Beginning January 9, we will offer Discipleship Groups (“D Groups”) for all ages at Harvest Church. D Groups will take place at 9:00 a.m. each Sunday, and will provide everyone a chance to study the Bible, pray, and fellowship together. We are so excited to see how God grows us as disciples through these Sunday morning groups!
Here are the breakdowns of each group by age:
Birth-one
Two-Four
5-6
7-8
9-10
11-12
Teens
Adults
Important Note to Parents:
As D Groups begin, we will implement a few changes to our overall plan for Sunday mornings. The biggest adjustment will take place with our 4-6 year old class that we offer during the sermon. This class will no longer gather as it has in the past.
During the worship hour, we will continue to offer nursery care for two age groups: Birth-One and Two-Four. The rest of our children and adults will take part in our worship service at 10:30.
We recognize that our younger children may struggle to remain still and quiet during “Big Church.” As parents ourselves, we have often felt the pressure of trying to keep our children from being a disruption. For those who are concerned about this change, please let us encourage you in a few ways:
We never, ever view our children as a distraction to worship. In fact, they are a vibrant and necessary part of the church’s worship! We never need to apologize for our children acting like children. We love them and treasure them!
Throughout church history (and in most of the world today), households have worshipped together. One of the amazing outcomes of this is that families grow closer through shared worship. Even more, the church as a whole grows more into a “family” as we worship with, and minister to, every age group. This presents a wonderful picture of God’s kingdom, and it also serves to strengthen our children’s view of a healthy church as they grow.
Our children are going to benefit from more dedicated time in their D Groups. At 9:00 we will have a rally time for all the children to worship and prep for the lesson. Then from 9:15-10:15, our kids will be together in age-appropriate bible study led by our adult volunteers. These D Groups will provide a much stronger discipleship environment than what we were able to offer during the abbreviated worship hour.
We will incorporate child-specific elements in worship on a more regular basis.
Our 5-6 year old room will be available during the worship hour for parents who wish to step out with their children for a moment.
