Mission | Purpose Statement
The Children’s Table is an open forum of the Children's Ministry Committee of the Northern Illinois Conference of the United Methodist Church to share resources, ideas, and support to those interested and/or already engaged in children's ministry.
Goals
- To build a community of leaders and local church laity who are committed to transforming the lives of children and their families through Children’s Ministry.
- To increase the opportunity to deepen the faith of the children and their families in the geographical boundaries of the Northern Illinois Conference of the United Methodist Church.
- To transform the meaning of the church as a body of Christ to include children and their families as active co-participants in God’s love through discipleship, evangelism, and mission community-building efforts.
- To encourage local congregations to cultivate a holistic approach to ministry with children and families.
Target Audience | Objectives
The Children’s Table website is designed to equip laity and clergy in local churches to do the work of ministry for children and their families. Therefore, the individuals we are addressing may include: Classroom Teachers, Deaconesses, Program Directors, Deacons, Elders, Parents or other Guardians, community members and other laity or church leaders. These laity and church leaders may be looking for Sunday School curriculum, faith formation / spiritual growth resources, children’s sermon ideas, arts & crafts, and other instructional ideas. In addition, in response to the Conference goal of revitalizing the community through network resourcing – these individuals may also desire information to address the needs of the whole child – physical, racial, economic, spiritual, and social dynamics of poverty. To that end, the audience now extends beyond the local church members to the community partners and the the UMC-related agencies that serve children and youth, in particular.
