Purpose: The children will be able to move directly and comfortably into the aduit worship service after being in Junior Church for one year.

The program is geared to their level of understanding, therefore, the children will learn and enjoy more of who God is.

Who: 1st-3rd grade (or up to 6th) children

When: During the Sunday Morning Worship Service

Where: They have their own room set up as a mock Adult Church:
    - Chairs with an aisle in the center, piano, pulpit, an adapted bulletin with order of worship and announcements, collection box, name tags, and a few extras: a puppet stage, a cassete player, video and TV on hand.

What: The children are led through an adapted worship service. 
    - They begin with praise songs they like, visitors are welcomed, birthdays honored, followed by a sword drill (when we first started this, none of the children knew where anything was and hated the game. Now they love it!). The scripture is read and the kids reenact it to show comprehension, then must recite a portion of it for a reward at the end of the service. Their sermon may be a felt-figure story, a puppet show, a skit, or a special visitor from the congregation who is good at telling stories. The whole hour is very organized and the kids love it. On bulletin boards are two charts recording children's memorization of both the Old and New Testaments books. Upon memorizing the whole Bible, they are awarded a Bible in the Adult Church Service.

Problems:

    1. Getting a 6 or 12 month commitment from individuals to be the "Children's Pastor" for the Junior Church. Currently we have one woman who has a gift for this program and is heading the whole shebang.

    2. There is currently no curriculum that suits this format, so that it is a weekly brainstorming.

Cynthia Strimple, 1990