A Focus on Children's Ministry

Our Sunday school classes will be starting a new curriculum on September 11th which they will use throughout the entire school year.  The Children's Ministry (kindergarten through 5th grade) uses John Piper's Children Desiring God curriculum.  The goal of our ministry as well as Piper's curriculum is "to impart to children a vision of God, who He is, who we are in relation to Him, and to establish them with a foundation of doctrine and truth."  Our desire is for our children to see God as the hero of every story, to have a God-centered worldview and a faith that will hold them when difficulties come.  We want them to love the Lord their God with all their heart, with all their soul and with all their mind.

Our teachers have a lot of experience and enjoy working with children.  I know each child and each teacher will be blessed as they get to know one another and get to know the Word of God.

Melissa Guzman and Janet Navarro (pictured below) are the ladies who care for our babies in our nursery.  Melissa has faithfully loved our little ones for 9 years and Janet has been serving at Grace for the past 5 years.

Karina Desroses, Kaytee Drake, Amber Barnes and Karina Galeana teach our toddler Sunday school class.  The curriculum they will be teaching from this year is titled "God's Family",  Beginning the Line of Promise, Adam through Joseph.  Karina, Amber and Karina are pictured below.

Our preschool children are taught by Ileigh Williams.  Ileigh (photo below) is a student at Vanguard University and she is studying English in the hopes of becoming a high school English teacher.  She loves teaching and loves the kids she teaches here at Grace!  The curriculum she will be teaching from is "God Created All Things", Discovering the Creator Through His Word and His Creation.

Sharonda Westry (shown below) will be our Kindergarten/1st grade teacher.  Sharonda is currently a senior at Vanguard University majoring in Liberal Studies.  One of the many passions she has is working with children.  Sharonda loves God so much that whenever she has the opportunity to inspire and teach others about Him, she takes advantage of it!  The curriculum Sharonda will be teaching from is called "The ABC's of God", a Study on the Greatness and Worth of God.  She will be using the alphabet as a framework for teaching the attributes of God.  Each lesson asks and answers three questions, "Who is God?", "What is He Like?", and "How Should I Act Towards Him?"

Hannah Nydam and Talene Dinkjian will be with our 2nd and 3rd grade children.  Hannah is a recent graduate of Vanguard University. She is currently attending Vanguard's Graduate Education Program to receive her teaching credential.  She loves teaching the 2nd/3rd graders at Grace, and would love to be a 2nd grade teacher anywhere in the world.  Hannah is excited to see where God takes her in the next few years.

Talene is also a recent graduate from Vanguard University and is also in their Graduate Education Program.  She hopes to become an elementary school teacher.  Talene loves doing crafts, photography and working with children and seeing them grow.  Talene is below in the white sweater and Hannah is wearing the pearl necklace.

Hannah and Talene will be working through the curriculum "How Majestic is Your Name".  This study presents the Hebrew names of God in the Old Testament and the names of Christ in the New Testament.  Each lesson encourages the children to see and rejoice in the goodness and greatness of God as they explore the meaning of His glorious names.

Jill Casserly is teaching our 4th/5th grade class.  Jill recently graduated from Wheaton College with a major in elementary education.  She has just returned from exploring missions in South America and her passions include singing praise songs to our Lord with kids, playing tennis and cross-cultural ministry.  The curriculum for 4th/5th graders is "My Purpose Will Stand", a Study for Children on Providence of God.  This study teaches children to recognize in their lives and to joyfully trust His good purposes for them.  Jill is pictured below.

Please remember to pray for your children and their teachers this year, as they all continue to learn more about the One who loves them most of all.  Don't forget to stop by, introduce yourself and say "Hello"!