Amazing Kids: What Happens During Service, Age by Age

Amazing Kids is what happens with your children during the Sunday service at UAMEZ. It is for kindergarten through sixth grade, in two groups, while you are in the sanctuary. You check in at the counter when you arrive and pick up there when service ends. Here is what a Sunday looks like for a kindergartner and for a fifth grader.

The short version

• Sundays at 10:00 AM, during the service, about 90 minutes.

• Kindergarten through sixth grade. Little Lambs is K through 2nd. Promised Kids is 3rd through 6th.

• We do not have a nursery. Babies, toddlers, and preschoolers stay with you.

• Check in at the Amazing Kids counter in the courtyard, beside the main entrance. It opens at 9:45.

• Led by Larin Smith, our Amazing Kids director, with a team of screened volunteers in blue badges.

• Pickup at the same counter after service, with the printed tag you were given.

When you arrive

Come in from the parking lot to the courtyard. The Welcome Center is the navy booth. Say it is your first time and someone will walk you to the Amazing Kids counter. We check your child in on Planning Center: name, grade, anything we should know about allergies or health, and the mobile number where you will be during service. You get a printed tag. That tag is how your child gets back to you and nobody else.

The first check-in takes about five minutes, so be there when the counter opens at 9:45 on your first Sunday. After that, a few minutes early is fine.

Little Lambs: kindergarten through 2nd grade

Songs with motions, a Bible story told at their level, arts and crafts, and a lot of joy, built for wiggly attention spans and big questions. The goal at this age is simple: God made you, God loves you, Jesus is your friend, and church is a safe and happy place.

Promised Kids: 3rd through 6th grade

Kids dig into the Bible in a way that fits their age, often through hands-on experiments, with friends and adults who know their names. They read the passage themselves, talk about what it means, and take a question home. This is the age when children start to own their faith instead of borrowing yours.

What they are learning

Both groups use the Amazing Kids curriculum, delivered through APlay. Each month has one Bible story and one big idea, taught at each group's level, so you can ask on the drive home, “What was the story today?” and get an answer.

Babies, toddlers, and preschoolers

We do not have a nursery, and we would rather tell you than let you find out. Children under kindergarten age stay with you in worship, and a crying baby genuinely does not bother anyone here. If you need a quieter spot, the Little House across the courtyard is set up like a living room with the service live-streamed on a big screen, and it has a changing table. Use it for as much of the morning as you need.

Teens

Amazing Kids ends at 6th grade, and we do not run a separate teen program. We would rather tell you what we do instead. Teens worship in the sanctuary with everyone else, and we get them serving on our teams: guest experience, music, creative, and production. They are our future, and we want to give them real experience.

Communion and baptism Sundays

On the first Sunday of the month we take communion, and on the second we usually baptize. On those Sundays the children come back into the sanctuary for that part of the service, and the morning runs a little long, closer to 11:45.

Who is with your child

Every Amazing Kids volunteer is background checked through Planning Center, and nobody serves with your child until it is complete. No exceptions. At least two screened adults are in the room at all times. No adult is ever alone with a child, including in a restroom, because our volunteers do not take children to the restroom. If your child needs you, we text you. Every volunteer wears the blue Amazing Kids badge, so if you see the badge you are talking to someone who has been checked. Read the safety post on this site for the full picture.

The practical things

We do not serve snacks, and we ask that kids not bring food, games, toys, or devices into Amazing Kids. Still tell us about any allergy at check-in. If your child has a disability, sensory needs, or does better with one familiar adult, email info@uamez.com before Sunday and we will make a plan with you.

Pickup

Come back to the Amazing Kids counter after service with your tag. Hand it back and your child comes with you. If you lose the tag, we ask to see your ID. Then stay a while. People hang out after service, and Next Steps meets in the Little House about ten minutes after, and your child can come with you.

You can also keep your child with you in worship instead of checking them in. Plenty of families do, every week, and no one will say anything about it.

One of the best gifts you can give your children is a faith community where they are loved, challenged, and seen. That is what this is for. Plan your visit.

Pastor Kaloma Smith