Matthew 19:14 Jesus said: “Let the little children come to me…”
Jesus was ever a lover of children. He accepted their childish sympathy and their open, unaffected love. The grateful praise from their pure lips was music in His ears, and refreshed His spirit when oppressed by contact with crafty and hypocritical men.
Wherever the Saviour went, the benignity of His countenance, and His gentle, kindly manner won the love and confidence of children. In the children who were brought in contact with Him, Jesus saw the men and women who should be heirs of His grace and subjects of His kingdom, and some of whom would become martyrs for His sake.” Page 511- The Desire of Ages
OUR MISSION
The mission of the Children’s Ministries Department is to nurture children into a loving, serving relationship with Jesus. We seek to fulfill our mission by developing the following:
1. Grace-oriented ministries, in which all children will experience the unconditional love of Jesus, find assurance of acceptance and forgiveness, and make a commitment to Him and develop their faith.
2. Inclusive ministries, in which the volunteers who minister and the children to whom they minister will be valued and involved regardless of race, color, language, gender, age, abilities, or socio-economic circumstances;
3. Leadership ministries, in which volunteers are empowered, trained, and equipped for effective ministry to children;
4. Service-oriented ministries, in which children are given opportunities for hands-on service to people in their neighborhood or city, which could establish a pattern of outreach to others that may well continue through life;
5. Cooperative ministries, which involve working in partnership with other ministries, such as family ministries, Sabbath School, and stewardship, to support and help parents develop the faith of their children.
6. Safe ministries, whereby our churches adopt safeguards to protect children from physical, emotional, and spiritual abuse; to choose volunteers with high spiritual and moral backgrounds; and to minimize the church’s liability; and,
7. Evangelistic ministries, in which children who are not enfolded in the church family will be introduced to the love of Jesus through outreach-programs such as: Vacation Bible Schools, children’s branch Sabbath Schools, Neighborhood Bible Clubs, and Story Hours.
