Staff Contacts:

Director of Children & Family  Ministries: 
Jan Arnold
jarnold@fmhouston.com or 832-668-1862

Administrative Asst: Brenda Kenney
bkenney@fmhouston.com or 832-668-1879

Nursery Supervisor: Teresa Guy
tguy@fmhouston.com or 832-668-1871

Childhood: A whirl of wonder, a gale of giggles, a daze of days. An intellect sparked by the Creator of freckles and photons. A vulnerable heart open to the love of a heavenly father. A lively longing for connection.

Children have an innate need for connection. They long for relationship with their heavenly Father, and communion with His family. Our goal is to help your children unite with God and their faith family so their lives, and the lives of those they encounter, are forever changed.

Let us help your children make the connection!

If you have questions or need more information, please contact us.

Children's Ministry at First Methodist Houston's Downtown Campus includes:

   Promise Land • Newborn Ministry Team
      Baptism Class • Praise Connection
               Kids Connection • I-45
     The Main Connection • Kids In Action
                  Children's Events

Other related ministries that you may also be interested in:

     Family Minstry • Parent Connection
            Moms@Home Bible Study
              Children's Ministry Team

8:30 Child Care for Infants - Pre-Kindergarten Available in Promise Land
9:15-9:45 Praise Connection - Room 203
9:50-10:45 Age level Bible Connections for Ages 2-5^th Grade:
Age 2 - Room 106
3's - Room 105
4's(Pre-K) - Room 103
Kindergarten-First Grade - Rooms 207-208
Second-Third Grades - Rooms 209-210
I-45 - Fourth-Fifth Grades - Room 206
11:00 Child Care Available for Infants-Pre-K in Promise Land
11:20 - The Main Connection - Children's Worship for K-5^th Grade - Room 214

The safety of our children is of primary importance to our staff and volunteers. Parents are asked to fully complete at Children's Ministry Registration Form to ensure vital medical knowledge, including food allergies, is communicated.

For infants-Pre-Kindergarten:
Our Sabbath morning begins at 8:30am when the Promise Land opens its doors to receive infants through Pre Kindergarten children for child care. Child care is available 8:30a.m.-noon. The Promise Land is located on the first floor by the Welcome center, on the Travis Street side.

Our littlest blessings are welcomed into the church by a trained staff of child care professionals, who guard and guide the children with a loving touch in a clean, safe environment. When checking into the nursery, you will be asked to provide the phone number of the cell phone you are carrying. If your child needs you during the morning, you will be contacted. As part of our commitment to your child’s safety, only staff and parents of Promise Land children are allowed into the nursery area. 

Child care for weekday Bible studies and other events is available by reservation only. Please call Brenda Kenney to reserve care for your infant-Pre-Kindergarten children (see contact information above).

Children ages two through Pre-Kindergarten:
These meet in the Promise Land for Bible Connection at 9:50 a.m.. Hands-on Bible lessons are provided by trained staff and volunteers. These experiences help children learn to connect with God, His church and His world. 

Music Time is part of the Sunday School curriculum. Music and movement is and integral part of the young child’s spiritual experience, helping children grow in faith.

The Newborn Ministry Team would like to celebrate your family. Are you expecting? Are you planning to adopt? Do you know someone who is expecting? Would you like to be added to our prayer list of parents trying to conceive?

Transitioning into a new Sunday morning routine following the birth of a new little one can be complicated. The desire of our Newborn Team is to help growing families ease into this new routine. By assigning a volunteer to your family, we hope to answer questions, address special needs, highlight important information, and most importantly to pray for your family during this exciting time.

We would like to know your due date so that we can pray for you during your pregnancy. When your baby is born, we will place a Dutch cradle cross on the altar to share the good news with the First Methodist family. Please fill out the Expecting or Adoption Registration Form and send to Brenda Kenney.  If you have any questions, you can contact Brenda at: bkenney@fmhouston.com or 832-668-1879.

For centuries the Dutch placed cradle crosses over the beds of their infant children that this symbol of the Christian faith might early become a part of the child’s consciousness. We affirm this wonderful tradition! A member of the Nursery Ministry Team will help to connect the cross with your family.

A Baptism Class is offered on the third Sunday of the month. If you are ready to consider baptism for yourself or your child, come participate in this helpful class that meets at 10:00am in the Cry Room located at the rear of the Sanctuary.

This class will help you sort out and answer questions about this blessed event, from helping you to explore the meaning of the sacrament of baptism to learning about the practical details.

The Sunday morning joy for Kinder-5^th begins with Praise Connection at 9:15am in Room 203. Children in Kindergarten through Fifth grade experience a connection to God through the joy of making music. Led by professional music teachers, the children serve as Worship leaders by singing in worship several times a year. Praise Connection offers a delightful musical each Spring.

For more information, please contact Megan Arnold at: megan.arnold@cfisd.net or 281-213-1076; or Debbie Mathews at: dmathews@fmhouston.com or 823-668-1818.

One of the most effective means to help children connect to God is through missions. Using  a hands on approach to missions provides children with a tangible connection to the joy of service. Every third Sunday is M&M (Missions and Ministry) Sunday. The children are encouraged to bring items for Lifeline, our ministry to the homeless. In Kids Church, the children do a hands on missions project, while enjoying a tasty treat of chocolate M&M’s. Kids In Action coordinates closely with the church Missions team to bring service alive to the children.

Staff Contacts:

Director of Children & Family Ministries: Colleen Dillahunty 
cdillahunty@fmhouston.com  or 713-458-4711

Administrative Asst.: Sabitha Panthagani
spanthagani@fmhouston.com or 713-458-4715

Nursery Supervisor: Jennifer Adams
jadams@fmhouston.com  or 713-458-4780 

Kid's come first here!  At First Methodist Houston, we encourage children to grow in their relationships with God and His Word. We want families - all shapes and sizes - to grow in faith. Young or old, big or small, we all have something in common. We want to be like Jesus. Our desire is that as children, teachers and families journey together, God's hand is upon us and we will never be the same.

Children’s Ministry at First Methodist Houston’s Westchase Campus includes: 

Other related ministries that you may also be interested in:

Mother’s Day Out • Family Ministry 
Special Needs
Sports & Recreation Ministry • Private School

Loving care is now provided for children ages eight weeks through five years old (Kindergarten) throughout Sunday morning. Ministries for elementary children are at 10:00 a.m., with an opportunity to participate in Kids Praise at 11:15 a.m. each week. When checking in, please leave a cell phone number of a phone you have with you. If your child needs you during the morning, we will send you a text message. As part of our commitment to keeping children safe, only staff and volunteers with badges will be allowed in the nursery and pre-school areas. Parents who want to see the rooms and meet the teachers will be allowed back with a staff person.

So that we may have all the information we need about your child – including food allergies, please fill out a Registration Form.

The nursery area for children eight weeks through 2 years old (35 months) is located in the Wesley Education Building next to the Worship Center, behind the glass doors. Please check in your child at the Information Desk located in the Wesley Lobby.

Our Nursery Staff and volunteers share God’s love in a real way through the security of loving arms in a bright, safe and clean environment. The morning activities include: play centers, Bible story and verses, sing-a-long, and snack. In Noah’s Nursery, children begin to learn Bible stories and experience faith play, learning about cooperation, trust and God’s amazing love.

Please fill out a Registration Form. 

For more information, contact Jennifer Adams at jadams@fmhouston.com or 713-458-4780.

Growing to be Willing, Involved, Loving Disciples!

First through Fifth Grade students are upstairs in the Wesley Education Building, next to the Worship Center. Go through the glass doors to the right of the Information Desk and then up the stairs (or elevator). Please check in your student in the classroom.

On Sunday mornings, students will have the opportunity to play friendly games, create artistic masterpieces, and grab a snack! Most importantly, we teach lessons from the Bible that are relevant to what they are living today. With energetic and interactive worship, children will have a blast! Kids will break off into “huddles” (small groups) to discuss the Bible lesson (digging deeper) and how to apply it into their daily lives.

Room 211 – 1st and 2nd Grades Small Groups
Room 200 – 3rd, 4th, 5th Grades Small Groups
Room 236 – The W.I.L.D. Spot Worship


 

A Baptism Class is offered on the first Sunday of the month at our Westchase Campus. If you are ready to consider baptism for yourself or your child, click here and navigate down to Special Topic Classes for more information.

We want to celebrate with your family. Are you expecting? Are you planning to adopt? Do you know someone who is expecting? Would you like to be added to our prayer list of parents trying to conceive?

We would like to know your due date so that we can pray for you during your pregnancy. When your baby is born, we will place a Cradle Cross on the altar to share the good news with the First Methodist family. For centuries the Dutch placed cradle crosses over the beds of their infant children that this symbol of the Christian faith might early become a part of the child’s consciousness. We affirm this wonderful tradition!

Getting into a new Sunday morning routine following the birth of a new little one can be complicated. Our desire is to help growing families ease into this new routine. By connecting a volunteer to your family, we hope to answer questions, address special needs, highlight important information, and most importantly to pray for your family during this exciting time. 

Please fill out a Registration Form and turn it in to Sabitha. 

If you have any questions, contact Sabitha at: spanthagani@fmhouston.com or 713-458-4715.

The sheer size of the problem of abused and neglected children is too large for any one person, family or ministry to overcome. Thankfully, God knows this. We believe this is in part why God inspired James to command the church to look after orphans. (James 1:27) No other organization has the people and the power to reach every child in need like the church. We celebrate families walking this path. For more information contact Colleen Dillahunty at cdillahunty@fmhouston.com or 713-458-4711.

The Fostering Faith support group is open to anyone touched by foster care, including those who are fostering, fostering-to-adopt or are considering foster care or foster care adoption. The group meets the second Sunday of the month at the Westchase Campus and childcare is available upon request.