At Church of the Apostles, we believe that children are a vital part of our church community. Our desire is to come alongside parents to encourage and equip them to raise children who love and serve the Lord. In all of our activities and programs, we seek to affirm the value of each individual child as precious in the eyes of God. Above all, we are dedicated to helping our children come to know who Jesus is and to see themselves as beloved members of the Body of Christ. To that end, we offer Children's Chapel, Sunday School, Nursery, along with various special activities throughout the year.

Children’s Chapel • Sunday School • Nursery • DropIn Nursery • Volunteer • Safeguard

Children's Chapel

Children ages 4K-2nd grade are invited to attend Children's Chapel during the sermon. Children will begin the service sitting with their parents and will be dismissed to come to the front of the nave beside the music team and meet their teacher during the Gospel Reading. The teachers will take them downstairs to the Children’s Chapel during the sermon and they will return during the passing of the peace. At this point they will rejoin their parents for the Eucharist.

We offer Sunday School for kids ages 4K to 5th grade during the Christian Education Hour (9.45-10.40a) on Sunday mornings throughout the school year. Our semester is from September 15, meeting weekly, until the Christmas holidays.

Our Curriculum

We use the God’s Big Story curriculum with our elementary-aged students. This curriculum focuses on children encountering God through the stories of the Bible. Each story is placed in the context of the larger story of the gospel. We use a wide variety of 3D manipulative that encourage kids to engage with the stories using all of their senses. Each lesson includes memory work, a visual presentation of the story, instruction time, and ample response time where children are given the option to respond individually to the lesson through art, music, drama, journaling, prayer, or reading.

Nursery

Nursery is available for children ages 0-3 for both services as well as during the Sunday School hour.

We are always looking for more nursery volunteers. If you are interested in spending time with some of our tiniest saints, please contact Cheryl White (cheryl@apostlescolumbia.org).

Tuesday/Thursday Morning Drop-In Nursery

Church of the Apostles offers Drop-In Nursery service on Tuesday and Thursday mornings during the school year. The mission of the Drop-In Nursery is to provide safe, Christ-centered, affordable childcare as a ministry to families in our parish and to our larger community. All of our childcare providers must complete Sexual Abuse Awareness training and be CPR and First Aid certified.

Pre-registration is required along with an annual registration fee. After registering, you will be free to use the nursery anytime during our open hours, paying an affordable flat fee for the entire morning.

Dates
Tuesday and Thursday Mornings

September 3, 2024 - May 29, 2025

Closed the week of Thanksgiving, two weeks at Christmas, and the week after Easter

Time
9a - 12 noon*

Age Range
Generally 0 - 4.
Older homeschooling children will be considered
on a case-by-case basis. (Contact Lily Dunn)

Registration Fee
$200/ child or $300/family if you have more than one child**

Flat Rate
$20/ morning for 1 child
$30/morning for 2 children
$36/morning for 3 children

*Extended Care

Extended care is available from 8:30-9a and 12-12:30p with advanced notice
Fees for extended care are:
$5/half hour for 1 child
$7/half hour for 2 children
$10/half hour for 3 children

**There are a few scholarships available for those needing assistance with the registration fee. Contact Lily Dunn for more information.

Volunteer Opportunities

We are always looking for volunteers to help in the nursery, to assist at the sign-in desk, to lead Children's Chapel, and to serve as a Sunday school substitute teacher. There are also many opportunities to serve year-round for special events. If you are interested in being involved in any of these service opportunities, please contact Lily Dunn at lily@apostlescolumbia.org

Church of the Apostles accepts with deep gratitude and seriousness the trust given us by God to nurture and care for his people, especially those who are most vulnerable and in need of protection. This is nowhere more true than when caring for our children and youth. Jesus himself made it plain that the Kingdom is made up of such as these, and that anyone who caused them to stumble was in a dire situation. (Mark 9.42) So we want to ensure that our children and teenagers find Church of the Apostles to be a warm, welcoming, safe place in which they never have to be afraid.  To help equip our clergy, staff, and volunteers to achieve this goal, we have provided the following policies for the parish-wide protection of our children and youth.