Coming Soon: A New Pray Ground

Jesus said: “Let the children come to me: do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 19:14).

We are excited to announce that we are in the process of creating a dedicated space in the sanctuary for children to participate in worship.

You will start to see the Oak Knoll Pray Ground take shape over the next month.

What’s a pray ground?

We all know that children often can’t sit still, and that’s okay! A pray ground offers a place for children to experience worship through age-appropriate materials. It moves worship for children beyond the children’s message, letting them know that the entire worship service is for them too.

The Oak Knoll Pray Ground will be filled with activities for children that we hope will engage them during worship. Some will be worship-related, and others will simply be fun activities to keep little minds busy and happy. Parents should sit with their children so that the time in worship is both fun and relational.

We fully understand that the Pray Ground might involve a bit of noise. But as Jesus taught, children should be encouraged and uplifted in their life of worship and faith. We encourage members who may be distracted by the noise and activity in the Pray Ground to sit in another area of the Sanctuary. We also ask parents that if children become too distracting to others you visit the Fellowship Hall play area where the service can still be heard over the speaker system.

We hope that being able to move and engage in what feels right to them, our children will enjoy participating in and connecting with the service, and families will enjoy worshipping together—both of immeasurable importance in children’s faith formation.

Written by Christina Black and Pastor Michele Abbott