Our kids ministry at Catalyst is called SPARK. We offer families three separate options at our monthly worship gatherings and in select Catalyst Groups in Burlington and Oakville (Nursery, K-Gr. 4, and Gr. 5-7).
​
We work with each family to ensure they are grouped into a Catalyst Group that has both SPARK volunteer leaders (hand picked, background checked, trained, and always paired with another adult as per our Plan to Protect policy), as well as with other families with kids similarly aged. Not all Catalyst Groups will offer kids ministry, but we will work hard to help families find a group that does.​
At 10:15am, kids under the age of 13 years old head to their designated meeting areas by age group with their volunteers (as agreed on by consensus with their group. This could be an adjoining dining room, kitchen, additional living room, basement, upstairs area, backyard in warmer weather months etc.).
Each Sunday morning will include a time of video teaching, discussion questions, and a fun planned activity. SPARK volunteers and parents collaborate together on other fun elements that may be included as a part of the morning. Kids and SPARK volunteers will rejoin the rest of the group at noon for lunch.
Catalyst also has a process by which Catalyst Groups can be reimbursed for babysitting costs provided the babysitters are 18 years or older, have completed a vulnerable sector police background check, have attended the Catalyst Plan to Protect and Kids Ministry Training (next one is taking Place on Thursday, October 3, 2024). Please contact office@catalystnetwork.ca for more information about this should it be of interest to you.
Why we believe our kids ministry can be just as transformative as a traditional model
We believe that few things are as important as the faith of the next generation coming up behind us, and we offer kids ministry programming that we believe gives children a better chance to move forward into the next chapter of their lives with their faith intact.
If you’re looking for a kids’ ministry with all the bells and whistles, our Catalyst Group model might not be your answer. That said, we want to cast vision for why we believe our model might be just as transformative for a child as a traditional kids’ ministry approach.
​
​
In a day and age where kids experience so much social anxiety with being around large groups of kids they don't know, we believe that being around fun loving adults that are personally interested in them can make their Catalyst experience something they look forward to whether there are 10 other kids present or if it's just one or two kids with our SPARK leaders.
​​
Studies across Canada and the United States show that the last few decades between 60%-66%of children raised in church walk away from the church by age 18 (Gallup Poll 2022). Researchers from Fuller Theological Seminary have tried to learn if there was anything in common among the minority of children who remained engaged in church into their adult years, and they discovered something very interesting. All these children and youth expressed having authentic relationships with at least five adult believers other than their parents throughout their childhood and adolescence.
Suffice to say…if this research is true, it means the relationships that kids have with adults is significantly more important than how slick the kids’ ministry program is.
​
​
As time passes, we expect to hear kids at Catalyst say things like
***"I think everyone at Catalyst thinks I'm famous! Whenever I walk in, I get fussed over and I know I am loved!"
***"I look forward to Sunday lunch all week as the adults go out of their way to make it special".
***"Catalyst is the only place I can think of where adults treat me like a friend"
Because of the closer proximity that adults will have with kids and youth inside a home, we provide regular training and reminders to the adults on how to interact with the kids and youth in their group to make them feel at home, and why the messier and louder approach to kids and youth ministry is a small price to pay for giving this generation a better chance of remaining engaged in their faith because of the web of relationships they have with adults.​