Children and youth

Springfield Friends offers all kinds of opportunities for children and young people! Our youth minister is Tanna Shipwash, supported by the Christian Education committee.

Every Sunday worship service includes a children’s message, usually about 5 or 10 minutes long. Whenever possible, the children’s message ties in with the adult sermon. Children can stay with their family for the rest of the worship service, or they are welcome to go to our children’s church service which includes a short devotion, crafts and other activities.

Sunday School classes for all ages meet at 10:00 on Sunday morning. We share materials and ideas which are appropriate for different ages. All of our youth workers and volunteers have had a police background check.

For the little ones, the focus is on learning that God loves us. Simple crafts, stories illustrated with Bible pictures and flannel board characters, and other activities reinforce the message that we are all God’s children.

For lower elementary school children, the focus is on the more famous Bible characters, learning about Jesus, and doing simple crafts and skits to help kids feel that they’re part of the story. For this group, we provide colorful picture Bibles for each child to have and take home.

Children in grades 3-6 tackle more ambitious Bible stories, memorize favorite verses, and create larger craft projects which may take several weeks to finish. They receive “grown up” Bibles using the Contemporary English Version (CEV) translation, which is both accurate and easy to read.

Junior high and high school students are more interested in values, friendships, current events and issues. They focus at this age level is on making connections between the Bible and daily life.

The Youth Group for junior and senior highs meets during the week all year long to build friendships, do service projects, study and pray together. The group holds several overnight lock-ins during the year and has occasional field trips.

Throughout the school year, we invite children to participate in our fall festival at the end of October, our Christmas pageant and special Easter activities. In the summer we often offer Vacation Bible School. 

All children of the meeting are encouraged to sign up for Quaker Lake Camp located nearby in Climax, NC. Quaker Lake offers one day and weekend workshops during the school year, and week-long programs during the summer. Springfield Friends offer financial aid to help children of the meeting go to camp.

Every year, our college students receive gift bags and goodies during exam week from our Secret Saint program.