Parent's Night Out

The Exceptional Children’s Program at RPC is a special ministry that began because of the passion of a few individuals, and the need for some children to have a little extra care and attention while they are at church. This program has rapidly grown since then and now incorporates youth as well as children. This entire ministry has blossomed into a program that parents, leaders, staff, children and youth are incredibly grateful for. An absolutely amazing group of individuals coordinate, plan and volunteer in order to make this ministry happen.

This past Saturday evening, the Exceptional Children's Program put on their second ‘Parent's Night Out’ for the children and families involved in this program through RPC Sunday school and onCore, our Wednesday evening fellowship program.

5 exceptional children, 4 siblings, 12 adult and youth volunteers, and several of our youth choir members and our Children’s Choir Director spent their Saturday night at RPC playing games, leading music, and creating crafts with these exceptional children. The children loved interacting with their siblings and peers, jumping up and down and wiggling to music, and of course making a mess in any way possible! Parents expressed their deep gratitude for this event as it is a much needed break for many of them.

These kinds of events help remind us all about what being a church family is all about; walking together in a life of faith. When we baptize a child, we promise that child and their family that our congregation will walk alongside him/her on their faith journey; that we will help raise that child in the church and teach them about Christ’s love for them. The amazing people involved in this program, families and volunteers, are doing just that. They are helping to raise these children as active members of the church despite having a few extra obstacles of getting their children to church, helping them learn and pay attention during worship or Bible studies, and helping them know and understand the unconditional love of God.

We are so thankful for the families and volunteers who devote their time to this ministry.

Shadows will take a break for the summer, but will resume with our exceptional children on Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings in the fall. We already have 15 exceptional children joining us for Vacation Bible School this June and need more adults to volunteer as shadows!
If you would like to become involved in the Exceptional Children and Youth program, we are always looking for caring, loving individuals to work with this program. Please contact Lyndsay Slocum if you are interested in finding out more about this ministry.

Check out our resource links for specials needs minsitry at the bottom of this page!