G-Kids and G-youth

G-Kids is activity-based, aimed at kids K-5th grade, with flexibility depending on the kid.

Here’s what to expect at G-Kids:

• We spend the first 10-15 minutes playing together and hanging out.

• Check-ins come next. We share our “wows” and “pows” from the week just past. Life is complicated for kids, and we love to catch up with each other. Each person in the room gets a chance to share at whatever level they feel comfortable, and anybody who wants to can pray out loud.

• Next up: Bible story for the week. We learn the story, reflecting on questions it brings up for us, and building a foundation for our worship with the church. We act out the story, retell it to each other, or do some guided meditation on it. It depends on who shows up and how they learn best. 

• There’s always an activity to reflect a little further on the theme of our time together. Crafts and games of all kinds – it varies from week to week, but it’s always fun and multi-sensory. 

• We build in a little free play time to go after all that work. To close our time, we get together, debrief quickly, and say one more prayer. 

We do our best to create a space where kids can share life and learn the faith together. It’s safe space, so each kid gets to decide the level of their own engagement. If something that we’ve planned isn't working for a kid, we make it possible to do something else.

Want to know more about G-Kids? Contact our apprentice evangelist.

G-Youth

The G-Youth schedule mirrors the schedule pattern of Covenantal G-Groups: 10 weeks on, 3 weeks off, quarter by quarter. We meet in the annex of the Big Red Barn as soon as worship ends on Sunday nights. G-Youth is discussion-based, aimed at kids 6th-12th grades, with flexibility depending on the kid.

Here’s what we do:

• We start with a meal and check-ins. Dinner is usually pizza, with gluten-free crust available if you need it. While we eat we share our highs and lows from the week just past, catching up with each other. Nobody has to share any more than they want to. 

• Our discussion time varies from week to week and season to season. Sometimes we debrief the worship service we’ve all just been in, reflecting on the scripture, the songs, the prayers, the experience of worship. We shake things up with videos like Sparkhouse’s Animate series. The topic of discussion shifts, but we always aim for conversation that helps us think deeply about our lived experience as God’s beloveds and disciples of Jesus.

• Like a lot of Galileo, G-Youth has a DIY component. We close our gatherings by cleaning up after ourselves and resetting the space for the next people who will be there.

Two things we’re committed to

Let’s be honest: Galileo Church isn’t a place with perfect programming for every demographic. We tend to think of #churchkids as everybody’s kids, meaning that we’re trying our hardest to raise up a generation that knows God’s love is the realest thing in the universe – with no shame around LGBTQ identity or neurodiversity. We’ve got our work cut out for us, yeah?

Toward that end, we do a couple of things that seem important, even when they’re not what every family is looking for.

1. Kids In Worship

We invite all kids to be in worship with the whole church all the time, every Sunday. There’s no “children’s church” – just church. And we want to help kids experience the church as their church. So:

• We’ve got a Toddler Corral off to one side where little ones can run (sort of) free.

• There’s alternate seating in our annex, as well as an enclosed Quiet Room, for anybody who finds it hard to sit in the main space.

• We provide marker boards and markers for anybody who needs to keep busy.

• We plan multi-sensory reflection stations each week that we hope kids will enjoy alongside adults.

• We are absolutely certain that children are welcome at the Lord’s Table to receive communion.

And yeah, we’re okay with all the noise and weird smells and unplanned liturgical dances that kids bring into worship. Seriously, it’s okay.

2. Intergenerational Friendship

What would it take to raise a generation of kids who don’t become spiritual refugees in their young adulthood? How can we make Christian faith something they never want to let go, because it brings them joy and peace and strength?

We don’t claim to have all the answers, but we’re committed to intergenerational friendship as one of them. We want kids at Galileo to feel like they have access to grownups who care about their flourishing. So:

• We plan parties that kids will love, and invite grownups to play, too. Like our Annual Intergenerational All-Night Back-to-School Video-Gaming Lock-In, or our summertime putt-putt tournament, or endless karaoke on the church sound system. It’s all good.

• We ask grownups of all ages to help out with our kids. For example, a Pizza Posse volunteer fetches (preordered, prepaid) pizza for G-Youth on Sundays, and sticks around for their post-worship conversation.

• We don’t put kids on display for the church, like with a “children’s moment” in worship. But do invite grownups to participate in G-Kids and G-Youth in various ways.

• Everyone at Galileo who works with kids goes through a background check. Everyone. The Youngster Czar. The Lead Evangelist. All of us. Every year. If you want to volunteer, we’ll ask you to do it. Fair warning 😊

Want to know more about G-Youth? Contact our Youth Czar.