Cheryce Berg

Director of Children's Ministries

This year I’ve felt a little like Gideon in my new role as director of children’s ministries. The Lord called me to this giant task of serving the precious young families in our church, and then greatly increased my dependence on him as everything changed with COVID-19. As the props on which I depended were removed or restyled one by one (resources of space and people and money), we as a ministry spent more time praying for wisdom and testing new ways of sharing the truths of the Bible. Praise him for his grace to cover all! Praise him for being at work in ways seen and unseen! Praise God alone for loving the children of this church so deeply that nothing can stop his Word from being proclaimed to them!

WOW (Julie Sohmer)

Each Sunday morning, we gather—seven adults, six student leaders and 40 children (Kindergarten to third grade)—to worship our great God and learn more about him. As a group this year, we memorized Psalm 96 and explored the truths we believe in as we studied the meaning of each phrase in the Apostles’ Creed. What a joy to spend our Sunday mornings with this energetic bunch!

Children’s Church (Lisa McKenna)

This year in children’s church, we have focused on worshiping God and wondering at what we learn about him. The children’s ministry staff has put together new props for storytelling that draw the children’s attention beautifully. After we introduced this new routine, one of the twoyear-old boys asked, “Teacher, next week when we come back, can we hear more stories from the Bible?” We are thrilled to see them interact with the truths of the Bible this way.

Preschool Bible School (Christina Samuell)

Who makes it possible for nine preschool Bible school classrooms to open their doors to 105 children at 9:30 a.m. each week? They are couples, single adults, retirees and students just like you who have responded to God’s call to share his Word with his children. As they joyfully play, sing, pray and teach from the Bible, they are fulfilling the promise we all make when children are baptized and dedicated in our church: We will, God helping us.

Boys Brigade (Terry VanSomeren)

In Brigade we had the largest group of boys we’ve ever had, including just under a hundred boys on a few nights. We looked at brothers in the Old Testament this year and how to treat siblings at home. It was a good year, and we’re sorry it is getting cut short.

Elementary Bible School (Dan Burden)

This year we welcomed several new teachers into our rotation. They acclimated well, and the Lord has used them to proclaim the gospel in both small and large group teaching settings. We remain a blessed body with many people who are gifted teachers. The overall numbers in the elementary program remained constant, with a teaching team of 64 and between 200- 250 students each week. Flexibility and creativity characterize the staff, as they seek ways to pivot during the isolation of the pandemic, while delivering lessons from God’s Word and maintaining connection with students. We have a faithful God who promises to be a truthful and unchanging rock during tumultuous times.

Pioneer Girls (Judy Ford)

As I visited the classrooms these past months I saw girls dressed in costumes acting out Bible stories, learning how to make yummy granola, creating mini homes and gardens, learning their weekly Bible verse, writing in their journals, playing fun games in the gym and being loved by the wonderful leaders God has blessed us with. It’s a joy to see it all unfold every Wednesday evening, and I’m glad to be a part of it!