Who We Are
•
Families and Children

Families
and
Children

We love being a Church made up of people from 0-100 and all generations and intergeneration connection are an important part of our community. So whatever shape your family takes, you’re welcome here with us.  
 
"Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring are a reward from him." Psalm 127 vs 3.  
 
Our children and youth are the future of the Church and that’s only going to work if they feel at home with us now. Families are a key part of the present! So we’re working hard to grow a supportive network of families; loved, encouraged, prayed-for as part of Portswood Church.   
 
The Children & Families Ministry is committed to serving and loving the children and families in Portswood Church and beyond, so that they may encounter God and experience his love.
 
Children (also called Gems, Pebbles, Boulders and Rockies)  
 
Children are always welcome in our services, and we don't mind a bit of noise and movement! 
Our weekly Sunday mornings have a variety of formats, including different types of provision of the children and families.
 
The first Sunday of the month is either Messy Church or Shine:
- Messy Church is creative time for the whole family, whether you usually come to church or not. Parents and children (0-11) have fun with crafts, games, construction, songs and exploring what God says to us through Bible stories.
- Shine is a family worship session, where parents and their children sing, pray and learn from the bible together in a relaxed informal way.
 
On the other Sunday mornings, children attend groups based on their age. Each group has age-appropriate games, crafts and bible teaching.       
  

Youth (also called Lava)    

Our youth meet each Wednesday evening either at the church building or in a local park (during the warmer months) to catch up, play games, do some Bible study and sometimes bake! Join us for friendship, fun and a chance to build relationships with God and with each other. We also have a Youth sleepover twice a year which is always lots of fun!  

Youth in school years 6, 7 & 8 also have a group to go to during the Sunday service every week apart from the first Sunday of the month whilst the older youth in school years 9-13 gather on the first and third Sunday evening of the month at the church for bible study and chat.   

Families  

Portswood Pod - Tuesday 10.00am - 11.30 am (Term time only) A morning for parents/carers to bring their babies, toddlers and pre-schoolers along to play and have fun! An opportunity to meet with friends and make new ones.

Rooted

Throughout the year we have a variety of different events which take place for our families under the banner of 'Rooted' from lunches, beach trips, to walks in local woods.  

Parenting Course - Here at Portswood Church we realise that children don’t arrive with a manual, so we are working on giving parents support as they work their way through bringing up their children. As well as all the informal support-networks including a very active parents whatsapp group, we periodically run a five-week Parenting Course. For more information read what one of our parents thought about the course here.  We very much believe that it takes a community to raise a child and try our best to support each other in doing this starting from the first steps by providing meals on wheels for a couple of weeks for new mums & dads.

  
Read about POD, our toddler group
Read about Messy Church
Contact us
 
Note: All our work with children is covered by our child protection policy. Portswood Church is a member of thirtyone:eight (previously known as CCPAS) and all our volunteers are DBS checked as required.