Nursery
Ages 0-2 ½
At COS we have nursery supervisors who warmly welcome the little ones to our safe, creative, and fun nursery space. In addition to our nursery staff, volunteers from our congregation are eager to share God’s love with children. A check-in system ensures children a safely checked in and out by their parent or caregiver. Nursery is available during all worship services, the Church School hour, and Wednesday Night Programming.
Little Lambs
Ages 2 ½–5
Just before the Sunday morning sermon, children 2 ½ years old through 2nd grade are called to the front of the worship space to receive a blessing from the congregation before they are dismissed to hear God’s stories in their own worship space. After singing with all the classes in the Artery, our Little Lambs (ages 2 ½ through 5) head off to their classrooms to hear a Bible story that is reinforced through playdough, coloring pages, crafts or other age-appropriate activities. Parents are not required to walk with them to their classrooms but must pick them up at their classrooms following the worship services.
Children’s Worship
Kindergarten–2nd Grade
Just before the Sunday morning sermon, children 2 ½ years old through 2nd grade are called to the front of the worship space to receive a blessing from the congregation before they are dismissed to hear God’s stories in their own worship space. After singing with all the classes in the Artery, our Children’s Worship kids (grades K-2) head off to their classrooms to participate in an age-appropriate worship service. Just like our main worship service, CW kids experience the 4 main parts of worship: gathering, hearing God’s word, responding, and sending. And just like our main worship space, the stories and colors of their classroom reflect the different seasons of the church. Children at COS hear the stories of faith in a more intimate setting and respond to it in age-appropriate ways. Their experience in the Children’s Worship rooms teach them the rhythm of worship, which makes the transition to worshiping and participating in the life of our larger church family smooth and meaningful.
Children’s Worship Help Bags
Elementary-age children who stay in the worship space
For elementary-age children who stay in the main worship service, Worship Help Bags are provided near the entry doors to the worship space. These bags contain paper, pencil, crayons, and simple crafts to keep their hands quiet and busy, while they listen to the sermon. We encourage kids to save the worship bags for the sermon, when they are meant to sit and listen. During the rest of the service, we hope they’ll fully participate in singing and speaking the words of the liturgy along with their families and the whole congregation!
Preparation for Communion Class
Twice a year (fall and spring), our senior pastor and children’s ministry coordinator lead a class for children who wish to participate in the Lord’s Supper with their parent(s). The class explores both baptism and the Lord’s Supper, helping children to understand the significance of the sacraments and recognize their invitation to participate in communion. After the class children may choose to respond in faith to the question, “Do you love Jesus and want to follow him?” before standing with one’s family and receiving the bread and wine from them. This milestone of faith is seen as an intermediate step between a child’s baptism and the time they before the congregation to affirm their baptism through public profession of faith. Learn more about Children and Communion at COS.
Sunday School Classes
Pre-K – Adults
Church of the Servant provides many opportunities for children through adults to grow and strengthen their faith. From late September through May we offer Sunday school from 11:45am to 12:30pm for 4-year-olds through adults, with nursery available for children ages 3 and younger. Classes are led by caring, knowledgeable, and thought-provoking Christian volunteers who are members of our church or guest presenters. Our content is steeped in the Reformed tradition and progresses from teaching the stories of the Bible (pre-k – 5th grade) to Heidelberg Catechism & foundational theology (6th-8th grade) to Bible overview, Christian world view & apologetics in (9th-12th grade) to sermon-related discussions and thoughtful reflections on living as Christians in the world (adults). Classes are held throughout the church. Follow the signage or stop at the Welcome Table for a map of exact classroom locations.
Wednesday Night Programming
Next Generation & Wednesday Night Hype (2nd-6th Grade)
We offer two clubs for this age group, each focused on building faith-nurturing relationships with peers and adults who care. Both include a time for devotions, games or team building, and an activity, craft, or project. The clubs differ in energy level. Wednesday Night Hype is high energy–with projects and activities that wrap up in 1-2 weeks and games that work up a sweat! Next Generation is chill—with projects that span several weeks, and games or activities aimed at building connections.
Children who are new to Wednesday night programming are welcome to give each club a try before choosing the one that connects. Helping kids experience a sense of belonging is a big part of our Wednesday night ministries, so we ask kids to choose the program they’ll stick with for the season so they can get to know the other kids and leaders and deepen friendships over the whole year of programming. Please reach out to our children’s ministry coordinator, Jolanda Howe, if you have any questions or would like to learn more about the programs.
Fall, Winter, and Summer Wednesday Night Schedule:
Wednesday night programming is available in the Fall (for 8-9 weeks), Winter/Early Spring (for 7-8 weeks), and Summer (for 5 weeks), with breaks in between. Programming begins at COS 6:30pm and ends at 8:00pm. We’ve just begun our 2024 summer schedule with meetings on June 19 & 26, and July 10, 17, & 24.
Wednesday Night Meals:
During the school year all are invited to gather for a delicious homemade meal from 5:30pm-6:30pm. Programming for 2nd-12th graders is available from 6:30pm-8:00pm, and nursery is available for children younger than 2nd grade.
During the Summer (June & July) our meals are shorter and simpler—either hot dogs or pizza served from 6:00pm-6:30pm. Nursery care is not provided in the summer. Parents which children too young for Wednesday night programming may drop off their older children and pick them up again at 8pm or are welcome to stay to play in the nursery, library, café, or back patio until programming is over. But please note there may be times when club ministries are using the café or outdoor spaces for programming.
Summer
We continue to offer Little Lambs and Children’s Worship programming during our worship services for children 3 years old through graduated 1st graders throughout the summer months. We also offer a more limited schedule of Wednesday night programming during the summer months.