Chatham Corps is in a fortunate position of having a dedicated and enthusiastic group of people who form the Children s Ministries Team. The 23 strong team enables us to run a varied programme including: BP sections (beavers, cubs, scouts, explorer scouts, brownies and guides), Junior Choir and Junior Band, Prayer and Praise Club, Tweenagers group and not forgetting our Sunday Worship for 2yr-13yr olds – KAOS, Junior Soldiers and Primary.
With such a dedicated group of children’s workers, the Church activities are flourishing. To see young people grow in their knowledge about Jesus is a reward nobody can better.
Tracy Wood has overall responsibility for our Children s Ministry and works with the Children s Leadership Team to try and keep the activities attractive, purposeful, relevant and fun for the children who attend.
Tracy
Tracy is following her passion for children s ministry and has recently taken a role working for the Salvation Army at our Territorial Headquarters. Her role is Training and Programme Officer in the Children s Ministries Unit, and this she sees as a true privilege. Not only is Tracy able to work alongside children and the leaders in Chatham Corps, her daytime role is to support the 18 Divisional Children s Officers, and encompasses all the volunteer children s workers across the UK and Ireland Territory.
Tracy takes inspiration from a quote:
One hundred years from now
It will not matter
What kind of car I drove
What kind of house I lived in
How much I had in my bank
Or what clothes I wore
But the world may be a better place
because I was important in
the life of a child
So what does Children s Ministry look like at Chatham?
For starters, the Sunday worship time for children is split into several activities. Firstly, our Sunday School is named KAOS (Kids Alive On Sunday) and is led by the Assistant YPSM Vanessa Cripps. Vanessa is a school teacher and has a true passion, energy and enthusiasm for children s work.
Vanessa
KAOS caters for youngsters between the age of 2 years and 13 years, meeting every Sunday, starting at 10.30am until 12.00 noon. In that time, the youngsters share in all-age worship including singing, fun and games, video, drama, Bible discussion and we always include news time . We often have fun with our Puppet Ministry too! You never know who might turn up, and what they might get up to, a great way to share the stories of Jesus!
The first half hour of KAOS includes the under 7s (the Primary) after which they go off for their own age-specific teaching and fun!
The Children s Sunday programme is structured so that we alternate KAOS and Junior Soldier activities. The Junior Soldier programme is led by the Junior Soldier Sergeant and her team. Sam Wood has recently taken over the role of JS Sergeant, although she has been working with the children for many years.
Sam
A Junior Soldier is a young person who has made a personal decision to accept Jesus in their life. They make a promise to read their Bible and pray regularly.
Not every child in KAOS is a Junior Soldier. Becoming one is a personal choice for each person who attends. Whether they make that decision or not, all activities are open to both junior soldiers and non-junior soldiers. Click here for more information about Junior Soldiers.
For those with a musical interest, we have a Junior Band and a Junior Choir. Both meet weekly for rehearsals and regularly take part in the main Church services and also the children-led specific services.
For those who just want to have an evening of fun and worship, we have:
- Prayer & Praise. This is open to all children from 7yrs – 12 yrs. Even if you do not come along to our Church – you are welcome. It runs on the 1st and 3rd Friday of each month and activities include games, quizzes, DVD nights. See our coming events calendar to see when the next one is – it would be great to see you.
- Tweenagers. This is open to all children aged 11-12years. The transition from Junior to Senior School can be a big leap for some children, and at this age many children feel too old for Sunday School but are not quite old enough to join the Youth (13yrs). They are the age in-between . Tweenagers meet monthly and our time focusses on introducing children to Bible study, discussions on subjects that concern them as well as some Hot Topics.
In addition to our regular Programme, we also have some annual events:
- KAOS Summer Outing normally to the beach. This is a day where the whole Church come along and support – our record attendance being 113 people!
- KAOS Christmas activities – including a Carol Concert. This is a service lead by the young people but enjoyed by everyone.
- YP Annual – a special meeting where the youngsters receive a token prize for their attendance in KAOS.
- Junior Soldier s Day of Renewal – a special service where youngsters are encouraged to renew their Promise.
- Children and Youff retreat – a weekend of fun mixed in with learning and worship. Open to all children who attend our midweek and/or weekend activities.
The work of the Children s Ministries Team includes linking with other groups that use our facilities. We try and encourage youngsters in these groups to come along on a Sunday, and also to take part in our special services. Two such groups are our BP sections – Guides/Brownies and Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Explorers
Click here to see the schedule of when all the children s activities take place.
Chatham Corps is in a very fortunate position in that the Children s and Youth Ministries Teams work well together and many events are joint ventures. This encourages the Youff to be role models to the children and take some responsibility in their nurture, and for the children – it enables them to understand that transitioning to Youff is not scary and relationships are built before they attend.
If you live locally and would like some more information about or to bring your children to any of our activities, please contact us as we would love to meet you. You can contact us through this website click here or through our Children s Ministries Leader Tracy Wood: tracy.wood@salvationarmy.org.uk
