We love our kids at OiC! They make up nearly one third of our congregation and we believe church is just as much for them as it is for the adults. So we have worked to create a ministry for them; a service that engages with them in a way that they understand and enjoy. This service happens during the sermon.

We feel it is important for our children to be with us during worship and communion and to participate in the service by playing their instruments during the concluding Blessing song. Smile with us, as we see the kids run around the building, knowing that they are engaging with Jesus and Church just as we are.

For the OiC Kids Service, the kids run and jump to the OiC Kids room where they sing a welcome song and learn about the theme of the day. These themes range in topic from attributes of God, to stories we learn in the Bible, to what it means to follow Jesus today. Then the children are presented with various activity based groups they can choose between that explore the topic in a hands on manner. This can be investigating a nearby stream to learn about God as a stream (Jer. 17:7-8); or learning the secrets of a magic show to learn about God as secret (1 Cor. 13:12).

The youngest children, those 0-3 years old, sing the welcome song with the others and then skip to their own room where they explore the day’s theme in a way they can understand. This often includes songs, prayer, bible stories, drawing, and of course, time to play.

Our kids are from many different countries, and have a variety of mother tongues, but most of them attend Norwegian “barnehagen,” and have therefore learned Norwegian. So the OiC Kids service is offered in both Norwegian and English.