Little Lambs ministry
Play, dance, sing, pray, eat, play. That is the agenda for the little ones who aren’t in formal school yet, who come to the Bernsen Gym each Monday morning at 10 a.m. for Little Lambs. It might sound like any children’s program, and in a lot of ways it is, but at Little Lambs, parents, grandparents and great grandparents join in the fun.
Modeled after the Scottish community programming that former First Church Pastor Ryan Moore experienced while living overseas, Little Lambs hopes to show the kids a small taste of what Christian community looks like, whilst also teaching them to have fun and worship the Lord.
A typical day starts with dancing and then circle time with songs, a Bible story and a short prayer to help teach the kids more and more about God, and to get them into the practice of worship. Lydia Olson, who started coming last year with her son Luke and daughter Allie, said “They really enjoy the songs and then they memorize the songs and oftentimes sing them later. They love playing after the class. It really reinforces the other things they learn in Sunday school and church, and what we talk about at home. They like the cookies.”
We have the church kitchen to thank for the freshly baked cookies after a round of singing, stories and prayer. The food aspect was a big part of the Scottish events, and Little Lambs keeps that tradition going. It is a great treat for the kids and some adults too. And allows for a moment of fellowship with the kids and adults. After the snack, we have free time in the gym where kids can be found running around in a fun, unstructured way. Adults can chat, or play with the little ones, usually both.
“We all sing the songs as a group, and it makes such a difference we bring it home with us.”
–Sandy Curtis
Sandy Curtis, whose granddaughter Bella started coming when she was still learning to walk and is now entering preschool, loves the inclusion of the adults in the class. Sandy said, “It makes a huge difference. We get to meet the other people and participate.”
Margaret Holdridge agrees that relatives joining in makes a difference. She brings her great granddaughter, Safia. “She probably wouldn’t have gone if I hadn’t been there and now she is really comfortable. I like to interact with the parents and grandparents too.”
“The connection for us with other parents, grandparents and children has just been so meaningful and touching knowing that we are all there wanting our children to be in the Word, to love Jesus, to know God. All of us there have that desire and you can sense that and feel that. It is a great place for the littlest children to come and learn about Jesus and learn about fellowship and for us as adults.” Sandy said. Little Lambs is a really informal group, and we would love for you to drop in sometime to play, dance, sing, pray, eat and play some more with us. For information on Little Lambs, please contact Phillip Bowman at 918-630-1786 or pbowman@firstchurchtulsa.org.
About the author:
Phillip Bowman serves as the K Group coordinator for First Church, and also runs our Little Lambs and Downtown Theological Roundtable groups. Before joining the staff of the church, Phillip was a stay-at-home dad and also served as a history teacher at Town and Country School.