Westwood Baptist Church, Springfield

At Westwood Baptist Church, the emphasis is on unconditional love and acceptance for members of the congregation and for members of the community. Visit us and discover boundless opportunities for personal and spiritual growth, along with meaningful ways to make a real difference in your community. You'll be greeted with genuine warmth and embraced by a supportive extended family. The Mission of Westwood Baptist Church. . . To glorify God by being the hands and feet and hearts and mind of Christ; To create the secure foundation that nurtures a loving, open congregation; To provide opportunities for people to encounter and respond to God through personal and corporate worship; To encourage spiritual growth, Christian service, and responsible living; To proclaim Christ daily in word and deed; and To bring others into the community of believers. Children are special at Westwood! Westwood offers a complete program of special ministries for children from birth through 6th Grade: Nursery Sunday School classes for all ages Extended Session (supervised care during worship service) Children's Church for 1st-3rd Graders Wednesday night activities Mission opportunities Fellowship opportunities If you have any questions, please contact our Director of Preschool and Children's Ministries, Rebecca Larson. Nursery Westwood provides a clean and safe nursery for infants and toddlers ages 3 and under during all church-wide activities. We have two professional staff for infants & toddlers, and we have a Church Nursery Paging System to provide peace of mind for parents. Sunday School Our preschoolers are divided into age-based classes on Sunday mornings. These classes are led by caring teachers and each class provides engaging activities about God and God's love. CLICK HERE for a parent information sheet: "What Parents Should Know About Preschool Classes on Sundays at Westwood." We use the Gospel Light curriculum. We encourage you to engage your child about what they are learning by using the take-home sheets that are provided. Children’s Church is a separate, age-appropriate, informal worship time for children in 1st-3rd grades held during the latter portion of Sunday morning worship. Here's our typical schedule: First Sunday: remain in worship Second, Third, and Fourth Sundays: attend Children's Church Fifth Sunday: remain in worship Children’s Church meets in the FunDay School Art Room (106). The curriculum is focused on the lectionary texts that are shared in the sanctuary each Sunday. The children will be hearing and/or learning from the same Biblical text or story that Dr. Abernathy is preaching from. This will hopefully provide an opportunity on occasion to share with your child/grandchild what the scripture/worship meant to all of you. Teams of volunteers lead Children’s Church. On the first and fifth Sundays of the month, there is no Children's Church (you can read more about that below). Children's Church takes place on the second, third, and fourth Sundays of the month. Our volunteers will not only focus on the themes found in worship, but will also help to prepare the children to remain in worship on the first (and fifth) Sunday of every month. Why no Children's Church on the first and fifth Sundays? First and fifth Sundays will be an opportunity for you and your child to share the worship experience together, and to begin preparing him/her for the time when he/she will remain in the sanctuary for worship every Sunday when he/she enters the fourth grade. An activity sheet will be provided for the children to pick up on these Sundays during the offertory that they can work on during the latter part of the service. This sheet will also share the theme of the sermon and Scripture texts for that day. Our prayer is that this approach will be meaningful for children, leaders, and for parents/grandparents as together we share a worship theme and texts that will with the leadership of the Holy Spirit, be meaningful to us all. If you have any questions or if you would like to help lead Children's Church, please contact Rebecca Larson. Together, let us worship the living God!