Sunday Children’s Groups

Our community of children is called TIDE, and when they leave the service to go into different rooms for their groups, it does feel like the tide going out!

Our weekly children’s ministry is on Sunday during the 10.30am service. We are blessed to have a thriving children’s ministry with 160 children on our roll. 

Babies and toddlers are welcome to stay in the service or there is an unsupervised crèche off the Community Room with toys. You service can be heard through the speaker in this room.

To ensure your children are safe in our care we ask for all children attending groups to be registered with the church. Registration is a simple process made online. If you are new to St Mark’s or haven’t registered your child please click the link below. 

During term time, the following groups operate at our 10.30 service:

Ripples
Age: Pre-school and Reception children (3-5 years)
Where: Loft Room l  Leader: Becky Onslow
Streams
Age: Years 1 & 2 children (age 5-7yrs)
Where: Upper Room l  Leader: Becky Onslow
Waves
Age: Years 3 & 4 children (age 7-9 yrs)
Where: North Room l  Leader: Rachel Tunnicliffe
Oceans
Age: Years 5 & 6 children (age 9-11 yrs)
Where: Rose Room l  Leader: Lizzy Stansfield

Our vision is –

To let children know they are loved by God and are precious to Him; to let them know that Jesus offers each one of them a friendship like no other; to help them build relationships and community with their age-group peers, with other children and young people, and with their leaders; to help them play their part in the whole Church family where together we are a family of servants on mission. 

Why children and water?

The imagery of water is used a lot in the Bible and Jesus says that whoever believes in Him, streams of life giving water will pour out from their heart. He says, “Whoever is thirsty should come to me and drink” (John 7). By naming our groups in this way we want to encourage every child who comes to St Mark’s that they are part of God’s big family, loved by Him and empowered by His Spirit to play a role in helping to build His kingdom. 

Here are three reasons why water is wonderful…

Water – it gives us life! We need water every day to keep us alive, we drink it from the tap, from a bottle, and it refreshes us. Just like water, Jesus also gives us life and everything we need every day. We can talk to Him and trust that he will always love us, forgive us and guide us. 
Water – it moves! The tide is dynamic: ripples, streams, waves and oceans all move and have an effect on what’s around them. Our living faith is dynamic too. As disciples of all ages, we too have been given a mission by God to love one another, help others and tell people about him.
Water – it washes us clean! We are all imperfect and get things wrong, but Jesus always forgives us and gives us a fresh start. As part of God’s big family we learn together how Jesus guides us through difficult times and how we can help, support and forgive each other. 

Find out more

We encourage you to meet our leaders who will be happy to answer any questions you may have.  Please speak to one of our 10.30am welcomers before the service who will be happy to introduce you to one of the children and young people’s team leaders or you can contact the children’s ministry leader, Liz Resch.