Riverkids

Jesus said “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.”

At Riverside Church we warmly welcome families and are committed to making our church a place of safety and joy. We love to see children of all ages actively participate in church life. We value each child and young person and aim to encourage, equip and disciple each one to walk in the way of the Lord.

Rafters Crèche
for babies, toddlers and pre-schoolers
Rafters crèche aims to build the basic foundations of the Christian faith with our youngest children through worship, Bible stories, prayer and simple Biblical messages. Children will have time to play with a selection of toys as well as join in with songs, listen to a Bible story and engage with a linked play activity. Parents and carers help with set up and pack down, lead activities, supervise children and have the opportunity to fellowship with others.

Discoverers
for children aged 4 – 7
Discovers aims to help children to discover God, the Bible and the Christian faith in a fun way. Each session will include a Bible story, discussion and prayer as well as games, crafts and other activities. Each session has a leader and a helper – parents are asked to help out occasionally to support the Riverkids team.

Voyagers
for children aged 7 – 11
Voyagers aims to help children voyage through the Bible, learning about God and his word, exploring how to apply it to their lives and growing in relationship with Him. Each session will include a Bible story, discussion and prayer as well as games, crafts and other activities. Each session has a leader and a helper – parents are asked to help out occasionally to support the Riverkids team.

Ignite
for young people aged 11-18
Ignite aims to ignite the youth of Riverside to rise up as bold ambassadors of Christ, impacting their families, schools and communities with the transformative power of the gospel. We seek to cultivate genuine relationships where young individuals feel valued, heard, and supported in their journey of faith. Sessions will include Bible study, prayer, discussion, fun, games and more.

Creative Arts Team (CATs)
for children aged 4 and up
The Creative Arts Team aims to help children to enjoy praising God and learn more about using music and dance to worship the Lord. Children will learn how to worship God through choreographed dance and action songs, as well as instruments, flags, ribbons and streamers.

Hello and welcome to our church. If you are a new visitor, we have a page for you to get to know us and learn more about planning a visit.
Click here to see more.

Visitors click here

Planning your Visit

A Warm Hello

The following information is specifically for those planning a visit, so that you know, beforehand, what to expect on a Sunday morning.

Where and When

We meet at the Church Building (details here) for our Sunday Service starting at 10:30am. For your first visit, we recommend arriving 10-15 minutes early to ensure you get a parking space and find somewhere to sit before the service begins. When you arrive, you should be greeted by someone on our Welcome Team who will be wearing a Welcome lanyard.

We serve tea, coffee and biscuits after the service. We hope you have time to stay a while as it's a great way to meet people. All refreshments are free.

Accessibility: There is wheelchair access, and a sound loop for anyone who needs it. Please let one of the Welcome Team know on your arrival and they will help you to get set up. There are disabled toilets in the main foyer.

Our Service

The main service begins at 10:30am with a warm welcome from one of our team members. Then follows a time of sung worship, led by our band or streamed worship. We typically have 4 or 5 songs lasting approximately 30 minutes. Sometimes a person might pray out loud or read a small passage from the bible. Sometimes people share things that they believe God is saying to the whole church family. This might seem strange the first time you hear it but it’s all part of our connecting with God. We then share news and notices, usually about what’s going on in the life of the church. We will then share an encouraging bible based message that we can apply to our everyday life. We value the presence of God and creating space to encourage one another so there is always an opportunity to receive prayer at the end of the service.

images: Services

What about my kids?

We have a great programme lined up for primary aged kids:

Creche (0 months to 3 years). Children under 6 months are welcome but must be accompanied by their parent/grown-up at all times.
RiverKids (4-11 years)
RiverKids is a group for primary-school aged children based around Bible stories, prayer and worship as well as discussion, games, craft and other activities. Once a month the children will take part in CATS (Creative Arts Training School) where they will use songs, dance and musical instruments to praise God in a creative way. Each Sunday the children are invited to participate in a time of worship with the whole church through singing and/or dancing with ribbons and flags before the RiverKids leaders take them out for their activities.
Children stay with their parent or grown-up at the start of the service for the welcome, songs and notices. We really value worshipping God all together as a family. At the end of the notices someone will announce that it’s time for the younger members to go to their various groups. You will need to go with your children to their groups and register them as part of our child safety policy. Whilst you are dropping your kids off at their groups, we pause to take time to chat to someone sitting near or next to us, giving folk a chance to come back before the sermon begins.

The kids group activities vary depending on the age but usually there is a friendly welcome, bible stories, testimonies, praying, music, craft, drama, fun games and free play. Please pick your children up as soon as the service finishes.

Getting Connected

Small Groups

While Sundays are a great way to meet new people, it is often in smaller gatherings that you can really get to know someone. Being part of one of our small groups allows you to make new friends, share together and support each other. We have a variety of groups that meet throughout the week, some afternoons and some evenings. We can put you in touch with a leader who will be more than happy to give you information on how to connect with a small group.

Serving and Volunteering

If you want to get involved in the life of the church and help us make Sundays run smoothly, you can sign up to serve on a team.

Other Ministries

We also run the following ministries:

Messy Church
BBQ & Prophetic Encouragement
Coffee & Connect

Get in touch with us to plan your visit

If you would like to come and visit the church beforehand you are more than welcome! Get in touch and we can arrange a time that suits you.

Name:

Telephone:

Email Address:
Comments / Questions or anything you would like to say?

Next, we will contact you by email to say hello and help arrange anything necessary for your visit.