Whether you are single, a couple, or have children, you are very welcome at Grace Church, and we want to encourage you as you seek to work out your faith in your own context. Recognizing the unique pressures family life can bring, we have a particular concern to support marriages as well as those whose marriages have broken down or who are parenting alone. We also understand that many considering Christianity are not in a traditional family setup, and we want them to feel very welcome too.

 

We are aware that being a Christian is likely to be harder for the next generation than it is for us. So we have a strong vision to equip our children and young people to live wholeheartedly for Jesus as they grow up. Because we have a good number in our kids groups, newcomers tend to settle quickly with us, even if church is new to them. And we seek to include our children and young people in all we do as a church, so that they can learn from the example of older Christians, appreciate what it means to belong to a church, and feel just as much a part of the family.

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Growing young disciples from 0-18 years

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Our vision verse for ministry within the church is: "They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor." (Isaiah 61v3). This is what we pray our little saplings will grow to become as they are fed and nourished with God's word.

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Mini-kids@4 (pre-school): Meeting during our service, our little ones begin life with teaching from picture Bibles, fun songs and prayers. This follows the Mustard Seeds Bible Tots Curriculum - teaching them the foundations of who God the Creator is, what he has done, and about Jesus as the Son of God.

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Younger kids@4 (Reception to year 2) and older kids@4 (years 3-6): Meeting during the service, they cover a four year curriculum twice during their primary years, which takes them all the way through the Bible with materials from Mustard Seeds, and key Christian truths from the New City Catechism Sunday school resources.

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Younger SALT (years 7-9) and older SALT (years 10-13): Meeting in a home on tuesday evenings, our young people cover Bible books and topics applied to the varying situations they face during these years. Each term the group also join with the youth groups from Christ Church Haywards Heath and Cuckfield Baptist Church for a special evening called UNITED.

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With other local churches our young people also benefit from camps:

1. EXPLORE (years 4-8): Staying in dorms at a centre on Ashdown Forest, over 80 young people enjoy games, activties, Bible teaching and worship for 5 days during the May half term. 

2. Sparkford (years 9-13): Similar to Explore, this is a longer 7/8 day Ventures camp with young people from all over the country, held at a school in Sparkford from the end of July to early August.

3. Weekend away (years 9-13): This is a joint youth group weekend with Christ Church Haywards Heath and Cuckfield Baptist Church.

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Our Sunday Gathering

 

Our meeting (service) begins at 4.00pm, with refreshments being served from 3.45pm. It ends around  5.30pm when we have more refreshments.

 

1. Pre-schoolers and Children from reception to year 2 leave after the first section of the service, and enjoy having tea together after their groups finish.

2. Years 3-6 stay in a little longer so that they learn to acclimatize to church, leaving before the sermon.

3. We want to help those of secondary school age make their faith their own and be fully prepared to continue with Christ when they leave home. Young people from year 7-13 therefore remain throughout the meeting, and we ensure that the songs, prayers and talk engage this group as well as those of us who are older.​

 

Of course, we are more than happy if parents wish to keep their children in with them, and want no-one to stay away because they are worried about their child being disruptive. And if you are breastfeeding it is easy to go into the foyee to do that during the service and still hear what's going on.

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Parenting (buy good resources here and here)

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The Bible highights the family as the primary place for children to learn and grow in faith. And so, when parents dedicate themselves to raising their newborns in the faith, we ask them:

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Do you give thanks for C, accept the joys and duties

of parenthood, and in humble reliance on God’s

grace, promise to love and care for him/her as someone God

himself has entrusted to your care? Do you promise to

bring him/her up within the community of the church,

pray for him/her, teach and model this Christian faith to

him/her, and raise him/her in the training and instruction of

the Lord?

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Below are some tips and helps for doing this.​ The top six things are:

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1. Find a fixed regular time to pray and read (and discuss when they can) the Bible with them.

2. When you're out and about or something key happens, develop the habit of informally talking over life and the world from the perspective of God and his purposes.

3. Remember to spontaneously pause and pray with them when there's something special to be thankful for, a particular need, or they need to seek God's forgiveness and help to live for him.

4. Be ready to flex around circumstances and life stages, not panicking if a prayer and Bible time is missed, but picking it up again when you can.

5. Make sure they see you positive and enthusiastic about church, shaping your time to ensure you are there, and encouraging them always to Sundays and mid-week activities, even during the years they push back.

6. Pray daily for their growth in faith, being watchful for the temptations and struggles they are facing, and thankful for all the Lord is doing. It can be helpful to have specific verses you are praying home for each child according to their needs.

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We could add a number 7 as: Don't panic! Parenting is about the long game. The Lord will use the ups and downs involved to shape us and teach us above all to rely on him. But he will also use them to shape our children for whatever he has for them as adults. And he knows what he is doing. The key thing is that we are intentional in playing our part, whilst relying on him.

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Pre-school

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From the moment they are born, reading the Bible, praying and talking with your child about the Lord, means they can be as used to these things from the beginning as they are to food and sleep. Bedtime is usually the best time to include reading through a good picture Bible and saying simple thank you, sorry and please prayers. But out and about, everything can be talked about from the perspective of what God has made and why. There are also some great CDs of Bible verse songs from Colin Buchanan and Seeds family worship. 

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Primary school

 

During these years, its about continuing the things you did when they were at pre-school, but increasing the depth according to their ability and engagement. Towards the end of primary school, you could start doing Bible notes with them like XTB. You could also start introducing Bible discussions at a meal time using resources like Tabletalk. This could be followed by suggesting to each child how they could pray in response, or suggesting a topic from the world or church for prayer. Whether every time or on occasion, you could also sing a loved worship song. And when on holiday, you could ask your kids to put together a brief service for the family, with one leading, one praying, one sharing something from the Bible etc. Encouraging the reading of Christian books during these years is also helpful so that it is just part of what they do. Search here and here for suggestions.

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Secondary school and sixth form

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It is good to maintain something at bed time as long as possible. But in time this will be less easy and the focus will be more on mealtimes. But these too may be sporadic due to activities. The key is to make sure you do something with them whenever you can. If they make a proper Bible discussion hard, just read a paragraph (or even just a verse) to them and ask what it tells them about God or his purposes, or his will for them. And if they won't engage on that, read it and just tell them one or two truths it brings home. However, these set times go, these years do give more opportunity for the more spontaneous conversations and prayer times, so it is good to make the most of them. Why not see if you could take each child out independently for a walk or cafe trip once a month to just chat about how they are getting on, and share a faith perspective as you do this. As time with them before bed fades, it is good to encourage them to have their own quiet times of Bible and prayer. If they are unwilling, just keep praying and gently encourage again at different points. Engage are great notes to help teens in this. And older teens could benefit from the Explore app. Its also good to keep good Christian books coming their way, especially those that answer the questions they are raising. Search here and here for suggestions.​​​​​​

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