Free Kids' Carnival Aug. 28 in Minooka

Church is not boring.

That’s what members of  want people to see next week when they invited the community to visit a service and take their children to the outdoors Kid Village Carnival afterward.

The church meets every Sunday at 9 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. at , 333 W. McEvillly Road. On Aug. 28, the free carnival will be right before the 10:30 service and just afterward. It’s an annual event designed to let parents and their children have a fun morning and to introduce visitors to services.

“It started about six years ago because we wanted to give people in our church something fun to invite their friends to," Children’s minister Amy Kostbade said. "It’s a really fun carnival, and it gives parents a chance to interact with their children.”

Everything is free. There will be a clown, face-painting, balloons, snow cones, popcorn and cotton candy.

Carnival games will include a duck pond, basketball, sack races, a cookie walk, wonder golf, an inflatable jump, ring toss, beanbag toss, fishing for treasures, and more. Kostbade said it’s a really fun outdoors carnival. The church has had to bring only one of the carnivals inside due to rain.

Parents can come in and drop their kids off in Kid Village Sunday schools, either at 9 a.m. or 10:30 a.m. or both times, and check out a Sunday morning service themselves. Kostbade said kids are also welcome to attend the services with their parents but she emphasized that the church’s children's programs are really exciting.

They are for every age from babies to fifth grade, and there are junior high and high school classes, as well.

“For the infants and toddlers, we have great caregivers that love to play with the kids," she said. "It’s all about creating a positive experience in church. It’s a really fun, interactive environment.”

Preschool kids have music, activities, art and a Bible lesson. Grade-school kids all gather together at the beginning to see a video, watch a skit, see a drama or other activity, Then they separate into age groups to talk about their Bible lesson a little more.

Having a great kids Sunday program is not only so good for the youngsters and their faith formation and friendships, but it’s also good for parents, Kostbade said, who sometimes find their spiritual needs better met with a full, uninterrupted focus on the word during worship services.

For more information on the Kid Village Carnival, visit the church's Web site or call (815) 467-2265.