First Baptist Church of Starkville will hold the dedication of its new children’s building on Lafayette Street today.
The event includes an open house from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. and a ceremony at 5 p.m., according to Tom Jenkins, associate pastor.
The new building houses the Creative Learning Center daycare for preschool and pre-K children, as well as Sunday school for pre-K through sixth grade and other children’s church activities, according to preschool minister Charity Gwaltney, who added the building is “geared toward maximizing education and safety and care of young children.”
The day the building opened for Sunday school back in February saw the biggest turnout for Sunday school at First Baptist Church ever, Gwaltney said. The next day, the center began holding its child care programs in the new building.
This year is the Creative Learning Center’s 40th anniversary. There are already 130 children signed up to attend the day care next fall, according to Jenkins, who said the center usually has a wait list.
The church is proud of its daycare center, Gwaltney said.
“We love the fact that we can minister to the community essentially six days a week,” Gwaltney said.
The building was clearly designed to cater to the needs of pre-K-aged children. Bathrooms come equipped with toddler-sized toilets and sinks, and low windows in the classrooms let in natural light. The building also has a kitchenette and a dedicated nursing room for moms to nurse babies during lunch breaks or other breaks throughout the day.
“Preschoolers are easy and they’re eager to learn,” Gwaltney said. “…(T)hey love their teachers. Even if they’re having a bad day.”
The center is dedicated to giving children a Christian-based foundation for education, said Gwaltney, who added that children are more likely to become Christians later in life if they have that foundation from an early age.
“Families are searching for a faith-based curriculum, which we offer, along with meeting their developmental needs,” said the center’s director Karen Green.
The second story of the building stays empty during the week when the day care is in session, but grades 1 through 6 use it during Sunday school, and several Wednesday night children’s programs take place there as well. The programs are dedicated to Bible study, but the kids also participate in arts and crafts, music and more, according to Leah Frances Eaton, director of Children’s Ministry.
The second story also has a separate area for sixth graders to help them with the transition to middle school, as well as a space which Eaton hopes to eventually turn into a classroom for children with special needs.
The building is equipped with security cameras, and codes are required to enter, according to Jenkins. In order to keep children safe, parents now receive security labels when they check their children into Sunday school, said Eaton. All volunteers and Sunday school teachers also have nametags, which they only receive once they have undergone a background check.
To find out more about First Baptist Church or the Creative Learning Center or to register for children’s summer programs, like Vacation Bible School, go to fbcstarkville.com.
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