Faith Steps
Celebrating Our Children’s Steps on Their Faith Journeys 

^“The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand.” Psalm 37:23-24

Our children grow and develop in many ways throughout their lives. We celebrate this growth and development with birthday parties, promotion to new grades, recitals, competitions, and increased independence. As a community of believers, it is essential that we recognize and celebrate our children’s growth and development in faith, their Faith Steps.

Beginning this school year, Kairos’ Faith Steps program, will provide a tangible way of marking our children’s growth in faith and providing a path of experiences they can remember and celebrate God at work in their lives. These celebrations will remind us that we travel this journey together and give us chance to pause at these important moments to acknowledge God’s presence and his faithfulness and celebrate as a community how God is at work in our lives.

Faith Steps celebrations are opportunities for parents and children to experience shared conversation and activities around a faith topic such as worship, God’s word, and prayer. Many of the Faith Step celebrations will also involve the community in the celebration, such as last month when kindergarteners were presented their own kid study Bibles. Kairos’ Faith Steps program (as it develops) ensures a Faith Step celebration for each child and student each school year. Celebrations will be centered on Sunday mornings throughout the school year and are “don’t miss this” opportunities for families. While most of our Faith Steps are celebrated at specific ages/grades, several such as baptism, communion, and confirmation will be taken at the discretion of parents.

Following are brief outlines of several of our Faith Steps:

• Faith Conversations – Faith Step for 2’s
  As our children’s language skills develop and their vocabularies expand, it is important that they are also learning the language of faith so conversations about God come as easily as conversations about favorite toys. During this celebration, each of our 2-year-olds will receive a Beginner’s Bible.

• God’s Word and Worship – Faith Step for Kindergarteners
  Developing a life-long love of and passion for God’s word and His worship is our desire for all children.  As they begin participating in the worship service and transition to our elementary program, our kindergarteners receive NIrV Kid’s Bibles and begin to become independent students of God’s word.
• Prayer – Faith Step for 1^st Graders
  Conversation with God is the privilege of all believers. Children learn to pray first by repeating what others say; then, by being encouraged to talk to God using their own words. During this celebration, our 1st graders and their parents will explore ways to pray and different kinds of prayer.
• Service – Faith Step for 3^rd Graders
  Doing good works is our response to God’s gift of salvation. Jesus taught his followers how to care for each other and modeled it for them. As part of this celebration, our 3rd graders and their parents explore how they can follow Jesus command to “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.”
• Created on Purpose – Faith Step for 5^th Graders
  God has gifted each of us with unique skills and interests, not for our own glorification but so that the body of Christ is built up. Our 5th graders, together with their parents, explore their own gifts and interests and how they are gifted to serve God by serving others.

For more information regarding Kairos’s developing Faith Steps program and tentative dates for this year’s Faith Steps celebrations, visit https://kairosatlanta.org/families/opportunities-for-families, pick-up a brochure in the Family Resources area just off the gathering space, or contact Jan at jan@kairosatlanta.org.