St Luke’s Church Children’s Groups
Our fun and friendly groups for children meet each Sunday morning. After a short time of worship together in the main Church, the children head out to their own age-appropriate groups to explore and grow in their own personal faith in a safe and engaging space, packed with a variety of activities.
Protecting our children is of paramount importance to us and we do all that we can to ensure that our Church is a place where children can thrive safely. All our awesome volunteers who work with children undertake a rigorous Safer Recruitment process which includes a full DBS check. For more information on our safeguarding practices, please the button below.
Purple Group
Purple Group is for little ones from birth to Pre-school age. There is usually a short Bible story, singing and dancing with musical instruments, craft and lots of opportunities for free-play.
Alternatively, carers with very little ones are welcome to stay in the main Church service where we have an area at the back with comfy sofas and a soft rug.
Red Group
Red Group is for children in school years R, 1 and 2.
Red Group meets in St Luke’s House and have a lot of fun learning through play. Using a mixture of animated clips, practical games, activities and crafts to keep everyone engaged, Red Group find out more about God’s love for them and their part in His plan.
Green Group
Green Group is for children in school years 3, 4, 5 and 6.
Green Group meets in the spacious hall which allows for plenty of movement as the children delve into the Bible to find out more about the God who created them and loves them immensely. Through a mixture of multimedia presentations, games, music, dancing, quizzes, crafts, drawing, singing, snacks, chatting, group challenges and community free-play, relationships are built and lots of fun is had.
All three groups have a varied and packed programme of topics covering a range of Bible stories, characters and themes which help the children to develop their own knowledge and experience of God. There are always opportunities for prayer and exploring how things might be applicable to them.
Children with additional needs
We want everyone to feel welcome and comfortable at St. Luke’s and have the following available for those who might find it helpful:
- Visual timetables
- Noise cancelling headphones
- Fidget accessories
- Sensory circuit activities
- Safe spaces
- Chill out zone in the main church
Our Kids’ volunteers have had opportunities to receive training about supporting those with additional needs too.
We are keen to make St. Luke’s as accessible as possible and are working with the charity Growing Hope to improve what we are able to offer.
If there is something that might help you or your child that we have not covered above, please do contact us.
Meet the Team
Megan Baker
We are blessed with a fabulous team of dedicated and enthusiastic volunteers who have a real passion for helping children to know Jesus better for themselves.
Megan is our full time Children and Families Pastor. She loves journeying with our youngest church members (and their grown-ups!) as we discover faith, the wonder of God, and possibly snack crumbs in equal measure.
Megan oversees the Kids’ work and volunteers at St. Luke’s.
Join the team
If you love working with children and seeing them develop along their own faith journeys and would like to be a part of our super team; please do get in touch!
Events
There’s never a dull moment for the Kids’ team! In addition to our usual weekly Sunday morning activities, we have a number of special events throughout the year including our very popular Light Trail in October and Pancake Party in February.
We celebrate events like Harvest Festival, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and Christmas with Family Celebrations where adults and children gather for a short interactive intergenerational time together…often culminating in eating cake!
Praise Party
Each term we have a Praise Party for all the children where we have a great time of high energy praise and worship and a time of reflection and prayer where we seek to tune into what God might be saying to us.
Holiday Club
Holiday Club happens in the Easter holidays each year and is brilliant fun. Aimed at primary-school-aged children, we have a crazy week of fun, laughter, games, challenges, messy games, crafts, singing, dancing, eating and chatting as we join together to find out more about Jesus. To find out more, see our Holiday Club Page.
Café n Tots
Café N Tots welcomes all those who care for babies, toddlers and Pre-schoolers to come along on either a Monday or Thursday morning from 9.30 to 11.30am to chill, chat and play.
Set up with café-style tables and chairs for grown-ups and oodles of exciting toys for the little ones, there is plenty to keep everyone occupied. Fresh homemade cakes and hot drinks are delivered to adults at their tables and there is plenty of squash, fruit and biscuits for the children.
As well as having a number of stimulating toys available; including train track, ride on vehicles, climbing frames, toy buggies, baby area, play kitchen, work bench, vehicle mat and cosy book corner, we also have a weekly craft activity. Each session ends with a group sing-along to popular nursery rhymes with percussion instruments.
It is a very friendly and welcoming group but also popular so do pre-book if you can.
A donation of £2 per session is suggested.
Do get in touch if you need any more information.
Resources
Each week as part of our whole-church celebration, we have a song with actions which everyone is invited to join in with. There are also opportunities to sing and dance in the Kids’ groups. If you want to practice at home or just love the songs we sing; why not download our specially curated St. Luke’s Spotify playlist here.
Each quarter our Children and Families Pastor creates a handy round-up of seasonal resources that might be of interest to those who care for children in any capacity. You might like to check out the current edition and previous ones below:
Questions?
Check out our FAQs list but if you can’t find what you are looking for or you’d like prayer or any other support, please do get in touch!
Which groups do you run?
Purple Group is for babies, toddlers and Preschoolers
Red Group is for Years R, 1 and 2 (Key Stage 1)
Green Group is for Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 (Key Stage 2)
I’ve got a child under a year old, what can I do?
Carers with very little ones are welcome to stay in the main Church service where we have an area at the back with comfy sofas and a soft rug. If your little one becomes unsettled or you need extra space, you might like to move into the foyer area where the welcome team are based, where we have comfy chairs and you can watch the service on a large TV screen.
Alternatively if you want to chat to other adults and their children, Purple Group is a sociable hub of fun for those from birth to Pre-school age.
What are the timings for the groups?
The children start off with their families in the main church at 10am on Sundays for worship altogether before heading off to their groups for the rest of the service.
Where do I need to go when I arrive?
When you arrive, the Welcome Team will direct you towards the Kids’ Registration desk where someone will sign your children in and give them their stickers (which we use to safeguard the children) and then they will show you into the main church.
Where will my children be?
At St Luke’s we are blessed to have lots different spaces available for each group on site. There are signs directing you to where each group is being held, but there are loads of Kids’ Team volunteers (identifiable by their colourful branded T-Shirts) who can direct you if you need.
Who looks after my children?
Our awesome St. Luke’s Kids’ Team! All our volunteers have been through our safer recruitment process, safeguarding training and have DBS checks so you’re in safe hands.
What will my kids do?
Lots of things! Each week we’ll look at a different story, character or theme in the Bible, and unpack it together with games, stories, activities and craft. We’ll also have times of prayer and worship, and lots of play too!
My child has additional needs - are the groups suitable?
We want to provide an environment where every child can encounter Jesus and explore faith, whatever their needs. Our volunteers have additional needs training and we have a number of resources available to help, for example: visual timetables, noise cancelling headphones, fidget accessories, sensory circuit activities and safe spaces.
Please get in touch with us if you need more information. We would love to meet you and your child, and make sure they get the best support.
What should my children bring with them?
Nothing! We’ll provide drinks and biscuits and we have loads of toys and activities.
Do I need to book or tell you we’re coming?
No, just come along!
How do I find out what my kids are getting up to?
We let families know about the content we’re looking at in the groups via a half termly email. To receive these emails you simply need to sign up for ChurchSuite and make sure your children are registered on there too.
Can I join the team?
If you love working with children and seeing them develop along their own faith journeys and would like to be a part of our super team; please do get in touch!
I’ve got another question!
If you can’t find what you are looking for or you’d like prayer or any other support, please do get in touch!