Children, Youth and Families
Growing spaces for the next generation...
Wellspring’s transformational vision for the whole church family is a pathway from infancy to maturity for our multi-cultural church community. This aim sits within the children’s, family and youth department which is led by our ordained Kids and Youth Minister and his team.
The Sycamore Suite
Home to our growing children, youth and families ministry the suite is spread out over two levels in the extension. The ground floor is home to the children and family areas and upstairs is home to the new Youth Lounge.
The Sycamore Suite can be accessed from reception or by a designated secure entrance at the rear of the building. The ground floor of these colourful, flexible spaces includes a children’s lobby, mini-auditorium, two designated children’s and family rooms, and a baby change area.
The children’s work at Wellspring Church is divided into three age groups: Springlets (reception years), Champions (years 1 and 2) and AllStars (years 3-6). This ministry has outgrown the size of the current building with activities on a Sunday being severely restricted due to a lack of space. This improved facility will enable the reinstatement of activities and further development of children services.
Families
The bi-weekly parents and toddler group called ‘Acorns’ is a thriving community outreach programme which has welcomed over 130 local families a year in recent years. The heart of our team is to run this programme daily, but the current limited facilities prohibit this. The new Sycamore Suite, complete with age-designated spaces and a new soft play area, will enable the service to be delivered on a daily basis.
In partnership with Wellspring Wellness, the family ministry will provide family counselling and one-to-one counselling for young mothers aged 18-25 with childcare needs.
On a weekday, the Sycamore Suite is available for use by charities and community groups as part of our ongoing agreement with Watford Borough Council and other local agencies.
Sycamore Suite: Youth Lounge
Climbing the stairs leads you to the Youth Lounge which is part of the Sycamore Suite with the Breakout Room and Kitchenette at the far end of the first floor. These facilities provide a home-from-home for local young people, and resources to support our thriving youth ministry.
The Youth Lounge is a permanent fixture; a warm, safe, contemporary and open space complete with comfy furniture, digital technology and table football. It has a dynamic, non-judgemental and accepting atmosphere. For our young people this is the best place for them to be heard, be themselves and gain support from their friends and youth leaders.
The Youth Lounge and adjacent spaces mentioned here support our objectives to:
- Run an after-school programme of activities on a Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
- Offer increased pastoral support for our young people and non-church attendees.
- Run a discipleship pathway for our young people aged 12-18.
- Run a peer mentor programme - for those young people preparing to leave the church family to attend university.
- Develop our schools work by facilitating/running activities during term times and holidays.
The current building configuration does not support these objectives and we do not have any space for our youth work. We recognise that there are some great youth facilities in the Watford area, but we are not attempting to be just another youth service. Our intention as a multi-generational community is to nurture young people in accordance with our Christian values.
Breakout Room
Adjacent to the Youth Lounge and next to our extended Auditorium (see over) we have a flexible overflow room that provides breakout space for meetings, refreshment area for Sunday services and convenient servery access through a hatch to the first floor Kitchenette.