St. Stephen’s Church values children and all that they bring to the life of a church.
The Aims
At Children’s Church (Pebbles, Rocks and All Stars) we aim to worship God, pray with and for each other, learn from the Bible, have fun together, and experience God’s Spirit for ourselves.
We want all those who come to Children’s Church to learn about, and experience God’s amazing love for them.
We want the children who come to feel they belong to St. Stephen’s Church, to believe in God’s love for them and to become closer followers of Jesus.
Child protection
St. Stephen’s Children’s Church operates within Balance - the good practice guidelines that have been adopted by Sheffield Diocese for working with children and young people in parishes.
You can contact the Diocesan Child Protection Officer, Sue Booth on 0113 275 5266
What happens on Sundays?
Each Sunday, the children start off in the main church for a worship song, before going out to their groups.
On the first Sunday of the month we have an “All Age Worship” and the children stay in for the whole service.
There are 25 children up to age 11 regularly attending, with a team of 8 leaders and 12 helpers.
New children are warmly welcomed.
There are 3 children’s Church groups
- All Pre-school & Reception children
- Children in Y1, Y2 & Y3 at school
- Children in Y4, Y5 & Y6 at school
Toybox Charity
Children’s Church at St Stephens supports the Toybox Charity which provides homes and education for street children in Guatemala . Our aims for doing this are:
- To help our children to learn how they can give with their money and their prayers
- To give the children a ‘wider’ view of God’s family
- To teach the children about poverty and change
- To support the work of Toybox Charity
St Stephen’s youth
Beyond Belief is a group for young people of secondary school age.
They meet during church on the 3rd Sunday of each month and join in with Godly Play once a month.
Godly Play
At St Stephen’s we have a wonderful Godly Play room.
All children aged 4 and above have the opportunity to share in a Godly Play story each month.
Kathryn Lord and Vicki Neath are accredited Godly Play teachers and are working with Netherthorpe and Walkey Schools to share Godly Play stories with the classes.
We want to enable other churches to explore the possibilities of using Godly Play and offer workshops in Godly Play.
For more information about Godly Play, please go to www.godlyplay.org and www.godlyplay.org.uk