Children's Ministries
Nursery
Purpose
The purpose of Four Oaks' nursery is to not only meet the physical and emotional needs of the infants and toddlers through childcare, but also to begin nurturing the faith of the next generation so that they will honor Christ above all. We want to provide both a place of love, comfort, and protection (physical and emotional needs) and a place of prayer, worship, and teaching for young children (spiritual needs).
| 1st Service Nursery Coordinator | Jessica Hughes |
|---|---|
| 2nd Service Nursery Coordinator | Julia Stake |
Infant Nursery: up to 15 Months
1st Service: Brittney Crutchfield, Jeanie Diemer, Lisa Hermann, Christy Neal, Denise Winchester, Lois Wise
2nd Service: Will & Mesa Cole, Karissa Davidson, Marilyn Deem, Judi Doss, Lori Ivarson
Our hope for the infant nursery is to provide a nurturing, God-honoring, and prayerful environment for our Four Oaks babies that God will use to shape the hearts of the children and enable parents to worship the Lord without concern. Each week, our volunteers greet the parents and children to make sure that the transition to the nursery goes well. Then, throughout the Sunday morning, volunteers pray for each child, asking God to set them apart for His good purposes and pleasures. We also speak words of truth, encouragement, and affirmation and sing songs of praise to the infants, trusting that the words of Christ will dwell richly within each heart as the child grows.
Toddler Nursery: 15 months to 2 years old
1st Service: Tricia Duff, Evelyn Larremore, Donna Menendez, Drew & Tina Robertson
2nd Service: Dara Fish, Emily Fish, Marjie Vowles, Ben & Donna Young
We believe that it brings great pleasure to the Lord to have His children walking in the truth of God’s Word and singing praises to Him. We desire to see children magnify the name of the Lord as well as lift up their requests to him. And while young children cannot understand deep truths yet, their spirits can respond to the Spirit of God and begin to understand simple truths that will someday lead them to deep truth and a heart changed by the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Therefore, in addition to volunteers interacting with toddlers in play and snack times, we lead the toddlers in a short Bible story and pray for each child by name. For the Bible story, we repeat the same lesson each Sunday for a month, with each lesson focusing on a different foundational truth statement about the Lord. The four truths we are currently teaching are God Made Everything (Oct, Apr), God is Everywhere (Nov, May), Jesus Is Here (Dec, Jun), Jesus is the Boss (Jan, Jul), Jesus Loves Me (Feb, Aug), and Jesus is Alive (Mar, Sept).
Each Sunday, toddlers also sing praises and play instruments to the Lord in Wee Worship. It is our hope that as they sing about the great character and worth of God, their hearts will begin to change and be softened to the message of the cross.