My goodness, it's already May! Our homeschool community is alreadyfinished for the school year, but I know many of you are still wrapping up this month. The Children's Department is gearing up for a big summer of fun!

In Sunday School we are continuing our study in Genesis, we are focused on Joseph this month.

We still need volunteers for VBS! Wonder Junction VBS will be June 9-12 from 6 - 8 pm with a mini meal served at 5:30 pm. We are still searching for a High Point Bible Teacher. The Bible lesson is the most important part of VBS!! If you are available to teach even just one age group please let me know ASAP so I can give you the lessons to begin studying and preparing. We need our youth volunteers to register as well so I can plan out where each volunteer will be most needed. Sign up today and join the fun in Wonder Junction!

You can also go ahead and register your kids for VBS! This will help us make sure we are prepared!

And don't forget about our Pilgrim's Progress Summer Day Camp July 28 - 31 from 10 am - 2 pm! This is a special event for just our Oak Crest families to have some fun and study together. We will have a rotation of games, snacks, and crafts in the morning, a special hymn time, lunch, and an afternoon of studying John Bunyan's classic Pilgrim's Progress. 

Whew! I know May is a super busy time, thank you for reading this far. Just a few more weeks and it will be sweet summer time! I pray you all have the endurance to finish the school year strong and celebrate the summer!

 April is here and we will have several weeks filled with special activities!

This Sunday, April 6, we are having another Elder Q & A time, so everyone will be meeting in the sanctuary during the Sunday School hour. We will have a few volunteers in the Children's Wing for any families who need to drop off their students during this time, but most of my volunteers will be in the sanctuary to participate in this important process.

Sunday, April 13 is Palm Sunday. We will be pausing our regular Old Testament studies to focus the final week of Jesus' ministry. It is a tradition at Oak Crest to begin the Palm Sunday morning service with a special song where the children file in waving palm branches to lay at the front of the sanctuary. So for that Sunday, you may leave your students in the children's wing after Sunday School. Once they have dropped their palm branches at the front they can come find you in your seats. (We will help make sure all children find their families!) 

Another beautiful Holy Week tradition is our Maundy Thursday Service. We will NOT have service or activities on Wednesday, April 16. Instead, we have a very special Maundy Thursday service on April 17 at 7 pm. I will have lesson packets available for the children to take home on Palm Sunday, or they will also be available at the back of the sanctuary at the Maundy Thursday Service. The lesson will be on the crucifixion for you to study as a family.

Sunday, April 20 is Resurrection Sunday! We will have a special Sunday School lesson focusing on Jesus' resurrection. There will be no evening service or activities.

Sunday, April 27th we will return to our Old Testament studies beginning the life of Joseph. 

Don't forget about our Kids' Worship Nights every Wednesday evening at 7 pm (except the 16th, no service or activities on April 16). I love hearing their beautiful little voices singing beautiful hymns!

And don't forget about our Staycation Pilgrim Camp! Join us for some summer fun while studying Pilgrim's Dangerous Journey, which is an adaptation of John Bunyan's classic Pilgrim's Progress. This will be a day camp, Monday, July 28 - Thursday, July 31, 10 am to 2 pm each day. We need volunteers for the kitchen, Bible Lesson Teachers, group leaders, Crafts, Games, Music, and the Assembly Time. Please sign up and mark any areas you are willing and able to help, adults and youth!

Hello families,

Where did February go?? I can't believe it's already March! Summer is coming fast!!

In Sunday School we are continuing to study the life of Jacob (soon to be renamed Israel). This month we will follow his journey back to be reunited with Esau. And at the very end of the month we will be switching to new teachers for the new unit. 

On Wednesday nights we will continue studying hymns.

Instead of going away for summer camp this year we are hosting a Summer Discipleship Camp right here at Oak Crest! This will be a day camp style event. We will be studying John Bunyan's classic Pilgrim's Progress. Once again, we do need volunteers to make this happen. Please sign up today!

I am so thankful for the opportunities I have to serve you and your families, you are all such a blessing to me!

In Christ,
Melissa Burney
Children's Director, Oak Crest Baptist Church

Hello dear families,

January is finally over and here we are in February! We have so many fun and exciting things coming up, please make sure your ChurchTrac account is up to date with your family's preferred contact information so you don't miss any announcements or communications. Please also make sure your family has an emergency contact set in case we need to contact you while your students are in the Children's Department. Our new Emergency Procedures are posted in the hallway and in each classroom, and the entire Policies and Procedures document is available for review upon request. Volunteers, please pick up your copy to sign and return ASAP if you were not at our meeting.

Our Sunday School is rocking along through Genesis. This month we will be studying the life of Jacob. The older classes are moving quickly through memory verses and catechism questions, and the younger classes are doing well also.

Instead of going away to Preteen Camp this year, I am planning a Summer Day Camp. My hope is for this to be a fun and more intimate discipleship time for our regular families. We will be studying Pilgrim's Journey from the book Dangerous Journey, which is a children's adaptation of John Bunyan's classic Pilgrim's Progress. Dates are currently scheduled for July 28 - August 1, 10 am - 2 pm with lunch served. I am still in the very early stages of planning this event from scratch. I would like this event to be open for PreK through 5th Grade, but I need to have enough volunteers available for that many classes. We will also have a nursery available for volunteer's children.​ Please mark your calendars and sign up to help today!

Hello Parents and Friends!

I pray you all had a blessed holiday season. I, for one, am very happy to be settling back into a routine! And I am already planning out some amazing adventures for this fresh new year!!

In Sunday School we are returning to our Trekking Through The Testaments. We are continuing the study of Abraham with the birth of Isaac, Abraham's test of sacrificing Isaac, Isaac's marriage to Rebekah, the birth of Esau and Jacob, and Esau selling his birthright. 

Kid's Worship Night will resume January 8th! We will continue singing "This Is My Father's World" and begin learning "Great Is Thy Faithfulness."

Looking ahead, I am hoping to plan a Spring activity sometime in March. And summer is coming! Our VBS is tentatively planned for June 9-12. Be on the lookout for volunteer information soon! And in lieu of going away to Preteen Camp we will be hosting a Summer Day Camp in July. This will be the first time we have done something like this, so I still have a lot of details to figure out. The tentative dates are July 28-August 1. If you are able to help or have any ideas please let me know ASAP. 

Hello Parents and Friends!

Advent Season is upon us! I love Advent so much!!

In Sunday School we are taking a short break from our Trekking Through the Testaments for an Advent study. The younger students are looking at the birth of our Savior in the Gospels, while the older students are digging a little deeper into what it means that Jesus is Immanuel, God With Us. We are also taking some time to talk about the Advent candles that Pastor Israel lights each week.

We have also begun the transition to a new group of teachers. I am so thankful to have so many volunteers so they can rotate duties and have a chance to attend adult discipleship too! There is always room for more, if you would like to join our teaching team we would love to have you!

Our Children's Christmas Party will be Sunday, December 8. After the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols you can grab a quick lunch (or pack a lunch to eat in the Fellowship Hall) and then meet in the Firm Foundations classroom at 1 pm. We will be packaging gifts for some of our homebound and nursing home members and then delivering them. The plan is for our last delivery to be at Legacy Oaks Assisted Living in Midlothian by 5:45 to join the caroling group, and then return to the church for the Cocoa and Cookies Fellowship.

Our Kid's Worship Choir will be participating in the special Four Songs and Carols service on Sunday, December 15 at 6 pm. This service will focus on the four songs in the first few chapters of the Gospel of Luke leading to the birth of Jesus. There will be a dress rehearsal on Saturday, December 14th at 10:30 am. Dress rehearsal just means they will practice all of their songs and carols in the Sanctuary, they don't need to wear anything special. And just "Sunday best" for Sunday evening.

We will take a break from Kid's Worship Nights on Wednesday, December 18, and then there will be no Wednesday evening activities the following two weeks on December 25th and January 1st. Kid's Worship Nights will resume on January 8th at 7 pm.

I hope everyone can join us December 24th at 5 pm for our Christmas Eve Candlelight Service, it's always a special night!

Sunday, December 29th will begin our next Unit of Trekking Through the Testaments during Sunday School. We will also have 5th Sunday Fellowship Pot Luck Lunch and Afternoon of Worship. And then a whole new year will be upon us! I love new beginnings. They are a beautiful reminder that the Lord's mercies are also new every single morning! The Lord has been faithful this year, and we can look forward to His faithfulness in the coming new year as well. Hallelujah and Amen.

Hello Parents,

Can you believe the holidays are almost here? We have lots of special events coming up in addition to our regular schedule.

Our Sunday School classes are studying Genesis 12-14 this month. God's Promise to Abram, Abram and Lot Separate, Abram Rescues Lot and Meets Melchizedek, and The Destruction of Sodom but Lot is Rescued.

We will not be having regular Children's Activities on Sunday Evenings through the end of the year, but there are several special events coming up. November 24th we will be decorating the church for Christmas after the morning service, and having a very special Fellowship Meal at 6 pm.

Wednesday nights at 7 pm is our Kid's Worship Night. They are learning the history and theology of hymns. This month's hymns include the Doxology, All Things Bright and Beautiful, and This is my Father's World. They are also working on a few Christmas Hymns for a special evening of Four Songs and Carols on December 15th. 

The church office will be closed November 27-28, and there will be no services or activities November 27th for the Thanksgiving holiday.

A little preview of December! December 1st we will meet in the Firm Foundations classroom at 1:00 pm to put together gift baskets for our Homebound and Nursing Home Members and then deliver them. More details will be available soon!

Hello Parents,

October is here and we are settling into our Fall schedule in the Children's Department. Just a reminder, on Sundays we have Sunday School at 9:30 am and Bible Study at 6:00 pm. On Wednesdays we have our Kids' Worship Night where we are learning the history and theology of hymns as we sing them, and looking at some special music for Christmas.

Our lessons for October will be studying Genesis 6-11. The students are moving quickly through memory verses and catechism questions! Each class is moving at their own pace. If you have not picked up your family's copy of the Memory Book or you would like additional copies please let me know. Hymns this month include the Doxology, All Things Bright and Beautiful, and This is My Father's World.

We have added signs to the rooms at the back of the sanctuary, and there are now little tags next to the doors that can be flipped over to "Occupied" if you need privacy. There are also rocking chairs in my office (which is now in the Children's Wing next door to Pastor Blain's office) if you need additional privacy. But I also want to emphasize that our worship is Family Integrated. Please don't ever feel like your fussy baby or toddler is not welcome in the Sanctuary.

Reformation Day is coming! Which means our Family Fun Fest is coming too! October 31 is one of our biggest outreach events of the year. It has become a beloved tradition for many in our community. We need lots of volunteers to serve in a wide variety of areas so that we can serve our community by providing a safe and fun place to celebrate. There is a sign up sheet in the foyer as well as a button on our ChurchTrac page. You can also sign up by using the button below. 

Blessing to you all as you enjoy your Fall fun!