Children's Groups

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Whether you are looking for family friendly worship or a faith-based activity to occupy your youngsters we have groups and activities across the Circuit for those aged 0-18 (Visit our Youth Groups Page for information on groups aimed at 11-18)!

Please check out our Circuit Calendar for the next session of our groups!

Babies & Toddlers
Strathmore Road at Rowlands Gill offer Little Gems a stay and play style baby and toddler group every second Wednesday, 10-12. Open to the whole community, each session is themed around a Psalm, with activities, refreshments and opportunities for socialising.

Strathmore Road at Chopwell offer With Bairns as part of their With Wednesdays, from 12-1:30, this toddler group (0-5years) is open to the whole community giving a free space to gather, share and socialise.

Primary School Ages
Discover is a place for fun, friendship and faith. It is a virtual group aimed at Primary school aged children.
Sessions include games, crafts, bible stories, songs and prayers. The group meets on Zoom every Wednesday evening, 6:3-7:30pm, during term-time.
You need to contact Sam Cree, sam.cree@swtyneside.org.uk, for the Zoom link. Sam also provides all members with the relevant craft materials.

Ryton offers Girls Brigade weekly on Monday evenings, 6-7:30. The Brigade, split into four age groups, helps girls from 4-18 explore and engage faith in fun, informative and hopeful ways.

Burnopfield offers a monthly Brick Church, the third Monday of the month after school, running 3:45-4:45. The group explores and builds faith using songs, games and lego-building challenges.

Strathmore Road at Rowlands Gill offers Sparks monthly on a Saturday afternoon during term time, 2-3:30. The group aimed at children aged 5-10 encourages learning about God through games, crafts, activities and provides snacks.

Strathmore Road at Rowlands Gill offers Rock Solid every second Sunday evening, 6-7:30, aimed at children aged 9-12. The group begins with games, provides snacks and moves onto age appropriate faith based discussions like "Would God play video games?", with regular social events and additional activities.

Unity at Dunston Hill host Boys Brigade weekly on a Friday evening, with Anchors and Juniors (4-11years) running from 5:45-7:15. Boys Brigade provides opportunities for children to learn, grow and discover in a safe, fun and caring environment which is rooted in the Christian faith.

Fellside host a monthly Bouncy Church on the first Saturday of the month, at 4pm. Join the group for bouncy castle fun, with crafts and activities exploring faith following the energetic start!

Worship
While all ages are welcome at all of our churches the following have regular Junior Church/Sunday Club sessions alongside their regular Sunday worship: Centenary, Strathmore Road at Rowlands Gill & at Chopwell, and Whitehall Road.

Planning your Visit

A Warm Hello

The following information is specifically for those planning a visit, so that you know, beforehand, what to expect on a Sunday morning.

Where and When

We meet at the Church Building (details here) for our Sunday Service starting at 10:30am. For your first visit, we recommend arriving 10-15 minutes early to ensure you get a parking space and find somewhere to sit before the service begins. When you arrive, you should be greeted by someone on our Welcome Team who will be wearing a Welcome lanyard.

We serve tea, coffee and biscuits from 10am, before the service begins. It is a great way to meet people, or simply take time to find your bearings. All refreshments are free.

Accessibility: There is wheelchair access, and a sound loop for anyone who needs it. Please let one of the Welcome Team know on your arrival and they will help you to get set up. There are disabled toilets in the main foyer.

Our Service

The main service begins at 10am with a warm welcome from one of our team members. Then follows a time of sung worship, led by our band. We typically have 2 or 3 songs lasting approximately 20 minutes. Sometimes a person might pray out loud or read a small passage from the bible. Sometimes people share things that they believe God is saying to the whole church family. This might seem strange the first time you hear it but it’s all part of our connecting with God. We then share news and notices, usually about what’s going on in the life of the church. One of our leaders will then give a sermon that is bible based and that we can apply to our everyday life. We then finish with a final worship song. Sometimes there is an opportunity to receive prayer at the end of the service.

images: Services

What about my kids?

We have a great programme lined up for kids of all ages:

Creche (0 months to 3 years). Children under 6 months are welcome but must be accompanied by their parent/grown-up at all times.
Livewires (3-7 years)
Encounter (7-11 years)
Katalyst (11-15 years)
Young people (15+ years) Stay in service.

Children stay with their parent or grown-up at the start of the service for the welcome, songs and notices. We really value worshipping God all together as a family. At the end of the notices someone will announce that it’s time for the younger members to go to their various groups. You will need to go with your children to their groups and register them as part of our child safety policy. Whilst you are dropping your kids off at their groups, we pause to take time to chat to someone sitting near or next to us, giving folk a chance to come back before the sermon begins.

The kids group activities vary depending on the age but usually there is a friendly welcome, bible stories, testimonies, praying, music, craft, drama, fun games and free play. Please pick your children up as soon as the service finishes.

Getting Connected

Small Groups

While Sundays are a great way to meet new people, it is often in smaller gatherings that you can really get to know someone. Being part of one of our small groups allows you to make new friends, share together and support each other. We have a variety of groups that meet throughout the week, some afternoons and some evenings. Check out Small Groups and see if there’s one that you could join, or we can put you in touch with a small group leader who will be more than happy to invite you along to their group.

Serving and Volunteering

If you want to get involved in the life of the church and help us make Sundays run smoothly, you can sign up to serve on a team.

Other Ministries

We also run the following ministries:

Men's Ministries
Women's Ministries
Night Shelter
Foodbank

Get in touch with us to plan your visit

If you would like to come and visit the church beforehand you are more than welcome! Get in touch and we can arrange a time that suits you.

Name:

Telephone:

Email Address:
Comments / Questions or anything you would like to say?

Next, we will contact you by email to say hello and help arrange anything necessary for your visit.

Leadership


Leader 1		Leader 2
Leader Intro		Leader Intro

We hope that whoever you are, you will feel at home at our church.

Best Wishes

(Handwritten Signature)