Education opportunities:
Sunday School is held each Sunday at 9:00 am. The Sunday School year begins in mid-September with Rally Day and concludes for the summer at the end of May. Children from age 3 through grade 6 are welcome.
The Sunday School children sing at worship the second Sunday of each month. They also participate as readers in that service. Each Christmas Eve our Sunday School Children present the story of the first Christmas. The service is filled with both children and congregational singing of the favorite Christmas carols, the retelling of the “greatest story ever told”, and closing with a candlelight service and the singing of “Silent Night” in both German and English.
Students in grades 7 and 8 participate in a two-year Confirmation instruction program designed with the purpose to prepare them in reaffirming their baptism at the conclusion of their second year of instruction. They meet each Sunday morning at 8:45 am for one hour of instruction led by the pastor. They engage in conversation regarding their faith and study Luther’s Small Catechism and the Bible.
Each October, the children in fourth grade and their parents gather with the pastor to prepare for their First Communion. They discuss the Biblical references to the Last Supper and Martin Luther’s interpretation of the Sacrament of Communion. They culminate the study with the baking of bread to be used at their first communion.
Vacation Bible School (VBS) is held each summer for children preschool through middle school. Children throughout the community are invited. This week-long evening event engages the children in a variety of activities, crafts, and Biblical lessons surrounding a central theme.
Little Lutherans
Little Lutherans is designed for families of children who are age 5 and younger (plus their older siblings). This group meets on a monthly basis. They engage in faith formation activities and ideas that families can incorporate at home. Activities include a Bible story, songs, prayer, crafts, interactive stations, and time for the kiddos to play while the parents visit.
Junior Lutherans
Junior Lutherans was organized in 1955 with the purpose to raise up future Christian leaders in the church. Presently, this group meets 4-6 times a year with a strong focus on service projects within the community. They create Valentines for care facilities’ residents, make cookies for Christmas Eve service, decorate cookies with their fathers for Father’s Day, serve refreshments at Lenten service, and entertain with music at the Ice Cream Social and other gatherings.
They also gather together for fellowship and fun: swimming, going to the pumpkin patch, carving pumpkins, and more. All children from preschool through grade six are welcome.
Luther League
The Luther League was organized in the 1920’s for youth from grade 9 through high school and even beyond. They are a busy group of young people engaged in a variety of activities with the church, their school, and the community. They participate in a variety of activities such as volleyball, basketball, attending Christian concerts, and the ELCA Triennial Youth Gathering. The youth are active in worship, serving as communion assistants, readers, assisting ministers and more.
They hold fundraisers each year to help offset expenses for the Youth Gathering. The leaguers host the Easter Sunrise Service & Breakfast and the Senior Member Sunday. During the Christmas season, they put up and decorate the Christmas tree in the sanctuary, set up the outside nativity scene, and go caroling to the care facilities and to our shut-ins. During the Cole Camp Fair they work in the fair stand for which they receive one-third of the profits.
Mid-Missouri Bible Camp
The churches in mid-Missouri host a five-day Bible Camp in late July each year for young people in grades 4 through 9. The camp is held at the Lake of the Ozarks State Park.
The purpose of the camp is to teach, show, and spread the love of Jesus Christ to all attending the camp and into their communities. The young people participate in a variety of outdoor activities, crafts, Bible study and prayer, and singing and sharing around the campfire.
