Each 5-Sunday-month will have one Sunday designated as Family Worship Sunday!  We invite our 1st-6th grade kiddos to worship with their family in the sanctuary on this day.  We believe one of the best ways to "train them up", is to model this time of worship for our kids.  It is a blessing for our church to get to worship alongside our kids in "big church" as well!  

On these special Sundays, we incorporate kid-friendly things, such as: helping lead worship with our worship team, kids and students sharing announcements & the life passage from the stage, fun clipboards with children's sermon notes and activity sheets that go along with the sermon, and of course, a special snack!  

Our next Family Worship Sunday will be September 29th!  If your 1st-6th grader plans to help us lead worship that morning, please plan to have them in the sanctuary at 8:40,  for our warmup with the worship team!  

Our BIG yellow gumball machine in the Kids Lobby gets a weekly visit from most of our kiddos!  At the end of each year, we take all of the proceeds and choose a mission or ministry to bless.  Over the last couple of years, our kiddos have raised almost $700!  They voted to use that money to bless 3 children in the Springfield area with brand new bicycles, as well as purchase hundreds of items to fill our Operation Christmas Child boxes.  These kids are incredible and have the BIGGEST hearts...what a blessing to us all!

We have recently given our gumball machine a major makeover!  Now, instead of gumballs, our kiddos can use their quarters to collect a variety of SquishLand critters, patterned bouncy balls, and some awesome River Bluff Kids capsules filled with specialty prizes (including Andy's gift cards)!

This one isn't just for the kids!!  OCC has held a special place in River Bluff's heart for many years.  We have a "Christmas in July" drive, when we collect "WOW items".  We collect all other items (as well as monetary donations) throughout the Fall MidWeek semester, in order to gather everything we need for our big churchwide packing party we do each year!

Last year's event was amazing!  Our church family donated items to fill 264 Christmas boxes for kids around the world!  We are already thinking through and planning ways to make collection and packing in 2024 even smoother!

Click on the link below for detailed suggestions of what to bring:  https://www.samaritanspurse.org/operation-christmas-child/what-goes-in-my-shoebox-suggestions/

We had an awesome night of "festive fun and fellowship" with our 4 yr olds-6th graders after our Fall MidWeek session.  We wore our jammies, played Christmas-themed games, made ornaments, did some cookie decorating, had a Christmas-themed sing-along, and more!  Thank you to everyone who joined us for a night of great fun!

We were thrilled to host our first ever Family Skate Night in January!  Tons of families came out for a night of FUN and FELLOWSHIP at Springfield Skateland...and it was AWESOME!  

We loved starting off the new year with such a highlight for our kids & their families.  We are already looking forward to next year's event.  

We had another AMAZING experience at SPARK Kids Camp this year, and can't wait to return!!!  Our kids who have completed 3rd-6th grade at the end of the school year are invited to attend SPARK Kids Camp with us!  

SAVE THE DATE:  Our 2025 SPARK Kids Camp will be held on June 2-5!

This one keeps growing, and has become a "fan favorite" in our children's ministry!  We invite our families to join together for a picnic dinner, fellowship, skits, crafts, large group games, snacks, a Bible teaching, worship...and a TON OF FUN!!  We'd love for your family to join us next Summer for a memorable, and one-of-a-kind VBS experience!