We offer instruction for children aged two years through sixth grade on Sundays at 9:00 a.m. Teachers use a variety of sources for teaching the Bible from a Reformed perspective. Children also regularly memorize Scripture passages. The following is an overview of our Sunday School classes:
2 / 3 yr olds - Children are introduced to Bible truths and
people of the Bible using Great Commission Publications' curriculum for toddlers.
4 yrs / Kindergarten - Children learn how man has needed
a Savior since the Fall, how God promised to send a Savior, and how that promise
was fulfilled in Jesus Christ, who came as a friend of sinners. Having carried
our sins to the cross, Jesus now invites us to trust in him. This curriculum,
Jesus, What a Savior, is published by Desiring God Ministries.
First Grade - Using My First Catechism, the students
learn basic Bible doctrines, including the Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer,
and the Lord's Supper. They also study the character of God using Tell
Me About God by Susan Harding. Finally they learn about the plan of salvation
in The Gospel for Children by John B. Leuzarder. My First Catechism
is an adaptation for children of the Westminster Shorter Catechism.
Second and Third Grades - Using The Child's Story Bible
by Catherine Vos, students learn about the history of redemption as given
in the Old and New Testaments. In second grade they survey the Old Testament.
In third grade they learn about the Savior and the early church.
Fourth and Fifth Grades - Students study the Westminster
Shorter Catechism over a two year period. In fourth grade, children will
learn about God’s character and decrees, man’s fall and God’s
provision of a Redeemer. In fifth grade students will study the Ten Commandments
and the means of grace for the Christian life.
Sixth Grade - Students study the doctrines of Scripture and
the attributes of God from Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem. Topics
include the biblical canon, the characteristics of Scripture, the attributes
of God and the doctrine of the Trinity. Water baptism and baptism in the Holy
Spirit are also studied.
At 10:00 AM younger children attend Junior Church while older children and parents attend the adult worship service. Children in the classes for two and three year olds through the first grade attend the first session of Junior Church. Children in the second through the fifth grades attend the second session. In both sessions the children worship in prayer and singing. Afterwards, they hear a sermon adapted from the sermon preached in the previous week's adult service.
During Grace Valley Christian Center's Sunday evening
service, children who are two years old through kindergarten age attend children's
classes. After a time of prayer and singing for all the children, the preschool
and kindergarten class studes a Bible lesson from the Old Testament. The curriculum
we use is He Established a Testimony, by Desiring God Ministries.