Romans 1:12 ‘When we get together, I want to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours.’
Kia Ora Bay Kids Whanau,
We’re so excited about what’s coming up in Bay Kids over Term 2 and so we wanted to give you a glimpse into what your children will be learning, and the heart behind it all.
This term, we’re diving into lots of the Old Testament together - exploring the big story of the Bible and discovering what God is like through the stories we read.
For our preschoolers, we’ll be walking through The Tiny Truths Illustrated Bible, helping them discover who God is through key stories like Creation, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and more. These stories help our youngest kids begin to see that God is kind, powerful, loving, and that He always keeps His promises.
We want everything we’re doing in Bay Preschool to be built around three simple but important truths: God made you, God knows you, and God loves you.
And we want our Bay Preschoolers to know the goodness of God from a young age and to hear about his compassion and His heart to rescue us through all these stories.
The Remember Verse in Bay Preschool for this term is from 2 Timothy 3 verse 16: “God has breathed life into all Scripture. It is useful for teaching us what is true.”
In Team Bay Junior, we’re exploring a fun and engaging curriculum theme: “13 Very Amazing Animals and How God Used Them.”
Each week, your kids will discover how God used animals in the Bible - like a dove bringing hope, lions showing God’s faithfulness, and even a big fish giving second chances! Through these animal stories - which are a good concrete way for this age-group to begin to engage in and connect with different parts of Scripture, we’ll be learning that God is always at work and cares deeply about His world and His people.
Our Remember Verse for this term illustrates this point. It is from Psalm 145 verse 9, and we’re pretty good at it already: "The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made."
There’s an invitation here for us as parents and family, to ask your Team Bay Junior children to share about the animal they talked about in Bay Kids and how they think this animal story shows them a bit more about who God is. There could be some interesting answers, I’m hopeful the connection gets made without too many wobbles. We did need to remind the children last week that we don't put our hope in doves, even though this was significant for Noah 😂
And in Team Bay Senior, we’re taking things ‘up a notch’ and focusing on curriculum content called:“13 Very Awesome Promises and How God Always Keeps Them.”
We’ll be unpacking some of the incredible promises God makes throughout the Bible - and how we can trust Him, even when we have to wait. From God’s promises to Abraham and David, all the way through to Jesus, our Team Bay Seniors will see that God is faithful and good, trustworthy and constant, and that with Him we are not alone.
This curriculum brings with it a lot of fun and silly games to continue to build community and a real sense of belonging. Keep asking your Team Bay Senior about the weird and wonderful parts of their Sunday Morning.
Their reassuring Remember Verse is from Psalm 145 verse 13: "The Lord is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made." Our hope is that this verse becomes something our Seniors carry with them, and that it reminds them that God’s promises are good for them.
It’s a real highlight too for our Team Bay Seniors to have more of our BVC Youth involved in their Sunday Programme, as well as our fearless Youth Leader, Kirwan Waiti! It’s important to us that we build strong connections and relationships across our Team Bay Seniors and Youth communities.
Our big prayer for this season is that every child would come to know God more - not just through stories and silliness, but through understanding His heart. The Bible shows us who God is: kind, loving, compassionate, faithful, and always at work in people’s lives. And we want this to be a foundational truth for all our Bay Kids.
We also have some special moments across the term, including:
An All-in Family Service
Mother’s Day
Pentecost Sunday
A few fun events and gatherings along the way Follow, Sparks, LIVE Camp
Thank you so much for partnering with us. It’s a joy to walk alongside your kids as they learn to know God and follow Him.
And just in case you haven’t caught up with the news…as things continue to grow and change, we’re making a really positive shift in our leadership structure.
From term two, Charlotte will be stepping more fully into her Associate Pastor role, while still carrying the overall oversight of Children and Families, and Simone will be stepping into a new role as our Bay Kids Coordinator! This is a natural next step, recognising Simone's heart, leadership, and the way she’s already been serving so faithfully among us, particularly during Charlotte’s Sabbatical time. This change is all about strengthening what we’re already building together. Charlotte will still enjoy being regularly on the Bay Kids roster on Sundays, and you’ll still see lots of continuity in how things run. We’ll be working closely as a team to make sure Bay Kids continues to thrive.
If you ever have questions or want to chat more about this or what your child is learning, we’d love to connect.
Arohanui,
Charlotte and Simone