In the Four Oaks' nursery, we desire to not only meet the physical and emotional needs of the infants and toddlers, but also to begin cultivating the faith of the next generation so that they will honor Christ above all. Therefore, we provide both a place of love, comfort, and protection (physical and emotional needs) and a place of prayer, worship, and teaching for young children (spiritual needs).
Infant Nursery (0-15 months)
Our hope for the infant nursery is to provide a nurturing, God-honoring, and prayerful environment for our Four Oaks babies that God will use to shape the hearts of the children and enable parents to worship the Lord without concern. Each week, our volunteers greet the parents and children to make sure that the transition to the nursery goes well. Then, throughout the service, volunteers pray for each child, asking God to set them apart for His good purposes and pleasures. We also speak words of truth, encouragement, and affirmation and sing songs of praise to the infants, trusting that the words of Christ will dwell richly within each heart as the child grows.
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Toddler Nursery (15 months to 2 years)
We believe that it brings great pleasure to the Lord to have His children walking in the truth of God’s Word and singing praises to Him. While young children cannot understand deep truths yet, their spirits can begin to understand simple truths that will someday lead them to deep truth and a heart changed by the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Therefore, in addition to volunteers interacting with toddlers in play and snack times, we lead them in singing, learning a Memory Verse, prayer, and a Bible story. For singing and learning a Memory Verse, toddlers head down the hallway to sing praises and play instruments to the Lord in Wee Worship. There, Theo the Puppet reviews the month's Memory Verse. It is our hope that as they sing about the great character and worth of God, their hearts will begin to change and be softened to the message of the cross. To see where you can purchase songs the chidlren learn in Wee Worship, click "Verses to Music" under Links & Resources to the right. The Toddler Verse Placemat is also available under Links & Resources.
Children also hear a short Bible story and are prayed for by name. On Sundays, we repeat the same lesson for a month, with each lesson focusing on a different foundational truth statement about the Lord. The six truths we are currently teaching are God Made Everything (Oct, Apr), God is Everywhere (Nov, May), Jesus Is Here (Dec, Jun), Jesus is the Boss (Jan, Jul), Jesus Loves Me (Feb, Aug), and Jesus is Alive (Mar, Sept). On Wednesday nights, toddlers learn a new lesson each week based on the book of Proverbs called "Way of the Wise." See the Links & Resources tab to the right to download the Parent Packet.
For more information, contact one of our Sunday nursery coordinators, Jessica Hughes or Julia Stake, or our Wednesday night nursery coordinator, Karissa Davidson.