Mercy Road Kids
At Mercy Road Church our goal is to partner with parents to help every child feel KNOWN, LOVED and SECURE in Jesus Christ.
If we could convince a generation to trust Jesus daily, it would transform their capacity to love God, others, and themselves. Raising the next generation with Godly character and a Biblical worldview is more important than ever in our increasingly post-Christian culture.
Kids need help connecting the dots. They need to see how the things they’re learning about God in church relate to their everyday lives. We need to teach kids about God AND character. Knowing God is an invitation to discover God’s character, which influences your trust of God. Trusting God’s character influences how we desire to reflect God’s character.
Our goal is to anchor the everyday faith of kids and teenagers to what Jesus said and did – Matthew 22:37-40. 37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
Ultimately, we want kids not just to know about Jesus. We want them to trust Jesus and practice an everyday faith that reflects the love that Jesus commanded.
Sunday Morning, we have full kids programming at both of our 9:00 AM and 10:30 AM services for birth-5th grade. For students in 6th-8th grade, we offer Faith Talks during the 10:30 AM service on the 1st and 3rd Sundays.
Sunday Mornings
Our classroom for babies through age three is staffed with loving nannies and volunteers who get to know your children week after week. This helps create an environment where your little ones feel known, loved, and secure. A Bible Story is shared to plant little seeds of faith each week. We use Orange First Look curriculum in this classroom
We want to incite Biblical wonder in our preschoolers and Kindergarteners. We meet them where they are cognitively, spiritually, emotionally, and socially. Through age-appropriate activities, our kids are building their Biblical foundation so that they know and believe these three basic truths –
GOD MADE ME
GOD LOVES ME
JESUS WANTS TO BE MY FRIEND FOREVER
We use the following curriculum: First Look from Orange, The Biggest Story, and The Storybook Bible.
We have a clear and unifying goal to raise up Resilient Child Disciples in a post-Christian culture. We want to help parents raise kids with a resilient everyday faith. We use gospel-centered and biblically-rich curriculums. In every lesson, the Bible is read, heard, and connected to Jesus in ways kids can understand in their own lives, so they can begin to say: I believe in Jesus, I’m becoming more like Him, and I belong to Him forever. We use curriculum from, The New City Catechism, Orange 252, Awana Brite and The Biggest Story.
An opportunity for our Youth to connect and engage in conversations about biblical truths with an adult leader. This group is optional and meets on the 2nd and 4th Sunday during the 10:30 AM service.
Check out some of our Curriculum Partners
First visit for your child?
We welcome kids to visit and participate in our Sunday morning classes! When you arrive on Sunday, please bring your child to the Kids Ministry check-in desk. There you will be warmly greeted and given security stickers, one for your child and one for you to keep. Depending on the age of your children, they’ll either go directly into the nursery/toddler room or head with you to get settled in the Worship Center. We love to have kids witness and participate in our musical worship. Kids will be dismissed after two songs to their classes, accompanied by their leaders. Register your child(ren) below.
Midweek Programming
We offer midweek spiritual formation programming for for both Elementary kids and Youth.
Kids have a K-2nd group and a 3rd-5th group
Youth have both middle and high school groups.
We meet at church at 6:15 PM and spend time in community, getting to know each and form friendships. This creates trust between the kids and also with their leaders. Trust creates a healthly learning enviroment where questions are welcomed and thoughts can be shared. We also have access to Christian Heritage Academy’s playgounds and gym for fun and games, too!
Please note that we do NOT meet at church on the first Wednesday of the month. We call it 1st Priority Wednesday. 1st Wednesday will look different for every family. Families that have jam-packed calendars might just need the night off to watch a movie. Some families may use this time for a parent and kid date night. Or maybe you invite another family over and get to know each other better. Don’t worry, we won’t be checking in on you, but this as an important piece of our partnership in raising up the next generation of resilient Jesus Christ followers.
Parent and Family Resources
At Mercy Road Kids, we understand that parents have the most influence on a child, and by partnering with you, we can make a greater impact. We have a family resource wall filled with books and resources covering a wide range of topics. We also offer parenting small group workshops and events throughout the year.
CHILD DEDICATION
We schedule Child Dedications 3 to 4 times a year and they are held during our Sunday services. For more information please email our Children's Pastor at Kerry@mercyroadmn.com