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Teaching the Littlest Print E-mail
The Nursery ministry has a 6-piece vision:
1. The littlest child is taught about Jesus
2. Workers can find community and friendship
3. Children’s bodies, minds and emotions are safe
4. Innovation, multiculturalism, and organization
5. No healthy child is turned away
6. Many workers share the joy of the work
Many look at our first goal – that the littlest child is taught about Jesus – and they wonder why we place such an emphasis on teaching babies. They are so young – do they really know what is going on? Does it matter? Can you really "teach" babies about God?

A mother at Antioch recently told me of her surprise to find this to be true. She noticed him at home with his little finger in the air, as he babbled happily. She didn’t think much of it until she was a substitute worker in his nursery classroom and joined the class in singing “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine…” There she saw her little boy with his finger in the air, grinning.

Recent findings on brain development also suggest an affirmative answer to that question. "Babies are beginning to form associations about everything in their world, so how could you not begin introducing them to God and Jesus?" Lynette Henderson, a doctoral student at the George Peabody College of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., asked. "Will they understand those concepts the way older children or adults will? Of course not. But you're laying a foundation."

She mentions that while the most important stages of brain development occur between birth and age 3, the earliest signs of it appear soon after conception. In-utero, fetuses are already aware of light and sounds, and studies have even shown children can recognize stories that were read to them while they were in their mother's womb. Laboratory work and imaging studies (such as MRIs and EEGs) have allowed scientists to learn much about brain development in babies in recent years. A LifeWay leaflet mentioned these recent findings:

Repetition of activities helps build foundation -- Many abilities depend on the maturation of particular nerve cells. Repetition of activities is needed to strengthen neural networks. Repeating tasks -- sending the same messages to the brain over and over -- seems to result in chemical and anatomical changes that help a baby retain something he or she has learned.

There is a repetition of biblical principles in the classroom to help build that foundation.

Music has influence -- Music (listening, singing) trains the brain for higher forms of thinking. Our curriculum ministers and workers sing with the children (who thankfully don’t care if we can’t carry a tune in a bucket!)

Babies learn spiritual truths the same way they learn other things -- through their senses, by doing and through relationships. This is why one of the things we focus on is to teach biblical truths to babies, rather than provide just a baby-sitting service for parents. We provide rooms that allow babies and toddlers to explore and discover God's world in a safe and loving environment, and training ministers to these babies in the use of an extremely simple curriculum for infants.

Please come and join our team! We would love to have you.