At Church of the Incarnation, we believe that children are capable of deep relationship with God, and we desire to see them sense his love, enjoy his presence, and experience abundant life with him. We further believe Christians are formed in and through community, and so we look to partner with families in four main ways: church, worship, home, and programs.
Read below to learn about the Sunday morning programs we offer for children.
We strive to be a healthy church, where our children can know and be known by other Christians.
We welcome children in congregational worship and weekly participation in the Lord’s Supper.
We provide families resources and encouragement related to spiritual practices like following the Christian Calendar, reading Scripture, and engaging in prayer.
Read below to learn about the Sunday morning programs we offer for children.
If you’re interested in volunteering with our children’s ministry, please email Susannah Oda, our Director of Children’s Ministry at susannah@theincarnation.org.
Our Toddler Room is available during both services where your child will be played with and cared for by dedicated, screened, and trained volunteers. Toddlers can be dropped off at the start of the service and picked up during The Peace portion of the service.
During both services, 3–6 year olds are welcomed into our Level One Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Atrium; a Christ centered, Montessori-inspired approach to inviting children to know and encounter God. Catechists (screened and trained adult leaders) present short stories and parables from Scripture, as well as liturgical practices, in ways specifically designed to meet the spiritual needs of 3–6 year olds and help them fully engage in Incarnation’s worship services. Drop off is at 8:50 and 10:35am. Pick up is at The Peace portion of the service.
To learn more about Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, visit their website.
During both services, 6-9 year olds are welcomed into our Level Two Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Atrium; a Christ centered, Montessori-inspired approach to inviting children to know and encounter God. Catechists (screened and trained adult leaders) present short stories and parables from Scripture, as well as liturgical practices, in ways specifically designed to meet the spiritual needs of 6-9 year olds and help them fully engage in Incarnation’s worship services. Drop off is at 8:50 and 10:35am. Pick up is at The Peace portion of the service.
To learn more about Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, visit their website.
During both services, screened volunteers use a curriculum called The New City Catechism curriculum, which is centered around teaching the core doctrines of Christian faith. This Catechism includes a reading from Scripture, activity, discussion questions and prayer time. Children are dismissed upstairs with an adult volunteer after the Collect and return for the Lord’s Supper.
To learn more about The New City Catechism, visit their website.
Morgan Moore Level 1
Catechesis fascinated me starting the day I observed! I had never seen anything like it. I really loved the way the children could interact with the works in a self guided way and the peace I experienced while there! Calmness and peace are not usually what you think of when you enter a children’s ministry room. I started formation while I was pregnant with my first baby and want to incorporate aspects into our home as well.
Lindsay Finnegan Level 1 
I was already serving in children’s ministry when we switched to Catechesis. At training, I was especially attracted to the sustainable, time honored approach to Christian formation for young children that honors their ability to connect with their Good Shepherd and serve Him and His people at a young age. I get excited about helping them connect what they experience and learn in the Atrium to corporate worship and to nurture their prayer life. I’m excited and hopeful to see our kids grow up in the faith, realizing their gifts and role in the Church body from this early start. It’s a beautiful work in which I’m thankful to be participating, being formed along with the children.
Madona Kuku Level 1 
Paula Cook Level 1 and Level 2
I read The Religious Potential of a Child in 2022 and was impressed by the way the founders of CGS viewed children as people who have the potential to connect with God, just as and maybe more so than adults have the potential to connect with God.I like that CGS is story based, both in the parables (stories) that Jesus told to try to help people understand the kingdom, and the true stories of Jesus’ real life here on Earth. The kids enjoy maps of the places Jesus was born, lived, and walked.
Emily Bryan Level 1 and Level 2 
I was struck by the wonderful notion that children have their own relationships with God, and that we, as the adults in their lives, have the privilege to nurture and encourage that relationship in an intentional and uniquely contemplative environment, like the one CGS strives to create.
God, our Good Shepherd, is both beyond our wildest imaginings and attuned to our deepest thoughts and desires. Time in the Atrium gives us the opportunity to both wonder at the grand mysteries of the Kingdom and share our hearts with our Good Shepherd.
David Long Level 1 and Level 2 
David was born in 1953, the son of a Baptist pastor who grew from infancy in the faith passed on by his Godly parents. At the age of 12 he dedicated his life to mission service, graduating from Moody Bible Institute, Wheaton College, then Trinity Evangelical Divinity School where he received a Master’s of Divinity. With wife Ginny and accompanied by their three boys, he served as a church planter and Field Director with SIM in Botswana, Africa for 31 years. The last 16 years they lived in the Kalahari desert leading a team to translate scripture into Western Taa, or !Xoon among that people group. Dave and Ginny retired to The Valley from SIM in 2018 and soon after joined Church of the Incarnation, where he joined the children’s ministry, now serving as CGS Catechist.
Susannah Oda 
Level 1 and Level 2
Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (CGS) is a method of Christian formation that values the whole child: spiritual, emotional, and physical. When I went to my first formation, I was amazed at how much work was put in to provide a space for children to learn through hands-on experience and manipulation of materials. CGS also values the adults in the room and gives space for both the children and adults to meet God and learn more deeply about His plan for all of creation from past to future. I love taking time to set up an environment that is appealing for children to learn more deeply about the life of Jesus, the life of the church, and their own inner prayer li
