent call system in place should the need arise to contact you while in service.
Early Childhood- 2 years to Kindergarten
We introduce children to basic biblical concepts and teach them an accurate view of God here at Heritage Christian Church. Our classroom teachers are trained to use the First Look Curriculum and this curriculum uses an approach that repeats concepts so that young minds and hearts will grasp significant things about our great Creator.
We believe that young children can worship the Lord and it is our desire to help them to learn the following key concepts: God made me, God loves me and Jesus wants to be my friend forever. If you would like to learn more about First Look Curriculum and see a sample lesson we invite you to visit www.myfirstlook.com or contact our Early Childhood Director, Michelle Smith at michellesmith@heritagecc.org
The children’s wing entrance and exit is supervised and only accessible to entry by volunteers, staff, and parents and children who have an ID tag. We have an alpha-numerical parent call system in place should the need arise to contact you while in service.
Elementary Classes- First to Fifth grade
During the weekend services elementary children (Grades 1-5) participate in Kid’s Church. This is a time children learn about God through Bible teaching, music, dance and giving offerings. This is a place where the Bible is taught in fun, creative ways in a large-group setting. Each month introduces a character virtue and Bible verse to memorize. The virtue for September is “Respect…showing others they are important by what you say and do.” The memory verse for September is 1 Peter 2:17 “Show proper respect to everyone.” Once a month the children meet a real-life missionary in our “Missions Connection” time. It is our hope that Heritage Kids will view missions as something they want to be part of, either sending others or going themselves someday!
Following the large-group teaching, the children divide into grade-level small groups with their teachers. In small group, children participate in lesson-reinforcing activities such as games, crafts, prayer and discussions groups. Girls and boys have separate classes starting in fourth grade. Additionally, the third weekend of the month the 4th and 5th graders will have a specifically-designed class called “Apologia 101.” We want to help our young people learn about the Christian faith and how to defend it in a secular society. Read this month’s email letter from Matt Liston for more details.
It is our goal that your child experiences God’s love, makes new friends, learns biblical truth, and interacts with caring servants while they are at Heritage Christian Church. Questions about our curriculum? Please contact Elementary Director, Lori Liston, lliston@heritagecc.org. As a new feature of our curiculum, parents can follow up with their children and point them to the online experience, CUE Box is filled with activities to help parents and kids interact with each other as they continue to learn about this month’s virtue at home. To find out more or to order CUE Box, go to http://www.studio252.tv.
Horizons - Special Needs Ministry
For children that have medical or other needs that could not be fully met in the regular classes, Horizons is a great way to be a part of a loving, Christ-centered environment. Trained teachers staff this class during the 11 Sunday service. If you prefer, children can to be a part of their age appropriate class with the support and one-on-one attention of a trained adult. “Buddies” are available upon request.
For more information contact Wilma at wjustice@ameritech.net
Ministries During the Week
AWANA
Wednesdays, 6:30-8:00pm, September through May
Through exciting games, point recognition and peer interaction, children (ages 3 to sixth grade) learn the key components of the the Christian faith. AWANA is an internationally recognized ministry and is completely staffed by parents and volunteers who love to encourage the next generation to seek God through scripture memorization. For more information contact Spank Brown at earl_brown@sbcglobal.net
The Children’s Ministry Team
Children’s Ministry Director
Matt Liston, 898-9412 x 440
mliston@heritagecc.org
Early Childhood Director
Michelle Smith, 898-9412 x 435
michellesmith@heritagecc.org
Early Childhood Coordinator
Laurie Grega, 898-9412 x 431
lgrega@heritagecc.org
Elementary Director
Lori Liston, 898-9412 x 436
lliston@heritagecc.org
Elementary Coordinator
Mary Price, 898-9412 x 421
mprice@heritagecc.org
Kiosk Supervisor
Tirzah Hurd, 898-9412 x 103
thurd@heritagecc.org