Children’s Ministry

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“All the days planned for me were written in your book before I was born.” Psalms 139:16

Welcome to the Children’s Ministry page! At Oak Dale Church, it is our desire to create and maintain a fun, respectful, nurturing and safe environment as we come alongside and support parents in the task of raising and teaching the next generation in the ways of God. Our goal is for children to learn about God's love, grace and forgiveness for them, in hopes that they will desire a personal relationship with Him. This is accomplished on Sunday mornings and with a variety of other activities occurring during the week or throughout the year.

 

SUNDAY MORNING

On Sunday mornings, during both the 9:00am and 11:00am gatherings, we always welcome children to be in the auditorium as families worship and listen to God’s Word together.  Other options include the nursery, childcare and Growing Oaks classes.

Nursery: There is an unstaffed nursery available for parents' use during gatherings.  It is located to the left as you enter the front doors; situated just outside the nursery door are two rocking chairs. Within the nursery another rocking chair, a changing table, and 4 sleeping areas are available.

Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Matthew 19:14

Childcare: When you enter the church building, please look to your left and proceed to the children’s check-in area in the rear section. A children’s ministry volunteer will greet you and assist you with signing in your child. Children, infants up to age 4, are required to be checked in and out of our childcare/children’s ministry area by a responsible adult. Check in begins at 10:50am for those respective services. In the Child-Care room the children will be supervised while they play, color, sing Bible songs, and be shown and told how much Jesus loves them!

 “They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor” Isaiah 61:3

Growing Oaks (GO) Ministry: Children ages 2-10 years old are using The Gospel Project curriculum.  (www.gospelproject.com) The Gospel Project is a chronological study through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation with a Christ connection in every lesson. Your child will discover how God’s plan of redemption unfolds throughout Scripture and still today, compelling them to join the mission of God.  Learning the major stories in the Bible along with essential doctrines of the Christian faith is accomplished using storytelling, hands-on activities, games, and videos. Our prayer is that God’s word would move in each heart and lead them to heart-felt worship and repentance.

Classes offered are:

  • Ages 2-4 (located within the Childcare Area, your child will need to be checked in/out by a children’s ministry worker).
  • Ages 5-10 (Located in the multi-purpose room in the back of the fellowship hall; your 5-8 year old child does need to be checked-in/out of this area.)

An important part of the Sunday morning Growing Oaks class time is a 20-minute assembly for ages 5-10. The children are encouraged to share both praise reports and prayer needs and as we worship and pray with them, we aim to teach the wonders of God in spirit and truth.

As teachers and children’s ministry volunteers, as we interact with the children, we want to live and show the following: love for each other and for God, respect for adults (John 15:12), for others (Matthew 7:12) and for self (Galatians 5:22-23) as well as a respect for the House of the Lord (1 Corinthians 10:26). In doing so, we want to be a living example of the transformation that occurs as we worship God, and how we can learn to serve each other.

Security and Safety at Oak Dale

Your child’s security and safety are important to us, so we ask that every child ages infant through age 8 be checked-in and checked-out at the check-in desk by a responsible adult or someone the parent has designated. A childcare ministry volunteer will be there to assist you. Check-in and out times should be up to 10 minutes prior to the service and up to 10 minutes after the service has ended.

All children ministry worker’s (age 18 and older) are required by Oak Dale to complete child abuse clearances from the Pennsylvania State Police, Pennsylvania Dept. of Human Services, and a Federal Criminal History report from the FBI which includes submission of fingerprints to the PA State Police.

EVENTS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR

Child Dedication

Oak Dale invites parents to participate in a ceremony dedicating their children back to God. The child dedication ceremonies are held each spring and fall as part of our Sunday morning worship gatherings. Please contact the church office if you wish to dedicate your infant or child to the Lord.

What about infant baptism?

While some Christian faith traditions baptize infants as a sign and seal of the covenant of grace, Oak Dale reserves baptism for believers who choose to publicly mark their commitment to Christ and His church.

Kids Club for all kids ages 5-Grade 5. Join us for food, fun, and fellowship with different activities scheduled once a month, led by Kristen Fischetti & Annette Umbarger.

Vacation Bible School: Joining with other community churches, SalisburyVBS.com is held for one fun-filled, action-packed week in the summer where kids ages 3-12 engage in crafts, games, and songs as they learn Bible stories.

The Pumpkin Patch: Held each October, on the same evening as Salisbury Trick-or-Treat at the Salisbury Elk-Lick High School gymnasium, and hosted by the Oak Dale Junior and Senior Youth Groups, this is a fun evening with a carnival-like feel to it with games, face-painting, candy and refreshments. While the kids have a great time, it is also a family event in which the whole community can participate.

The Road to Redemption: This is held in conjunction with the Easter season and hosted by the Oak Dale Kids Club and geared for ages 5-Grade 5. At a variety of stations, the children will walk through the journey that Jesus took and hear the Easter story in a creative way. They will make several crafts and bake an Easter snack! (A coffee bar is available for the parents as well! Win-win!)

Worship:  We give praise and thanks to God, spending time in prayer and singing of songs, surrendering ourselves to Him.

Transform: We grow to be more like Jesus as we hear and memorize the Scripture, listen to Bible stories and interact with adult believers.

Serve: sharing His love with others by praying for each other and showing love in practical ways.

Feel free to contact our  Children's Ministry Director, Caressa Ledford, 301.268.1634 or email caressaledford@gmail.com. We are excited about your interest in our children’s ministry and look forward to seeing you and your children this Sunday at worship.

We love children! We love bringing them to Jesus!

  Following is a list of the videos produced for kids during the time of of virtual classes 

 

June 28, 2020 Children's Sunday School

Complete Sunday School including Lesson by Jess and with music by Jenelle, Leonard, Tom and Laurie (Click here for video)


June 21, 2020 Children's Sunday School

Complete Sunday School including Lesson by Jess and with music by Cosette and Eli (Click here for video)


June 14, 2020 Children's Sunday School

Complete Sunday School including Lesson by "Lucy", Naomi, Joe, Peggy Nixon (Click here for video)

Craft Video Template for Peggy Nixon's craft today - Click here to download it...


June 7, 2020 Children's Sunday School

Complete Sunday School including Lesson by Jess, Jenelle, Laurie and Leonard (Click here for the video)


May 31, 2020 Children's Sunday School

Complete Sunday School including Lesson by Jess/Dwight Yoder Family and with music by Clyde and Shannon (Click here for the video)


May 24, 2020 Children's Sunday School

Complete Sunday School including Lesson by Jess/Amy Fochtman and with music by Tom and Laurie (Click here for the video)


May 17, 2020 Children's Sunday School

Complete Sunday School including Lesson by Jess and Jenelle with music by Jess/Jenelle/Laurie (Click here for the video)


May 10, 2020 Children's Sunday School

Complete Sunday School including Lesson by Jess and music by the Miller family (Click here for the video)


May 3, 2020 Children's Sunday School

Complete Sunday School including Lesson by Leonard and music (Click here for the video)


April 26, 2020 Children's Sunday School

Complete Sunday School including music and crafts (Click here for the video)

Craft video only (Click here for the video)


April 19, 2020 Children's Sunday School

Complete Sunday School including music (Click here for the video)

Songs only (Click here for the video)


Road to Redemption Video (Click here for the video)

April 12, 2020 Children's Sunday School

Lesson by Jess Yoder, Peggy Nixon, Jessica Bender, Leonard Maust, Joy Billmeyer, Rhoda Curtis and Jenelle Yoder (Click here for the video)

Song - The Angel Rolled The Stone Away (Click here for the video)


April 5, 2020 Children's Sunday School

Lesson by Jenelle and Jess (Click here for the video)


March 29, 2020 Children's Sunday School

Lesson by Jenelle and Jess (Click here for the video)

Song - And Jesus Grew (Click here for the video)


March 22, 2020 Children's Sunday School

Song - Run Peter Run (Click here for the video)

Lesson by Jenelle and Jess (Click here for the video)