Our Mission at Fleming Island UMC of  loving God, loving others, and sharing Christ.  We do this each week during Kids Club by creating an environment in which all children feel welcome, safe, and loved; all while learning about God's love and growing in their faith.  

What to Expect

We know your child's safety is important to you, so it's important to us. Every adult that serves in our children and youth ministries are background checked and trained every year so ensure the safety of our children and youth. This is just the first step in keeping the Next Generation safe. Children are always welcome in worship. It's our goal that every family have options on what they feel is best.
In the worship center, the children's spaces are in the hallway on the right, just past the kitchen. Please check your child in before worship. (We invite you to walk with them and check out the space they will be in later.) After being checked in, they are invited to sit in a marked row where each class gathers to worship with the other kids their age and their teachers. This makes it less intimidating for our newer friends to head to Kids Club when it's time. Before the sermon, (about 25 minutes in), the class leaders will lead the kids to their age-specific classes for a Bible lesson and activity. You'll pick up your child(ren) back in the hall after service ends.

Worship

At Fleming Island UMC, we believe that worship should be open to everyone, including our children.  While we would love your child to join us in Kids Club, we also know that some families value spending time together during service,  so know your child is always welcome to stay with you.  Our Middles & Preteens* start each service and are dismissed to Kids Club to after Prayer.

Connection

It is important to use that the children in our church feel apart of our church as whole, and not a separate group.  In addition to being present in worship, our children our invited to serve in the church, just like the grown-ups.  This could been serving communion, helping with hospitality, greeting people they arrive and more.  If your child would like to serve on Sunday mornings, we would love to get them connected somewhere.  

Family Support

Our children's growth as Christians does not just happen on Sunday morning, but also at home.  Because of this we are working on offering resources and support for families as a whole, including Parent's Day Outs, our FIUMC Moms group, parent resource page, and more! 

Katie Strickland

Children's Minister

Hello! I am so excited you are interested in learning more about our Children's Ministry at Fleming Island UMC. You could quite possibly be meeting me for the first time and will ever only know me as Katie Strickland. However, many in our church know me as Katie Perry (my maiden name). That is because I grew up at Fleming Island UMC. I can genuinely say that this church and the people here hold a special place in my heart, and it all started when I was a kid! I want nothing more for this church and this children's ministry to be the special place for you and your child as it has been for me.

I started serving as the Children's Minster in August 2022. My husband Dusten and I were married in April 2015 at Camp Chowenwaw (Green Cove Springs). We have two young children: Henry and Addie, along with a dog and twelve chickens. It is safe to say that I pretty much live in a zoo!

Our Program by Age

What We're Learning This Month

Faithful Fall - Coming In November

 A 4-Week Series on Prayer, Service, & Thanksgiving. 

SERIES OVERVIEW:
In this season of gratitude and reflection, we're diving into the idea of Seasons of Prayer and discovering how we can live a life of "thanks-living" by following Jesus' example of service, prayer, and compassion for others. Here’s what we’ll be exploring together:

  • Week 1: A Season for God
  • Week 2: Here to Serve
  • Week 3: We Serve Like Jesus 
  • Week 4: Thanks Living

MEMORY VERSE: 
"Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever." Psalms 136:1

Wednesday Night Kids

We are so excited to announce Wednesday Night Kids as a weeknight extension of Kids Club for K-6th Graders.  Our lessons and activities will coincide with what the adults will be discussing during their Bible Study. If it is successful, we hope to offer Wednesday Night Kids as regular programming.

We are currently not planning any formal programming for our Littles (Birth-VPK), however care for our Littles will be available if needed. 

Parent's Day Out

In desperate need of a date night? Or time alone to Netflix and chill? Let us help! Drop your kiddos off with us for a few hours. While you are enjoying your break, your kids will play games, do crafts and eat dinner in a fun and safe environment.

This is a free event open to our community, that we offer once a quarter.  While this event is free registration is required.    Check back for information on our next Parent's Day Out this fall. 

Kids Club Teachings

We understand that we sometimes have kids that can't make it to church on Sundays. We provide our children's lessons so they can continue to grow no matter what. Here you will find past and current lessons that include videos and handouts to help your child expand their understanding. These resources are also great for grown-ups who want to know more about their child's learning.

What's Coming Up!

Recent Kid's Happenings

Faithful Fall: November Series Preview
October 29th, 2024
Welcome to our "Faithful Fall" series! In this season of gratitude and reflection, we're diving into the idea of Seasons of Prayer and discovering how we can live a life of "thanks-living" by following Jesus' example of service, prayer, and compassion for others. Here’s what we’ll be exploring together:Week 1: A Season for GodTheme: Spending time with GodScripture: 2 Timothy 4:1-9Memory Verse: “Pr...
Kids Club Unlimited
October 2nd, 2024
Two years ago, Pastor Faith and I applied for a grant to start a ministry for kids with special needs.  We had a desire to to create a space that would allow families of children with special needs to feel welcome and included in the church.  We recognized that many of these families do not attend church or parents take turn attending church because they are unsure what to do with their child duri...
Preteen Night: Popcorn Wars
September 20th, 2024
We hosted our quarterly Preteen Night, this past Saturday and it was a blast.  We played a variety of popcorn related games.  The kids learned to how to find books in the Bible. They unscrambled a Bible verse, completed a trivia challenge, and much more!  We finished out the night with dinner and a popcorn bar.  We also learned, that we are like popcorn kernel.  We have lots of potential and insid...
Wesleyan Rooted Kids Preview
September 4th, 2024
The Wesleyan Adventure of Growing in God's Love During the month of September and beginning of October, our kids will be doing their own version of the Wesleyan Rooted sermon series.  This will be a five week series to help our kids learn our core beliefs as Methodists and learn a bit about John Wesley, who was the founder of the Methodist church.   Our lessons will be based off the book Big Heart...
God Sightings 2024
August 7th, 2024
Something we do at Vacation Bible School every year is God Sightings. During VBS, we ask the kids to keep an eye out for ways God works in our lives and the world around us. These are called God Sightings.  Each morning during our opening we encourage the kids to share their God Sighting with their crews and we post them on the walls in the sanctuary.  So I thought I would share a few of our God...