Southlake Baptist Church: Southlake, TX

At Southlake Baptist there is a passion for children that extends past the desire to create a fun, exciting environment, though our children’s wing does that. From the moment a child is checked in, the staff is ready and eager to help each child learn more about God, His Word, and His Son Jesus Christ. And we have been able to do that in a number of ways in our new children’s wing.

To help get the wiggles out before your child jumps into their Bible lesson, we have created ‘Activity Stations’ throughout the hallway. Here relationships are developed as children engage with each other in play. Also during this time, the Toy Box (our kid’s store) is open for children to redeem the Reward Cards that they have earned through attendance, Bible reading, and other avenues. After a brief time at play, the focus shifts and the children are directed to their age-appropriate worship service.

Our worship services are structured to guide each child into a time of worship (awe, wonder, and thanksgiving) toward God. During the elementary years, we believe it is vital to instill in children the tools they will need in their teen and adult years to live out their faith as Jesus commanded us. We strive to accomplish this through the use of four key components: music, craft, Bible application, and small group reinforcement.

The beginning of our Kidz Worship is full of energy with songs that enable each child to sing out his or her praises to God. Our desire is to sing familiar songs plus teach new songs that can serve as encouragement and strength as the children live for God throughout the week. We want each child to build into his or her life the desire and passion to worship God for all that He has done and is doing in his/her life, so we put great emphasis and energy into this portion of our weekly service. As we transition into a time of Bible study and application of our monthly element, we encourage the children to open their Bibles to see how God’s Word applies to their lives.

Each month a different element is taught and each week a “big idea” on the element of the month is emphasized. For example, in the month of January the element we are teaching is Holiness and the five weekly “big ideas” are: 

1. Holiness is the heart of God, 
2. We worship God because He is holy, 
3. We should keep the Sabbath holy,
4. God wants us to be holy, and 
5. We can’t be holy without Jesus. 

By reviewing and emphasizing the element of the month and the ’big ideas" all month long, the children understand and see how the element of the month applies to them. And that is the goal of our church – for us as individuals to see how the truths in God’s Word apply to me as an individual.

At the end of the Bible lesson the children break into a time of small groups with others their own age. The small group leader takes one more opportunity to summarize the Bible lesson and craft a direct application into the life of each one in the small group. During this time a Bible verse is taught and the Reward Cards are handed out to each child for his or her hard work and faithfulness.
The very last thing the children do before going home is a craft or activity, depending on their age. The younger children do a craft in our Craft Shack while the older ones may do a group activity or contest that brings in one more flash of excitement before heading home with Dad and Mom.

As the children leave, parents are given a flyer that shows what each child learned during Kidz Worship. We encourage Dad and Mom to review the lesson with their children to reinforce at home the truths that were taught at church.