U18 Ministry

The journey from the nursery to senior graduation is not a straight line ... it's a winding road. We want you to know that we are with you through it all.

What we believe about children

The church bears witness to who a child already is.

We agree with Dietrich Bonhoeffer that children hold no special place in this community. They are simply the church now. We see ministry to them not as information that they need to know, but as a community that we invite them to participate in.

Children are members now

Your children are not future members of the church. They are cherished members today. We do not believe they need a separate, isolated experience until they age out. We work to integrate them into the whole church family.

It begins with being and relating

The beginning of faith formation is not knowing and doing. It is being and relating. So everything we do begins with spiritual formation through discipleship, relationships, community integration, and neighborhood engagement.

Guided toward a way of being together

We are not crafting students in a mold of beliefs, but rather guiding students toward a way of being together. Beliefs are of course important. We begin, though, with the church in a place, as a peculiar people.

Safety

Keeping children safe is a priority here, not an afterthought. Redemption Church has a child protection policy, and every volunteer who serves with children or students completes a background check before they are in a room. Cole is glad to walk any family through what that involves.

Three ministries

Find out what your child’s ministry is all about.

U18 is one ministry in three rooms. A child moves through all of them, handed from one set of adults to the next, and the milestones travel with them.

Birth through Pre-K

Early Childhood

Nursery, toddlers, and preschool. The first place a child learns that church is safe, that they are known, and that they belong here.

Explore →

Kindergarten through 5th grade

Elementary

Sunday classrooms where children meet the Bible as a story they are part of, and take their first steps toward the table.

Explore →

6th through 12th grade

Youth

Wednesday night youth group, small groups, retreats, and a senior internship. A community for students practicing what it means to be the church.

Explore →

Rites of passage, from birth to graduation.

At Redemption Church, we understand spiritual formation for young people as the process of cultivating and marking their journey toward full participation in the life and work of God’s people. The language we use to shape and mark this journey is “milestones.”

Our U18 Milestones are a series of celebrations, classes, experiences, trips, and practices that shape and affirm the spiritual formation of young people at Redemption Church. Our role as leaders and as the church is to bear witness to each young person’s identity in Christ and to call them into deeper participation in the life of the church and the people of God.

By offering these challenges and celebrating these milestones, we help young people embody their faith and discover and embrace what God is bringing into the world through them and through Redemption Church.

For families

Where is my child on the trail?

Enter your child’s name exactly as the church has it, and their birthday. The milestones they have already completed will be marked below.

We only ever show which milestones are marked complete. Nothing else about your child is returned, and nothing you type here is saved.

Early Childhood

Birth–Pre-K

Welcome & Church Presentation

A special moment during our Sunday service where we receive new children into the life of our church.

Baby Dedication

A public commitment made by parents, signalling their intent to raise their child in the ways of Jesus, and our promise as a congregation to come alongside them.

Promotion Sunday (Preschool → K)

A celebration of a child's life as they graduate the Godly Play room and move on to the elementary classroom.

Elementary Years

K–5th

The Bible Class

An opportunity for parents and children to engage with the Bible as a normative story for our faith.

Promotion Sunday (5th → 6th)

A public step into Youth Ministry where we honor our 5th-grade students as they explore their place and participation within our community.

Eucharist Class

An invitation for parents and children to understand the Lord’s Supper as a meal of remembrance and belonging, and to become full participants in the central practice of our worship.

Offered Fall 2027

Middle School

6th–8th

The Bible Class

The same class, taken together as a middle schooler and a parent. Scripture as the story our life is set inside, not a book of answers to memorize.

Relationships Class

A time for parents and children to explore the formative nature of friendship and fidelity.

Confession Class

This milestone introduces confession not as a burden, but as a practice for pursuing wholeness.

Offered Spring 2028

Justice & Compassion Class

Anointing of the Sick

Middle schoolers and their parents lean into our shared responsibility to stand in solidarity with the outcast, and discover how their own wiring can be used to bring God’s redemptive love to a broken world.

Offered Spring 2029

High School

9th–12th

Fall High School Retreat

A weekend away at Table Rock Lake for contemplation, friendship, and fun, introducing retreat, displacement, and attention as the shape of Christian spirituality.

Learn more & register →November 5, 2026

Wilderness Story

During the season of Lent, seniors share personal stories of disconnection and grace with the youth group.

Every Lent

Graduation Sunday

The final rite of passage, as students pass through into full participation in the body of Redemption Church. A ceremony stands in place of the sermon that morning.

Senior Internship Induction

A commitment where rising seniors serve as intentional mentors and leaders within our youth ministry.

Wilderness Journey

A Lenten trip into the Ozarks around Ponca and the Buffalo River. Moderate to challenging hikes, God’s presence in creation, and learning to encourage one another when it gets hard.

In 2027 ... dates to be announced

Spring Break Civil Rights Trip

An immersive journey to Memphis into the heart of the city where our students learn from the Black Church and how its theologies and imagination shaped the Civil Rights Movement.

Spring Break 2028

At any age

Church Baptism

Your child will meet with Tim Suttle and be baptized alongside the rest of the community.

The elephant in the room

Many of us are still recovering from our own church upbringing.

We find that church trauma often doesn’t happen as adults ... it happened when we were young. We work really hard to craft spaces, theologies, and leadership techniques that protect children from the experiences some of us carry that wounded us in our faith. This shapes how we train leaders and how we run our ministries.

Slow, careful relationships

Leaders are trained to approach every interaction with care and respect, and to earn a child’s trust instead of assuming it.

No forced participation

There is no pressure for a child to leave the service if they would rather stay with their family. We will meet them wherever they are.

Faith woven into a life

We want a faith woven into a life, not a rigid system that demands conformity. That makes it a relational journey.

Join us

Come and see, come and serve.

The best way to know whether this is a good place for your family is to join us. And if you have already been around a while, you are invited to participate in the spiritual formation of the youngest members in our community.

Bring your family

Plan a visit

What a Sunday looks like, where to park, and what happens with your children when you arrive.

Give some time

Volunteer with U18

Nursery, elementary classrooms, small group leading, and everything around a Wednesday night. The form asks where you would like to serve.

The U18 team

We’d love to meet you and your family.

Jo Overholt

Early Childhood Coordinatorjo@redemptionchurchkc.com

Jo has served Redemption’s youngest kids since 2021. She holds a degree in Early Childhood Education from Southern Nazarene University and taught in elementary classrooms for six years. She loves cultivating children’s wonder at the character and kingdom of God.

Nancy Bartelt

Elementary Coordinatornancy@redemptionchurchkc.com

Nancy joined the staff in early 2023, bringing a degree in music therapy and a certificate in spiritual direction. She has been leading songs, games, lessons, and prayers for children since she was a teenager, and longs to see kids join Jesus’ redemptive work in the world.

Cole McGee

Associate Pastorcole@redemptionchurchkc.com

Cole brings more than fifteen years of pastoral experience across family, youth, and children’s ministry. He holds a Master’s in Theological Studies from Nazarene Theological Seminary and a B.A. in Family Ministry from Manhattan Christian College. He loves building community and thinking carefully about theology, philosophy, and the life of faith.