Our Grace Church staff and officers have been considering ways to better help our congregation serve and worship from a place of health, rest, and joy in Jesus. One way in which we hope to encourage this is through Family Sundays.

On Family Sundays, there will be no Children’s Ministry programs (nursery, Children’s Worship). This will not only serve as an opportunity to give our hard-working volunteers a rest but will also serve to enrich our gospel culture. The whole church family, including the little children whom Jesus so gladly welcomed, will be together in his presence.

2024-25 Family Sundays

September 29, 2024
December 29, 2024
March 30, 2025
June 29, 2025

If you're a parent of a small child/children or are a person with unique needs and are feeling nervous about Family Sunday: we get it. You're not alone! We welcome you and your little ones with all their wiggles and noises to worship with us, and we want to support you. In addition to resources that are available every Sunday (Children's Bulletins, Sermon Bingo), we will be making extra resources available at the greeting table in the foyer on Family Sundays. The Family Break Room is always available, and the nursery room will be open but unstaffed. Feel free to step out for a bit if your little one needs a break. Parents, this article may prove encouraging as you press on in the hard work of teaching your children what it means to worship God. Additionally, we will also have a sensory bin available in the Fellowship Room for anyone who may need extra support during the worship service. 

If you’re not a parent of a small child or a person with unique needs, your role on Family Sundays is crucial. The anxiety parents feel about their children’s presence in worship often exceeds the level of distraction other congregants experience. There is much you can do to encourage and assist those parents in their highest calling: to train their children to worship the God of grace. Please read the helpful tips in these articles on welcoming children in worship and creating an inclusive environment for families with special needs. Consider how you can begin applying them this Sunday.

In a sense, every Sunday is a Family Sunday at Grace. We normally provide a staffed nursery for children 3 and under, and we provide teaching for children ages 4-7 in Children’s Worship. But parents are always invited to keep their children with them in worship because we believe the children in our church are members of God’s covenant family. 

We all belong to the body of Christ. May our welcome never fall short of his.