Your first time?

Welcome! We know that arriving basically anywhere with the whole tribe can be an undertaking, so we’re here to put you at ease. Our Kids Ministry is broken down int Nursery, Early Childhood, and Elementary, each meeting in a unique location on campus! See the map below for which entrance and parking lot makes sense for your family as you arrive!  Let us know if you have any questions before your visit! We can’t wait to see you!

Where do we go?!?

Check-in for all children begins 15 minutes before each Weekend Gathering. The process is fast and easy! Check-in stations are located in each Kids Ministry area (Nursery, Ohana Island, & The Hangar) and are indicated by a “⭐” on the map below.*

After you’re registered, you will be given matching security tags that are unique to your child and visit. Your child will wear the name tag portion of the security tag, which bears a code matched to your portion that you’ll need for checkout at the end of the service.

*Each of our Kids Ministry areas allow you to check-in ALL your kiddos from birth – 4th Grade, so stop at the easiest location first and then make any other drop offs as you make your way to the Worship Center.

What will my child learn?

In BVG Kids, one of our top priorities and prayers is how we effectively engage children with the Word of God. We currently utilize the Answers Bible Curriculum in both our Early Childhood & Elementary programs. This curriculum takes children on an exciting chronological journey through the Bible and covers the whole bible in four years, providing a powerful overview of God’s Word. Our early childhood and elementary studies are synchronized across all ages, so this is a great way to bring the whole family together around the Word if you have multiple or transitioning children.

For our nursery, the learning goals are simple. In our infant nursery, we want every child to feel loved and cared for while parents enjoy the worship gathering. In our toddler nursery, we want every child to discover these three truths: that God made me, God loves me, and Jesus wants to be my friend forever.

Time for pick-up!

When the worship gathering is over, simply return to the BVG Kids room where you dropped your child off (See Elementary page for specific instructions) and show your security tag in order for your child to be released back to you.

What if my child needs me during the gathering?

You are welcome to come visit or check-out your child at anytime during the gathering if you need to leave early. If our team needs to get ahold of you, we have small red LED displays in our Worship Center & Venue that will display your child’s security tag number. In our nursery and early childhood spaces, you will be given an electronic pager that will vibrate if we need you to return to your child’s classroom.

At Big Valley Grace, we want every child to feel welcomed, loved, and secure. That’s why we created a Wingman Ministry, which offers assistance to differently-abled children (grades 1-6) who need support in order to participate safely and successfully in Sunday gatherings and other Big Valley Grace events. Keep Reading

Still have questions?

We want to do everything we can to help you be confident and informed as you come to worship as a family at Big Valley Grace. Please email our team at [email protected] any further questions you might have and we’ll gladly follow up with you!

How does my child become a child of God?

At the center of probably the most well-known Bible verse in history, John 3:16, is the phrase “whoever believes.” “Belief” is what connects the story of Jesus with our receiving the gift of salvation. Salvation is available to everyone who believes (Rom 1:16), including any children who are able to understand and place their faith in Jesus. Ultimately, we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. That is the Gospel. That is, unquestionably, the single best information we can share with you and help you to share with your child and others! To help in that discussion, here are 5 key questions:

1) Who is God?

John 3:16 begins this way: “For God so loved the world…” This doesn’t mean that God loved the mountains and seas, the “world” means people. People were his special Creation (Gen 1:31). There is a God, and He is Creator of all things, including and especially you. God made you. God loves you. And God wants to be your friend forever.

2) What is sin?

Sin is anything we do that disobeys God. We know what God says and how to obey God from the Bible. Every one of us can identify specific things that we have done wrong (Romans 3:23), whether that is lying, not listening to our parents, or being mean to someone.

3) How does sin affect our friendship with God?

Our sin has made a separation between us and God. Because of the wrong things we have done, we need to be forgiven.

4) Who is Jesus and what did He do on the cross? 

Jesus is God’s Son, and He came to Earth and lived a perfect life, died a horrible death on a cross, was buried, and rose again three days later so that our sins could be forgiven (1 Cor 15:3-4). In life, when we do wrong things, there is a consequence. The Bible says that the punishment for our sin is death (Rom 6:23), but Jesus took that punishment for us on the cross (Rom 4:25).

5) How am I forgiven?

We accept this free gift of grace and forgiveness when we believe in our hearts that Jesus is who He said He is and ask God to forgive us. We say that we are sorry and apologize that we have wronged God (1 John 1:9), we ask that God forgive us, and we invite Jesus to be the leader of our life. In so doing, we place our hope, trust, and belief in Jesus, who alone restores the friendship between us and God!

If you have any further questions or would like to be further equipped to lead your child through the most important decision of his or her life, please send us an email at [email protected] and we’d love to help!

Baptism is an important part of following Jesus and we love celebrating the decisions of children who have put their trust in Jesus as their Lord & Savior!

We offer a special Kids Baptism Class throughout the year where kids & parents come together in this beautiful family moment to discuss faith and following Jesus’ example and command to be baptized!

If you’d like to learn more, send us a message or read more about baptism here.

A unique family commitment

Throughout the year, we have the joy of offering this unique partnership opportunity between families and the whole church family. Parent/Child Dedication is a time for parents to present their child before the church family as they commit to raise him or her up to the best of their ability to know, love, and follow Jesus. This is a sweet time of encouragement and prayer and we love having it as part of our Worship Gatherings!

Coming soon!

A powerful tool

We utilize Planning Center Online to schedule volunteers! Planning Center is a powerful tool that allows us to not only make plans and schedules, but keep our volunteers notified and informed. Planning Center can be used with the device of your choice, has email notification options, as well as a sleek mobile app. There is even the option to set up preferences on how often you can serve and block out days that you are unavailable!

More resources and explanation about Planning Center to follow, but for now, check out our BVG Kids Planning Center here.