“Nurturing a faith your kids don’t have to heal from”
From the very beginning of The Local Church, we’ve been intentional about cultivating a space where questions and curiosity are celebrated—where we not only teach kids but also learn from them—helping them discover a faith that grows with them. Author Meredith Miller describes it as “nurturing a faith your kids don’t have to heal from.” This is our North Star for kids, family, and student ministries at The Local Church.
✨ A New Curriculum
This fall, both our Local Kids and Family Ministry and our TLCYTH Student Ministry will begin using a brand-new curriculum called Zippee Kids. Zippee Kids is all about nurturing curiosity, centering love, and building a faith that makes room for big questions. Particularly, I’ve been moved by how its creator, Pastor Sarah Swartzendruber, described the curriculum’s genesis:
Zippee Kids grew out of years spent trying to make existing curriculum work—and realizing I was doing more rewriting than teaching. Week after week, I found myself editing out fear-based theology, adding inclusive language, and reshaping lessons so they actually reflected the values I was preaching and parenting with. Eventually, I stopped tweaking and started building something from scratch.
This has been our experience, too, so I’m excited to introduce this curriculum at The Local Church this fall. But we need your help to make it happen!
🙏 Here’s where you come in
When kids’ ministry at The Local Church began, we launched with a one-room Sunday School model in which all our kids gathered in the same room to learn. We were small but mighty!
TLCYTH had a similar origin story—with a few kids in a basement.
Over the last few years, Local Kids on Sunday mornings have grown from that one-room Sunday School class to now needing FOUR classrooms! And when TLCYTH wrapped for the school year last spring, over 50 students attended. This is a testament to Spirit’s movement and the incredible leadership of Krista and Rajeev.
But in order to sustain this growth, here’s the truth: We need volunteers.
Four classrooms on Sunday mornings means we need eight adults each week to help lead our kids’ spiritual formation time. And TLCYTH is looking for a group of adult leaders who can show up and maintain a consistent presence on Wednesday nights, week to week.
We have an amazing slate of faithful folks who have served with kids and youth over the past few years, but as the ministry grows, that need grows with it.
So here’s the ask: If you’ve never volunteered with kids or youth, could you serve just one Sunday or Wednesday between now and Christmas?
No teaching experience or Biblical expertise is necessary. If you have a willing spirit and a beating heart, you are more than qualified, and we’d love for you to experience the pure delight of our kids and youth as we continue to help them discover a faith that grows with them.
