The Youth & Family Ministry at Unity of Austin is dedicated to the spiritual development of the world’s most precious resource, our children.
Our mission is to provide a loving, supportive and joy-filled environment that promotes spiritual growth, physical and emotional health and to teach the power of prayer. We seek to gently guide each child to recognize his or her God-given gifts and Christ qualities.
Special events and family-oriented activities are held throughout the year to support the spiritual growth of the families who attend Unity of Austin and to weave together our community as a whole.
We offer multi-age Sunday morning classes for preschoolers through high school students at 11 a.m.
Sacred Safety
If children feel unsafe or threatened, they will be unable to grow and learn. That is why Sacred Safety is at the heart of all YFM programing. We lay the groundwork of a safe community for young people in a number of ways.
First, we have extensive policies and programs in place, such as our Child Protection Policy, the Codes of Conduct for Adult Staff and Volunteers, and the Youth Code of Conduct. These documents have been approved by the board, posted around the campus, and are a focus of a yearly church-wide training on Sacred Safety.
In addition, the Unity of Austin community has taken steps in alliance with The Child-Friendly Faith Project to become a pilot site for the religious community designation program. The Child Friendly Faith Project is a non-profit organization aimed at protecting children from abuse enabled by religious, spiritual, and cultural ideologies. By accepting the charter for our community, Unity of Austin agrees to consciously and thoughtfully hold the best interest of every child in the highest interest.
What Do We Teach?
The Sunday school lessons are crafted from multiple sources, such as Unity curriculum, Montessori philosophy, Godly Play, and Expressive Arts techniques. These lessons come together to form a unique multi-age classroom curriculum focused on creativity, natural expression, storytelling, and free play.
“Our Mission is not to entertain the children, but to call them out. To be always entertained is to be dwarfed and dependent. To be ‘called out’ is to follow the harmonious law of the soul’s unfoldment.” – Myrtle Fillmore, Cofounder of the Unity Movement
Unity’s Five Basic Principles for Children
- The only true power in the Universe is God, and God is good.
- The Christ is alive in me and in everything. Jesus is the example of Christ in the world.
- Through the power of God, my thoughts can change my life.
- I can choose to let go of hurtful things. I can choose to think loving thoughts.
- I can talk to God. I can listen to God. I can use the Truth I am learning.
RESOURCES for PARENTS
Program Overview: Unity Family Matters on Unity Online Radio
(Archived editions only available.) Good parenting doesn’t happen by default. It is intentional. It is a decision about who you will be and what you will do in your family life. Your hosts, the Rev. Ogun Holder and the late Rev. Jennifer Holder, want you to experience the “light” side of parenting — realizing your divine identity while raising your children to know they are “the light of God.” Each program offers insight based upon Unity principles, talk with prominent experts in spiritual parenting, and questions and comments from spiritual perspectives.
