We recognize the reality that parents come to a progressive church like MissionGathering for a number of reasons. Due to this reality, we want to make sure that our kid’s ministry is different from traditional churches, so that parents can feel at ease that their family is in good hands. Below are commonly asked questions about MG Kids. If you have any other questions that are not listed here, please feel free to contact our pastor at braeden@missiongatheringsd.org. 

What is the check-in process like? 

When you arrive at MissionGathering, kids will initially join the adults in the main service for worship. After worship and announcements, kids will be dismissed to go to the back room for MG Kids. 

What age groups are available for kids?

We currently have PreK through 5th grade available for MG Kids. Kids who are not yet preschool age are welcome to join their parents in the main service. For middle schoolers and high schoolers, please see our page on SD United Youth.

There is also a parent’s room available for parents with babies/toddlers where parents can continue listening to the worship service with rocking chairs, soft padded flooring for little ones to crawl, and plenty of baby toys. 

What will my kids experience at MG Kids?

All kids experience age-appropriate free play, games and crafts, Bible story and discussion, followed by prayer. 

What will my children learn in MG Kids? 

MissionGathering has partnered with the brilliant team at Great Big Bible Story Walkthrough to provide the best in biblical education for our kids curriculum! The Great Big Bible Story Walkthrough take both scholarship and storytelling seriously, so kids are able to experience the stories of Scripture without any unhelpful dogma. Kids will experience an ongoing cycle of 40 different Bible stories, intentionally skipping over the violent stories, and six attributes of God will recur throughout the lessons: God is good, God is powerful, God is just, God is joyful, God is with us, and Jesus is Lord. 

How is MG Kids different from other kids ministries?

Our Pastor always says that “sermons at MissionGathering are meant to start discussions; not end them.” A similar approach is taken in MG Kids! 

The goal is not to indoctrinate kids to believe certain doctrines about God and the Bible, but to educate kids to understand main stories and ideas from the Bible. And yes - we emphasize the fact that these are stories. Some of us at MissionGathering might view the stories in the Bible as literal historical events, but not all of us do! Therefore, we talk about the stories in the Bible as just that: stories. Parents can decide if they wish to talk to their children about the stories as literal or metaphorical.

We partner with parents in cultivating the values of curiosity, inclusion, and justice. This means that questions are encouraged, and that parents are the decision makers in what they want to teach their children about God. 

How do I talk to my kids about the Bible?

Research from the Fuller Youth Institute shows that there’s no one size fits all approach to passing on faith to the next generation, so we highly recommend reading the book Woven: Nurturing a Faith Your Kid Doesn’t Have to Heal From. It provides helpful frameworks for thinking about your own family dynamics, and how faith might fit into your lives based on your unique family. Spoiler alert: the best way to pass on faith to kids is by creating a warm home environment. 

What kids Bibles do you recommend?

There are very few progressive kids Bibles out there, but after searching far and wide we would recommend the following:

Age 4-8: Children of God Storybook Bible by Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Age 5-8: Psalm Book: Prayers and Poems for Kids by Naomi Krueger

Age 6-12: Book of Belonging: Bible Stories for Kind and Contemplative Kids by Mariko Clark

Age 10+: God’s Stories as Told by God’s Children by Over 50 Biblical Scholars/Theologians

What safety precautions are in place at MG Kids? 

Safety is of the utmost importance to us! Every single volunteer in MG Kids is background checked, and trained on best practices for

children’s ministry.