First Congregational Church of Cheshire

First Congregational Church School Forms: Church School Teacher and Helper response cards, Church School and Nursery Registration Forms
First Congregational Church School Publications: Church School Handbook, Elementary Church School Newsletters and Parent Connection issues and other publications

Our goal is to nurture spiritual growth through worship, education, prayer, fellowship and service. We encourage our members to identify their God-given gifts in ministry and use them in service to the church and the wider community.

We accomplish this by:
• teaching and sharing the stories of God,
• spreading God’s love and care through prayer and Christian example, and
• seeking spiritual understanding through our personal and collective study of God’s word.

“Christian education is not something external to be applied to the learner. Rather, it is a guided experience in which participants and teachers are engaged in God’s Word creatively, spontaneously, and purposefully. The key ingredient in Christian Education is participants and teachers uniting their life experiences as they engage scripture with their questions, hopes, fears and dreams. The real curriculum is what emerges. We simply provide the space and the context for it to happen and then try our best to move with the Spirit. The real teacher is God.”

Story-based Curriculum for Preschool 3-1st grade Bible Journeys Children’s Ministry Live B.I.G. has monthly Bible story themes which focus on Bible stories in the Old and New Testaments throughout the year.
Live B.I.G. is the perfect start for our younger children as it prepares them to move into ourBible Journeys Workshop Rotation lessons in elementary grades. The Live B.I.G. easy-to-use lesson plans help teachers prepare well-balanced lessons in a fun environment that encourages them to build ever-important faith relationships with the children. Live B.I.G. makes the lessons stick by using the three ways children learn – hearing, seeing,and then living what they learn. The multifaceted lessons help kids grow as children of God and take what they learn from Sunday school into their everyday lives. In Chapel we will companion the Live B.I.G. lessons taught in the classroom using DVD segments, Christian music videos and special children’s sermons designed to enhance the church calendar year and the classroom lessons.

A workshop rotation model, Bible Journeys is a new and exciting style of church school where children study and experience the same Bible story for 4 weeks in various formats. Teachers stay in the workshop and children, in grade levels, rotate through each one. A team of shepards who remain with the class for an entire year provides consistency and relationship building. Our classrooms are being transformed to accommodate art, acting, puppetry, storytelling, computers, and games.

Junior High tends to be a challenging group to engage. To meet this challenge, we are tailoring our curriculum to meet the specific needs of this group. Each month they will explore a contemporary topic, relating the Bible to their lives.

Confirmation class is open to anyone in high school who has not been confirmed. Classes begin in September and meet every Monday evening from 7-8:30. Our program explores various tenants of the Christian faith through interactive exercises and discussions. A mentoring program begins in early January. Each confirmand is carefully matched with an adult member of our congregation, for a more personalized study of the Book of Luke and for further faith exploration. Our program also includes a weekend retreat midyear.

Lead by lay members of our congregation, Stepping Stones is a youth group open to students in 5th and 6th grade. They meet once a month, on Friday evenings, at the church. Our youth participate in fellowship, mission work, and games, which focus on Biblical themes and moral issues.

This vibrant and growing program is open to all youth that are in 7th through 12th grade. It is an ecumenical group, which meets every Sunday evening from 5-7. Programs consist of skits, games, discussions, debates, faith questions, theology and FUN. Singing and prayer is a favorite component and lifts everyone’s spirit. There are also mission trips and retreats scheduled throughout the year, along with fundraisers to help support the program. For more information, see the Youth Ministry page.