"And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men." - Luke 2:52

COME BE A PART!

LIGHTHOUSE

The purpose of Lighthouse is OUTREACH. Students can invite their friends to come to church but it doesn't really look or sound like church.  The Lighthouse program is a fast paced, fun filled hour of Bible study, virtue application, exciting competition, hilarious games and sharing with one another.

Students are placed on teams that will study a Bible passage together, spend time praying together and compete together. Teams meet together for 30 minutes in "Locker Rooms" to study the Bible passage of the week and review the monthly core virtue, memory verse and relevant lesson points from the previous Sunday morning Powerhouse program as well as some of the basics of the Bible and doctrine of our church.

The second half of the Lighthouse hour is spent in the gym with all the students together. Teams compete in relay style games and students also compete in an individual quiz event.

If you have any questions about our Elementary Ministry, feel free to contact Phil Miller, Minister of Family Life and Involvement.

OUR PURPOSE

To help introduce elementary students to Jesus Christ and come along side of them for the purpose of helping them to grow in wisdom, faith and friendships.

OUR VISION

To be a Bible-based core of believers that teach and model for children how to become fully devoted disciples.

OUR VALUES

• To be child-targeted in our approach.

• To be a safe place for children to learn and grow in Jesus.

• To value relevant, creative, Bible teaching that can partner with parents and is application oriented to reach today's student.

• To value intentional shepherding through small groups, where we can model an authentic relationship with Jesus Christ.

• To incite worship in the lives of kids.

• To be a fun place for all our students

OUR 3 CORE VIRTUES

Over the next three years we will study 150 passages of scripture and 36 core virtues to help develop and reinforce our 3 Biblical truths:

I. need to make the wise choice.

2. I need to trust God no matter what.

3. I need to treat others the way I want to be treated.

5 THINGS EVERY KID NEEDS

#1 A really big God they can TRUST no matter what happens.

That's why we throw a really big party every Sunday to celebrate who God is and what HE has done. Put first things first.  Nothing is more important than understanding how to have a relationship with God. When children learn who He is and what He has done they discover they can trust Him with anything and everything in their life.  As a parent, you know how unpredictable life can be.  We want to partner with you to help your child grow up and believe that nothing is too big for God to handle.

#2 Someone else who believes what they believe.

That's why every Sunday KIDS spend quality time with their friends talking about their faith. Think about it.  The friends your children spend time with will ultimately influence the decisions they make in life.  And every parent understands how important it is to help their children find the right friends. We have designed Powerhouse and Lighthouse as a place where children get to hang out in SMALL GROUP with other kids their age.  We have discovered it is the best place for kids to talk about God, and to build lasting friendships.

#3 Another VOICE that says the same things their parents say.

That's why small group LEADERS in Powerhouse and coaches in Lighthouse are serious about having fun with kids and passionate about teaching the TRUTH. Get Ready.  Sooner or later your child is going to start listening to voices other than yours.  Every child needs a safe place to ask questions and talk about how they feel. If you are a smart parent, you know how important it is to make sure there are other adults in your kid's lives who say the same thing you say. The reason we encourage you to bring your children to Powerhouse and Lighthouse EACH WEEK is because we want to establish a leader in every kid's life who personally connects with them.

#4 PARENTS who make it their business to know where their kids are SPIRITUALLY.

That's why we provide parents with as many tools as possible to develop a spiritual dialogue with their own kids. Do the math.  The average child will spend over 1000 hours every year in school and they will spend about 50 hours in church.  The average parent has over 10 TIMES more opportunities to discuss spiritual issues in one year than a church leader does in 10 years.  The church has limited potential to impact the heart of your child. WHAT HAPPENS AT HOME in many ways is more important that what happens at church. The reason why we provide GOD TIME devotional cards, refrigerator pages, Lighthouse take home papers and encourage families to purchase VIRTUE PACKS are because we  want you as a parent to be the main spiritual leader in your family.  We want what we talk about each Sunday and Wednesday to be a tool for you to lead your child across the finish line of faith.

#5 Uncommon sense to help them make wiser choices.

That's why we make sure the Bible is NEVER boring and kids walk away with ONE truth to remember each week. Always remember. Your children need a "big picture" perspective in life.  They need to learn to see their world from God's point of view. As they mature into teenagers they will need to understand how to handle difficult issues and make smart choices.  Their decisions will become progressively more complicated and countless influences will compete against their potential to become who God created them to be. We want to teach every child how to navigate through life by the light of God's truth.

We don't have time to teach everything,  and we know we shouldn't just teach anything. We want every kid to grow up the same way Jesus did "in wisdom and stature, and favor with God and man." We want you to help us help your kids grow in Wisdom, Faith and Friendships.

If you have any questions about our Elementary Ministry, feel free to contact Phil Miller, Minister of Family Life and Involvement.