Stonegate Kids

We understand that it can be stressful to drop your child off in an unfamiliar place. The Stonegate KIDS team would like to recommend the following talking points to set your child up for a successful experience when you visit:

• Explain where your family is going. Consider browsing the pics on our website to build familiarity.
• Talk to your child about what he/she will be doing. For details on that, please refer to The Grove, The Woods, and The Wild sections above.
• Assure your child that you won’t be far away. Take a few moments to share that you will also be learning about God in “big church”.
• Comfort your child by letting him/her know that church is a safe and fun place to be.
• Reassure your child that you will return to get him/her just as soon as the service is over.
• On the way home from church, ask your child to name at least one thing they enjoyed about their experience in Stonegate KIDS.
• In that same conversation, share one thing YOU learned in “big church.” This helps reinforce the idea that church is important for the whole family.
• Encourage excitement for returning next week!

If you’d like to let us know about your family’s visit ahead of time, you can click below.

START HERE

In anticipation of your first visit, it may help you to know the basics of our Check-In system.

CHECKING IN

• Our Check-Ins area is just outside the entrance to the GROVE. To reach this area, please turn left after entering through the doors by the tent and continue past the coffee bar.
• If you’re a 1st time guest, you’ll want to budget a little extra time (8-10 minutes) for your check-in process. All subsequent visits should move more quickly.
• Stonegate KIDS uses a web-based program to create a profile for your child. This profile gathers important information, including allergy alerts, medical conditions, and contact phone numbers for emergencies. For access to this profile later on, please download the Church Center app and link your account to Stonegate Church.
• All families should receive 2 stickers when check-in is completed. Sticker #1 is a name tag for your child that includes an alphanumeric code. Sticker #2 is pick-up tag for parents printed with the same alphanumeric code that’s on your child’s name tag. You must present this tag (or a photo of it on your phone) in order to pick up your child. If you lose the sticker, a new one can be printed for you (PLEASE NOTE: This may add time to your pick-up). Parents of infants and young toddlers will get an additional sticker to put on a diaper bag.
• If your child needs you, the alphanumeric code that’s been assigned to your child will appear on the screen in the auditorium. When you notice a code on the screen, please check your pick-up tag to if it’s assigned to your child. If it is, please come to the Stonegate KIDS area right away.

We take the teaching of your kids very seriously.

Our curriculum resources are a dynamic facet of our ministry. After careful consideration, we selected a curriculum through Lifeway called The Gospel Project.

The Bible is God’s story. Every word on every page points to God’s redemptive plan for humanity; a plan that culminates in the life, death, and resurrection of God’s son, Jesus Christ. This is the heart of the Gospel.

The Gospel Project is a 3-year chronological study plan with Gospel-centered lessons that focus on telling God’s story to children in an age-appropriate way.

THE GOSPEL PROJECT
“The Gospel Project takes kids on a Christ-centered, chronological journey through Scripture. Kids will discover how the gospel unfolds from Genesis through Revelation. When kids truly experience the gospel, their hearts are transformed. It is the gospel, not good behavior, that changes everything.”

LEARN MORE

THE NEW CITY CATECHISM
We believe that God calls parents to be the main pastors of their children in the home. Stonegate KIDS is dedicated to helping equip parents for the work of discipling their kids, and the New City Catechism book is one of the ways we do that.

“This short book lays out 52 questions and answers related to God, human nature, sin, Christ, the Holy Spirit, and more. Whether used devotionally, recited orally, or memorized over the course of a year, families, churches, small groups, and Christian schools will treasure this as a valuable tool for teaching the core doctrines of the Christian faith to children and adults alike.” – The New City Catechism Website

These books are available for free at the Stonegate KIDS check-in area. Please ask one of our Stonegate KIDS staff members for your copy!

To download the app for your iPad or get the catechism online, go to: www.NewCityCatechism.com

Your child’s safety is very important to us. In Stonegate KIDS, we strive each week to create a safe, secure environment that’s conducive for everyone to learn.

MINIMUM STANDARDS

• We conduct a bi-annual Criminal History Background Check on all staff and Leaders over the age of 13.
• Junior Leaders (middle school) and Cadet Leaders (1st-5th graders serving with their parents) are required to submit a “Character Form”.
• All Leaders 14 and older must complete a sexual abuse awareness training through Ministry Safe.
• Youth (high school) & adult Leaders participate in formal and informal trainings to communicate expectations for our ministry’s policies and procedures.
• Each room has pre-determined ratios and capacities to maximize supervision and promote quality classroom management.
• The corridors in the Stonegate KIDS area are surveilled by multiple high-definition cameras.
• Children are only released to an adult or family member who has a Pick-Up sticker (or a photo of the sticker) with an alpha-numeric code that matches the code on the name tag worn by the child.
• Our Check-Ins system features additional protection for families with custodial limitations legally in place. Please reach out to our Stonegate KIDS Director for more information on this.

Email Kids Director

In an effort to prevent the spread of germs and illness in our church community, Stonegate KIDS has several useful health measures in place:

• Hard surfaces (tables, chairs, etc.) are wiped down between services and sanitized after the 11:00 service each week.
• Toys in the nursery areas are sanitized each week.
• Crib sheets and other fabrics are laundered weekly.
• Leaders in our nursery areas wear gloves when changing diapers. Used gloves are discarded immediately after use.
• In rooms with lap babies and crawling babies, our Leaders remove their shoes and put on a pair of freshly laundered socks that are provided by Stonegate KIDS.
• Kid-friendly hand sanitizers (alcohol free) are available in every classroom.

To help ensure a healthy environment for everyone, we ask parents to please keep your child at home if the following conditions exist:

• Fever greater than 99º in the last 24 hours
• Vomiting or diarrhea
• Persistent cough (dry or productive)
• Runny nose with cloudy or green mucus
• Unexplainable rash
• Symptoms of an eye infection (moderate/heavy drainage, unusual puffiness, sticky discharge, notable redness)
• Although lice is not an illness, we ask that a child with signs of nits or active lice be kept at home until the lice issue has been resolved.

If our team members or Leaders notice any of the above conditions in your child, you will be called to pick him/her up immediately.