Children’s Ministries
So the next Generation Might set their hope in God...
The children's ministry at Riverview seeks to guide children into deep truths about God, showing them the glory of his character and nature. We believe God is the main character of the Bible, and so we use the Bible to show children how all of life points to him. Additionally, a strong emphasis is placed on encouraging and equipping parents to use Sunday School and other church-related educational resources for at-home ministry to their children.
NURSERY IS AVAILABLE during Sunday School From BIRTH-23 MONTHs
Children’s Sunday School
9:00 am to 10:00 am
He has spoken by his son - AGES 2-3, 4-5, AND K
He Has Spoken By His Son introduces young children to God’s continuing work of redemption through Jesus in the New Testament. Children are acquainted with a big picture of God and presented with a foundation of Bible doctrine. Fifty-two New Testament story references are arranged chronologically, and key themes, which build a foundation to know and love God, are emphasized repeatedly to reinforce the concepts with children and to show the amazing grace of a God who redeems a people for Himself.
the ABCS of God - GRADES 1-2
The ABCs of God is a Sunday School curriculum for children on the greatness and worth of God. It uses the alphabet as a framework for learning the attributes of God and other terms that describe His character, at an age-appropriate level.
Each lesson asks and answers three key questions, "Who is God?" "What is He like?" and "How should I act toward Him?" as it presents a theology of God for children. Through the use of a teaching aid called “The Blessing Box,” students will discover a new attribute of God each week and will be challenged to consider how they should respond to an amazing God who is worthy of their greatest love, honor, trust, and obedience.
To be like Jesus - GRADES 3-4
What is salvation? How does someone become a Christian? What does it mean to become like Jesus? To Be Like Jesus begins by helping students answer these important questions by establishing the foundation of what it means to be created in the image and likeness of God and shows how we have sinned and utterly fallen short of glorifying God as we should. Then, students will learn nine elements of the gospel message, its purpose and its promise. The second half of the curriculum focuses on the doctrine of sanctification—the process by which a Christian becomes more and more conformed to the likeness of Jesus. Students will study 19 specific commands of Scripture that highlight how they can love God most and become more like him such as worshiping God, being merciful, rejoicing in persecution, being a humble servant and serving God with your abilities.
Teach me Your Way - GRADES 5-8
Teach Me Your Way encourages students to surrender to Jesus in salvation and submit their minds, hearts, and wills to His way in obedience. The first several lessons of the curriculum focus on the need for salvation, and on God’s work in making idolaters into worshipers of Himself. Then, students examine the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), focusing on the inward heart attitude of a person who is submitted to Christ and His ways. The lessons explore the human tendency to worship the creation rather than the Creator, and to pursue the temporal benefits of the world over the eternal value of knowing Christ.
Wednesday Nights
6:30 - 7:30 pm on Wednesday nights
What is the Bible about? What is its message? Who wrote it? Who is the main character? The surrounding culture tells us that we are at the center of their world. The cultural mindset says, "My life is about me. I'm here to feel good; I need to be successful; I need to be working on overcoming my personal problems." This mindset places the person at the center, instead of Christ. Our goal is to grow into God-honoring, Christ-treasuring, redeemed people. All the kids study the same passage of scripture each week but in different age groups. In addition to studying the Bible, kids work on memorizing scripture and complete fun activities that point them to the truth of the Bible.
At Riverview, we strive to saturate people of all ages with the Bible and to engage its truth together. Family Nights are a great way to achieve both of these goals. The Gospel Story Curriculum teaches children that the Bible is one continuous story pointing to Jesus as the hero. Designed to span five years of our Wednesday nights, the lessons present key stories from Genesis to Revelation, each highlighting God's plan of redemption in a way that's engaging, interactive, and easy to understand.
After learning the Bible story in each lesson, the curriculum shares how each story connects to the bigger picture of the gospel, tying Jesus into each lesson.
Bible Memory
At Riverview, we value Bible memory. We believe that the life of faith is a fight of faith and that believers must be equipped for this fight. This equipping can begin at early ages, which is why we encourage our children to memorize scripture. But adults need to know God's word too, because our fight is not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual principalities, so the word of God is our indispensable sword. Through memorizing and meditating on the word, this powerful sword can become a readily available weapon, providing us with ever-present counsel, encouragement, and protection.
Several years ago, our worship team wrote and recorded songs to accompany the memory verses for some of our children's Sunday School classes. Although these songs were written to help children learn the Bible, people of any age can benefit from singing God's word. The team recorded songs for 78 verses. Listen and download memory verse songs for free below.