Welcome!

At First Methodist, we LOVE kids! Our staff and volunteers believe that kids are uniquely called and equipped to grow in their faith and serve the Lord. We'd love to have your family be part of our church and part of our high energy, Jesus-focused children's ministry.
We offer ministry to children as young as six weeks old in our nursery, all the way up to fifth grade in our preteen class. We believe that it is never too early to start forming a child's faith, and we do so by following the three principles below.
  • Preach the Gospel: We preach the good news of Jesus' love and the gift of salvation. We want our kids to be formed in the biblical story and to know that they are deeply loved and known by God.
  • Teach our Values: We want our kids to learn that the values we live by as Christians, like kindness, patience, perseverance, honesty, creativity, and love, as taught by the scriptures. Our goal is for our First Kids to not only know the word, but understand what it means to live a life of faith and light.
  • Create Positive Associations with Church: Ultimately, we hope that our First Kids know church as a place where they are happy, loved, and have lots of fun. We believe that this is the ultimate way for us to instill a love of church and a deep love for Jesus. We show them that they are surrounded by adults who are happy to see them and want them to have a great experience every single week. We divide our children up by age/grade in small group settings to allow us to individually cater to each age group's interests, learning styles, and ability to interpret and live scripture.

Meet the First Kids team.

Sarah Johnson

First Kids Director
Sarah has been with First Methodist since 2021 and loves her role leading the First Kids ministry. 
Sarah holds a BFA from the University of Tulsa and received her seminary training from Asbury Theological Seminary where she earned an M.A. in Leadership, with a primary focus in family ministry. Sarah is passionate about faith formation in children and loves getting to be part of the lives of so many kids and families at First. She is a huge nerd about child development and loves helping parents learn to leverage each development phase of their child’s life toward their spiritual formation. 
Sarah is married to Colt, and they welcomed their daughter Amelia in the fall of 2023.  

Kyler Duvall

First Kids Assistant Director
Kyler joined the staff of First Methodist in 2023 and is passionate about leading the First Kids ministry to elementary children. He is a Tulsa native and graduate of the University of Tulsa, where he received a B.A. in Business Management. 
Kyler is passionate about teaching and loves to craft creative “kid” sermons and associated small group lessons that teach kids the love of Jesus and the foundations of the biblical story.  
Kyler is currently attending seminary at Asbury Theological Seminary, working towards an M.A. in Leadership. He is engaged to Anna, a second-grade teacher at Jenks Northwest, and they will be married in the summer of 2024. He is an avid Chiefs fan, and says his favorite book of the Bible is John.  

Our Curriculum: Orange

We believe that two combined influences make a greater impact than just two individual influences.

The Church (yellow) + Home (red) = Greater Impact
Light (yellow) + Love (red) = Orange

We Do What We Do Because We Are Convinced That...

  • What you do for kids and teenagers is more important than anything your church does.
  • No one has more to potential to influence a kid than a parent.
  • A parent is not the only influence a child needs.
  • What you say every week should reinforce what you want a kid to know about God at every phase.
  • Every kid is made in the image of God and has the potential to do remarkable things.

Helpful Resources

Planning Your Visit

We’d love to meet you and your children. Feel free to contact director Sarah Johnson at [email protected] or by calling the church at 918.592.3862 before your visit to ask any specific questions. Otherwise, we’re happy to see you when you arrive! You’ll be asked to fill out a short form that gives us the vital information about your child, as well as any medical or behavioral concerns. Once we’ve got that, we’ll print a nametag and pick-up sticker for your child, and then we’ll help you get each of your children to the correct place and show you were to pick them up.  
We’ll be able to help you get where you’re headed no matter what, but we do recommend that families arrive 10 minutes before the service you’re attending so we have plenty of time to get you checked in. Most of our families park in the parking lot south of 12th Street between Boulder and Main, right outside our kids ministry entrance.   
A Note on Safety: Safety is always our first priority. All children will receive a nametag upon check-in with a unique 3-digit pick-up code. The parent receives a matching tag with that same code, and only recognized adults carrying their child’s matching pick-up tag will be allowed to remove a child from the First Kids ministry area. In addition, all of our staff and volunteers have cleared background checks, and our ministry area has a designated security guard. We’ve never had a safety issue, and we don’t plan to!

Sunday Mornings

Early Childhood

Our youngest children, from ages 8 weeks to Pre-K, receive their first look at Jesus and the biblical story through stories, crafts, and plenty of play. From the babies in our nursery classroom to our toddler class and all the way up to our big preschoolers, everyone will enjoy their Sunday in a safe and loving environment! The early childhood ministry of First Kids is staffed by a combination of volunteer leaders, parents, and part-time staff members, and is currently overseen by First Kids Director, Sarah Johnson 
Elementary
Our Elementary kids experience both large worship and their very own small group on Sunday mornings. They gather with all elementary kids for large group in the First Kids Auditorium where they'll hear a kid-focused sermon from one of the First Kids staff with the monthly life app, memory verse, and that day's teaching. It's high energy, kid friendly, and kid focused. After that they'll break into small groups with their age and gender to dive deeper into the lesson and to grow closer with their friends and volunteer leaders. The elementary ministry is overseen by the Assistant Director of First Kids, Kyler Duvall.   

Wednesday Nights

Bible Blast

Begins August 23 | 6:00-7:00 p.m. | First Kids Auditorium (12th & Boulder)
For kids age 4 through 5th grade and their parents.
Bible Blast is a fun and exciting Bible memory program that teaches God’s Word to children ages four through fifth grade. There are two components to Bible Blast: Bible Reading and Bible memory work. This is a family program and parents participate with their kids.

Join the First Kids Team!

First Kids is a team effort comprised of full and part-time staff, student leaders, parent and adult volunteers, and college interns. Our kids benefit greatly from a team of diverse ages and personalities and we would love for you to join the fun!   
For inquiries regarding available staff positions in our ministry, please visit the employment page of our website, or email [email protected].
If you're interested in volunteering with First Kids, click on the appropriate form link below to get started!