Children & Youth
“Children are not our future… they are our present, here and now!”
At Ankeny United Church, children and youth are a part of all our activities. Whether it is in Sunday School before worship, during Children's Message Time during worship, working in the garden alongside adults, singing and ringing bells as special music, in our ecumenical Vacation Bible School, or visiting nursing homes, children can be seen wherever we serve.
Sunday School
We have education hour from 9:15-10:15 for K-2 and 3-5 students and 11:50-12:50 for students in grades 6-9 every Sunday during the program year, with a rotation of teachers through all the classrooms. For our Pre-K through 5th graders, we use the Shine Curriculum, designed to engage their minds and lead them to question the world around them and the meanings of God's words throughout time as the beginning of a lifelong journey with faith, doubt, and reason.
The older kids (6th grade and up) meet after church for coffee and conversation at Porch Light Coffee Shop in Ankeny at 11:50am. Led by a rotating group of incredible leaders, our young adults get to have more mature and in-depth conversations relating to faith and their lives. As they learn to navigate the changing world and discover who they are and the people they want to become, we ensure that they have a safe space to question, grow, and be fully themselves without judgment.
For those interested in learning more or learning about our Sunday School and youth programming, please fill out the registration form below: