Youth

At Browns Point, the youth group is always growing and changing and trying new things. The focus is on learning more about God, reaching out in service and having fun.

Junior high youth and Senior High youth: Sundays  6:00 – 7:30 pm
It will start up again Sept. 12th.

Children and worship

Children have a central place in the life of the BPUMC congregation and we believe that they are full members of our faith community. By being in worship with the whole church community, children experience what it means to be part of the family of God. Children “catch” faith through experience more than they “learn” faith through teaching. Our 11am service is especially conducive to the ways kids worship…with easier songs, more movement and more participation. Worship and education are both vital parts of raising kids of faith.

Kids are encouraged to produce “Pew Art” during services. White paper pads and pens are provided. We don’t provide activity bags because we’ve found that these distract kids from participation, rather than enhancing participation. When attention spans wane, drawing is welcomed! The pastor’s door is our “Pew Art Gallery.”

A new focus for us is seeing the home, rather than the congregation, as the primary and most significant place for nurturing a child’s faith. The church’s role is to support families as they teach one another about God and faith. We want to encourage and coach families, especially those parents who want to pass on their faith to their children but don’t know how. We hope to sponsor more events this year—such as our Advent Family Festival–where children and parents play and learn together.

Change for children Teaching our children about helping others is important at BPUMC. One way we do this on the first and third Sunday; the children collect a change offering during worship using simple white bowls. Every six months, the children discuss and vote on what mission they would like to support with “their money.” They use play money to vote on and decide how to allocate the money (usually about $1,000). Recent recipients have been: The Heifer Project, support for an orphan girl in Africa, support for a mission team in Belize, and a daycare for homeless and low income children.

Nursery program

Our Mission
At Browns Point, the mission of our nursery is to be a place where children can grow in mind, body and spirit and be nurtured into a growing, life-giving faith. We partner with parents to help children grow in their trust of God by providing them with safe, loving and dependable care.

Staffing
We have a paid adult Coordinator who is present each Sunday, as well as one or two other paid young people each week. All staff are trained in CPR and have been trained in health and safety policies. Nursery workers are trained to nurture babies by calling them by name, respecting each one’s preferences, routines and developmental stage. Babies are held often and cries are responded to promptly.

Ages
The Nursery is available during both services for infants, toddlers and preschoolers up to age five, and for infants and toddlers up to age three during Sunday school. Three-year-olds have the option of attending the preschool Sunday school class. Parents fill out an information sheet at their first visit and each week parents must sign children in and out.