Kids' Ministry

At Cornerstone, we want children to be an important part of our church family.

Kids' Space is our ministry to children on Sunday mornings at Community Church, and aims to introduce and develop children's understanding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We long to see the children among us become life-long disciples of Jesus, through the work of the Spirit.

Kids' Space runs different age-specific groups, named around a building theme — suggesting lives built on the foundation of Jesus Christ, our cornerstone.

Pebbles is a crèche for children 3 years and under, and is open 15 minutes before the church service. Pebbles is a fun time for children to explore toys, books, crafts, and to learn simple truths about God.

We ask parents to bring clearly labelled water and morning tea in a lunchbox for their child(ren). We also ask parents to sign them in and out of the Pebbles classroom.

Our Investigators program is a bridge class for children who are too old for créche, but would feel lost in our primary school-aged program, Kids Space. It’s a safe and fun space for our 4 and 5 year olds to learn the Gospel in an environment tailored to their needs. We hope to transition them well into Kids Space when they are ready at the age of 6 years.

This class runs during term times, and parents can choose to place their children in the Kids Space holiday programme or into Pebbles during the school holidays.

We ask parents to bring clearly labelled water and morning tea in a lunchbox for their child(ren).

These children begin their time with the adults in the church service and are taken by their leaders to a classroom situated next to the créche rooms. They spend time playing, eating morning tea, hearing a story, participating in discussion of the story and completing a craft activity. 

Caregivers are asked to sign their children into the leader's care before church. Sign in/out sheets are placed on a table in the hall foyer as you arrive at church. At the end of church, caregivers are asked to please come to the créche rooms where they can pick up their child and sign them out.

During the school terms, we have a program for children aged 6 to 12.

These children start with the adults in the church service, heading out to a separate classroom 20 minutes or so into the service. The children first spend time together as a large group — playing games, singing, memorising scripture and hearing the Bible read and taught. The children then split into smaller groups with age-specific learning activities, crafts and discussion about the lesson.

Caregivers are asked to sign them into our care before church. Sign-in sheets are placed in the hall foyer as you enter church. Leaders guide the children back to the main hall as the church service finishes, where they join the adults for morning tea.

The classrooms which are used for all ages of Kids' Space are located to the left of the main hall.

The main hall has a fully fenced outdoor area to one side, which is perfect for children to run around in after the service. 

Our lessons are centred on the Bible and our activities aim to point to what God is saying to us through His word. A range of interactive games and activities are used to help the children learn important truths about God and His world. 

In 2022 Crèche, Investigators and the Primary aged children are taught using Kidswise curriculum and will follow along with the passages taught in the Sunday service and what is read in Growth Groups during the week

Kathryn Gibson coordinates the Children's ministry and helps to ensure children, caregivers and leaders are well cared for and resourced. Our leaders are comprehensively trained by Victoria Goodman and Joanna Couperus.

Our leaders and helpers are carefully chosen members of Cornerstone, with the majority being from our Campus Church congregation. You can recognise the leaders each Sunday by their coloured lanyards and Kids’ Space t-shirts.

Cornerstone prioritises the safety of the children who attend our programs. All of our regular leaders are vetted through the New Zealand Police, and also sign Cornerstone's Child Protection Policy specific to the group they will be caring for. Regular leaders are committed to regular training in both teaching and child safety principles. The following are our current Children's Ministry policies:

• Child Protection Policy & Procedures
• Creche at Cornerstone Community Church
• Kids at Cornerstone Community Church
• Creche at 'Connect Women'
• Youth at Cornerstone

If anyone does have any concerns relating to child safety, they can report them to one of our Safe Ministry Supervisors (currently Lydia Oliver and Craig Marshall), who will make sure the matter is dealt with appropriately.

We'd love you and your child(ren) to come and visit us — we hope you'll be convinced that Kids' Space a great place for your children!

If you would like to know more, please contact Kathryn Gibson.