Nursery Ministry
We want your child’s first impressions of Jesus and His church to be positive. Awesome Adventure’s dedicated staff will help your child learn about God’s wonderful creation and His deep and abiding love.
Awesome Adventure Nursery
Children receive lots of loving care and attention in the Awesome Adventure nursery. A wide assortment of age-appropriate toys, games, books, music and puzzles give children an opportunity to interact with their caregivers and peers, enjoy purposeful play, and develop their motor skills.
In-Person Classes
We are so excited to invite children into in-person Awesome Adventure classes! Our secure nursery area is located on the upper level of the church, outside the sanctuary. An infant care room is located directly off the nursery lobby with comfortable rockers and a monitor so that caregivers can watch the worship service there.
Online Resources
If you’re not able to join our in-person Awesome Adventure classes, or if you’d like to review the material again as a family, we invite you to use this curriculum to study the Bible together at home. See our Parent Resources or download the latest lesson.
Special Needs Ministry
Awesome Adventure is for all children, even those who face special challenges on their adventure. We have a coordinator who helps these children and families join the adventure by partnering them with Adventure Guide buddies and meeting with parents to discuss specific needs.
Our Curriculum
Our littlest nursery friends will hear “Gospel Gems” from a Bible story each week, hearing the truth of God’s Word from their earliest moments. Beginning when children are approximately 14 months old, we teach simple interactive Bible lessons from The Gospel Project by Lifeway. This curriculum presents the Bible chronologically over a three-year cycle, showing kids how the whole Bible tells a single story: God’s plan to redeem His people through His Son, Jesus Christ, compelling kids to join the mission of God. All children, from nursery through elementary school, hear the same lesson so that if you have children of multiple ages, you can more easily review, discuss, and apply the same lessons in daily life with your family.
More About Our Nursery Ministry
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Health, Safety and Security
West Shore Free Church takes our responsibility to provide a safe and secure environment for children very seriously. We have implemented a safety and security policy that protects children and reassures parents and includes:
- An electronic check-in and sticker verification system for all childcare and classes
- Background checks and an internal vetting process for all adult volunteers
- Training for teenagers interested in serving as volunteer assistants
- A health policy that asks parents to keep children with symptoms of illness home
- Regular hand washing among leaders and children and disinfecting of classrooms and facilities
- We seek to maintain a low teacher-to-child ratio of 3 to 1 in the nursery
- Changing tables are equipped with anti-bacterial soap and disposable gloves and are disinfected after each use.
- New containers of clean toys are used for each service. Used toys are put away to be disinfected during the week.
- Crib sheets are removed and washed after use.
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Worried About Children Being Upset
If you’re concerned about your children becoming upset when you leave them, the caregivers will work with you to find the best way to comfort them. In most cases, crying stops a few moments after parents leave and fussing becomes less common with regular attendance. If a child continues to cry after five or ten minutes, we contact the parents using their cellphone.
Have questions about what to bring? Check out our recommendations for your first visit.
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Provide Care for our Smallest Children
If you are interested in volunteering as a nursery leader, review our areas of need and sign up.