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Children in the PBC Family

PBC value children within the church family. During their early years we aim to help them -

1. Understand their worth, as Gods children and as part of Poynton Baptist Church .

2. Discover Jesus as their personal friend, Saviour and Lord.

3. Appreciate and understand the Bible, owning its values for themselves.

4. Share with the whole church in worship, learning, serving, friendship and   evangelism offering their own ideas and gifts when appropriate.   

5. Grow in a safe, spiritual, fun and friendly environment.

On Sundays, children share in the first twenty minutes with all the whole church family then continue in their own groups where age appropriate worship, teaching, games, crafts and activities take place.

Creche      cares for babies and toddlers up to 2yrs. 

Pebbles 1   for 2-3yr olds 

Pebbles2   for 3-4yr olds

Boulders    for 4-7yr olds

Stepping Stones for 7-11yrs

To complement and endorse the Sunday programme, aimed to bring strong friendships with peers and leaders, social activities are arranged, sometimes in small groups, sometimes as whole departments. Mission is a high priority at PBC and children are encouraged to take an interest in overseas projects as well as more local ones when they can invite friends to especially planned activities.

The Sunday Club Team are all police checked and regular members of the church. They aim to work closely with parents and church leadership and  opportunities are available for discussion and sharing with parents as well as Family Fun times. Programmes are always planned in line with the churches vision statement and details are made available to parents at the beginning each term.

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PBC safe to grow policy

Leadership Structure

Recruitment of Leaders

Training of Leaders

Children and Worship

Children and Evangelism

Children & Prayer

Link to Energy

Relating to Parents

PBC safe to grow policy

PBC will:

Comply with the law.

Our practice and behaviour will reflect the nature of a Christian organisation.

We will protect ourselves against civil liability.  

1.  We will subscribe to A.M.A.Z.E. (Christian Child Care).

2.  We will adapt and harmonise our application processes in line with Baptist Union guidelines.

3.  No one will have any involvement until they have filled in the Application Form, which will be centralised through the church office.

4.  Police checks will be carried out when made necessary by law.

5.  An independent Church Member will act as the Children's Advocate when necessary.

Leadership Structure:

1.  Graeme Smith is the Elder responsible for PBC Children's Work and will attend Sunday Club meetings on a quarterly basis. Regular meetings with Sunday Club department leaders will also be held.

2.  There will be an Elder responsible for the oversight of Playaway.

3.  The Children's Work/Playaway Co-ordinator will have the oversight of finance, budget planning, training, and pastoral care of the team

4.  The departmental team leaders will be responsible for the teaching programme and staffing of their group, liaison with parents and follow up of children.

5. Regular meetings to plan the church calendar with regard to special services and all age worship and services will be held with the Senior Minister.

 Recruitment of Leaders:

1.  Staffing for our Children's Work will be reviewed regularly by the Children's Work /Playaway Co-ordinator and the Elders.

2.  All Sunday Club leaders must be Church Members, in order to preserve the doctrinal ethos of the church and to recognise the 'cover' of the church.

3.  The Playaway Co-ordinator must be a member of PBC. Members of the Playaway core team will either be members of PBC, or another local church, or intending to become a member of the church within 12 months.

4.  The Elder responsible should be notified before any approach is made to possible leaders.

5.  All leaders and helpers will go through the application process.

6.  If helpers are not members, they will be challenged by the leaders with a view to taking up membership within twelve months.

Training of Leaders:  

1.  An annual day/weekend will be arranged for all leaders of Sunday Club and Playaway:

a.  for fellowship and prayer

b.  vision, aims, plans and policy updates

c.  specific training topics

2.  New leaders will have at least one session with the Children's Work Co-ordinator and their Team Leader or the Playaway Co-ordinator; to explain ethos, aims and practical structure of our work.

3.  All leaders and helpers will be encouraged to attend training in order to update and develop their skills with the Children's Work/Playaway Co-ordinator.

4.  In Sunday Club young helpers will be expected to attend Kids-course (six sessions aimed to teach, help and encourage young people beginning to work with children).

Children and Worship: 

1.  We will ensure children have opportunities to engage in meaningful worship, both with their own age group and the wider Church family on a regular basis.

2.  We would expect children to contribute to All Age Worship as part of the church family.

3.  At least one All Age Worship service will be held each term, to tie in with relevant Christian festivals (i.e. Harvest, Pentecost, Good Friday). These will be arranged in consultation with the Senior Minister, All Age team and the Children's Work Co-ordinator.

4.  Worship leaders will be encouraged to make the first part of the morning service child friendly.

Children and Evangelism:

1.  Playaway aims to make children and their carers aware that "Christians are OK" and "God is good". For those parents and carers who show interest, opportunities are regularly given to link up with Alpha, Parenting Courses, and other relevant events and activities.

2.  We will aim to teach gospel truths throughout a child's years in Sunday Club and offer appropriate opportunities for response.

a.  Hold small group events for Sunday Club children and their friends.

b.  Plan a large evangelistic event every 3 or 4 years 

c.  Hold a Family Link once a term for families to invite friends and neighbours to.

Children & Prayer:

1.  We will aim to ensure, by a variety of creative means, that every child is prayed for by church members, so that they are surrounded by prayer throughout their formative years.

2.  A Children's Prayer Co-ordinator will be appointed.

3.  We will encourage parents to share items for prayer concerning their children with Sunday Club Leaders and the Prayer Partners.

4.  We will teach and encourage children to pray for one another and the wider world in creative ways, relevant to their age group.

5.  Playaway has a book for prayer listing items which parents and carers ask the Playaway team to pray for.

Link to Energy:  

1.  Whilst recognising the need for different approaches to teaching Biblical truths dependent on their age, the values which are at the heart of Children's Work and Energy are the same.

2.  We will aim to make the transfer from Sunday Club to Energy as smooth as possibly by:

a.  Good communication between leaders (sharing of aims, plans and current information).

b.  Link activities for 10-13 year olds - e.g. Orchestra, Drama/Dance/Flags, Arts and Crafts, Sports, Summer Camp.

c.  Providing opportunities for yr. 6 children to get to know Energy leaders before they transfer.

Relating to parents; 

1.  We will aim to create open and easy channels of communication between Sunday Club/Playaway leaders and parents (carers).

2.  We will aim to provide regular and clear information about the children's teaching programme and all other activities.

3.  We will provide an up to date information card, detailing age groups, group leaders and mission statement for parents and visitors.

4.  We will occasionally invite parents to share in their child's group for various activities on Sunday mornings.

5.  We will aim to provide Family Fun times and Family Link services.

6.  We will aim to support parents by inviting them to Parenting Courses, Parents get-togethers, and by being available after Sunday Club.

  13-Jul-08