Christian virtues, such as humility, are more ‘caught’ than ‘taught’. When
children watch their parents or caretakers raise their hands and voices in
worship to the Lord, they ‘catch’ an important truth – one that the Psalmist
declared:
“It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
to sing praises to your name, O Most High;
to declare your steadfast love in the morning,
and your faithfulness by night,
to the music of the lute and the harp,
to the melody of the lyre.
For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work;
at the works of your hands I sing for joy.
How great are your works, O Lord!
Your thoughts are very deep!”
Psalm 92:1-5
God’s promise is wonderful and profound: “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you” (James 4:10).
When families worship as one, they share the blessing of bowing their hearts together to the only One who is worthy of our praise (Psalm 145:3, 1 Chronicles 16:25, Revelation 5:12).
For this reason, families remain together during the praise and worship portion of the Sunday service at Harvest. After worship, children are dismissed to participate in the Children’s Church or in the Nursery.
Children’s Sunday School
Harvest Community Church is committed to bringing the gospel to all who pass through its doors. We have a wonderful team of volunteers who are dedicated to sharing the love of Jesus the children whom they teach.
Harvest has a Children’s Sunday School with three classes that are basically divided by age, although ability is also considered:
Nursery: children 1-4 years old,
Elementary level: children 5-10 years old, and
Upper level: children 11-15.
Children’s Sunday School takes place in the Church’s upstairs classrooms while service is going on in the Sanctuary. In the classes, the children learn the truth of God’s Word through video presentations, discussions, Bible verse memorization, crafts and games, and – most importantly – the Bible itself.
Harvest uses Crossway’s The Biggest Story curriculum (https://www.thebiggeststory.com/) which provides interactive and engaging lessons for students and rich resources for teachers to use in the classroom. The Biggest Story leads students through all of the major stories of the Bible in a two-year span.
Harvest’s volunteer teachers include creatively-gifted homeschooling parents, professional educators, and former students! All volunteers are carefully vetted with background checks which are periodically updated.
Regular staff meetings allow the teachers to encourage one another and to discuss best practices. Registration is required.
Nursery
When children reach an age when they are able to be away from their mothers (usually around 12 months), they are welcomed into our nursery. The nursery is located on the second floor next to the Children’s Church classrooms.
The nursery has a large observation window and can be easily viewed from the hallway. After the worship time each Sunday morning, children are dismissed to Sunday School and parents are welcome to bring their children into the nursery.
Our nursery volunteers greet and minister to preschool children with Bible stories and playtime activities that will help them grow accustomed to being a part of youth ministry.
We ask that once the Sunday service has concluded, parents return to the nursery to reclaim their children as soon as possible.
As with our Children’s Sunday School, all volunteers are carefully vetted, including background checks which are periodically updated.
Mother’s Room
For moms with children still too young for the nursery, a Mother’s Room is available with immediate access to the sanctuary. Moms can watch the service from the Mother’s Room while their little ones make all the noises little ones make!
The Mother’s room located in the right rear section of the chapel. The entrance is conveniently located off the main lobby just across from the woman’s restroom where a diaper changing station is available.
A large, one-way glass window affords moms a direct view of the stage and the on-stage video monitors so moms can enjoy the sermon without worrying about her child fussing.
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to Brenda Regel (briegel562@outlook.com) or Pastor Gene Giguere (dontoro@comcast.net).