• NOTHING is changing for our Tadpoles, Guppies, or Shrimp Shack classrooms. All three rooms will be open during both services.

• NOTHING is changing for the 11:00 AM service from how our Creek Kids program operates during our 10:30 service. Creek Kids will run as usual for all ages (birth to 5th Grade) for the duration of the service.

> ONLY THE 9:15 AM SERVICE WILL BE DIFFERENT THAN BEFORE.<

• During the 9:15 AM service, all children in grades K-5th will attend worship with their parents for the beginning of the service. (All children will still need to be checked in BEFORE the service. Classrooms for Pre-K and under will be open for the entire service).

• After the offering prayer (before the pastor begins his message), children will exit and be met by Creek Kids volunteers who will take them to their classes.

• The students will hear the Bible story and lesson, but it will be a shortened/different version of class.

There are a couple reasons for these changes:

1) For our volunteers with kids - We are encouraging volunteers to “attend one, serve one” as often as possible so that we have enough people serving in Creek Kids and all areas when we move to two services, and a large percentage of our Creek Kids volunteers are also parents. This means the children of those volunteers will be at church during both services. For our toddlers and babies in the Guppies and Shrimp Shack rooms, it just means more play time. Our preschoolers in the Tadpoles class will hear the lesson twice, but that repetition is not usually an issue for them (in fact, they might learn more!). The problem we foresee is for elementary aged students in grade K-5 who will get bored doing the same lesson, craft, etc. two times in a row.

2) To allow our older kids to worship alongside their parents - Creek Kids is an amazing program, but it’s also incredibly valuable for our kids to attend church with us, to worship alongside us. We want to give families the opportunity to attend worship together, and we think this is a great way to do that. In fact, even if you’re not volunteering, you are welcome to attend either service and choose 1) the whole Creek Kids experience at 11:00 or 2) worshipping together as a family + Creek Kids at 9:15.

Check in ALL kids BEFORE the service starts, even those who will be with you at the beginning of worship.

• You will check in all your children at the beginning of the first service.

• We will keep your children in the classroom between services. You do not have to come back to check on your children.

• You do not need to leave the first service with your child since Creek Kids volunteers will be ready to escort the children to their classes.

We adjust! Nothing is set in stone. We are trying something new, and while we hope it will be amazing, we’re sure we haven’t thought of everything. We welcome your feedback and suggestions.

Be positive! Our kids (if you’re a parent) and our students (if you’re a volunteer) are always watching and listening (just not always obeying, haha). They will mirror our attitudes and words, so try to be supportive and have a good attitude. Change is often hard but can be very good. Let’s work together to make this a positive change for everyone who is part of our Creek Kids family.

We’re always looking for more volunteers to serve with Creek Kids!

Contact our Children’s Director, Wendy Greene at wendy@tidalcreek.net to find out more!

• Note: We encourage parents of elementary-age children to volunteer during the second service so your children can sit with you during first service.