Children
Planting Spiritual Seeds
About Our Program
Our children’s ministry focuses on the important basics of faith including: the core stories of the faith, prayer, Baptism and Holy Communion, and how to treat and get along with others.
Leadership
Ali Lotito is the coordinator of our Children's Ministry. She currently attends Cal State Fullerton as a Child and Adolescent Development major with a minor in Spanish and teaches preschool during the week. Ali has also been a camp counselor at the Elementary Church Camp at Lazy W Ranch and is currently a co-leader of the Rancho Santa Margarita and Mission Viejo sites' Explorers Club for third through fifth graders.
On Sundays, Ali facilitates getting the children to the appropriate classrooms, ensuring that teachers are prepared each week, and planning future vacation bible schools.
Our teachers are trained members of the church who have a love of children and a desire to share our biblical faith.
Details
We offer Sunday School at both the 9:30 and 11 a.m. services. For infants and toddlers, we provide nursery care during both services.
We have 3 classes at each hour, including a class for Preschoolers, Younger Elementary (K-2nd grades) and Older Elementary (3rd-5th grades).
Children receive Bibles and study the sacraments in 3rd grade.
A bi-monthly group for 3-5th graders enables them to begin the transition from child to youth (youth group begins at 6th grade).
In addition, we offer parents the opportunity to learn how to support their children’s growth by offering parenting classes, half-day workshops and social groups for parents with children.
Please review our Health Guidelines for children attending our Sunday School.
For more information, please contact Ali Lotito at alotito@smumc.com.



Sunday Info
- Worship 9:30 AM: Relaxed Traditional – Traditional and new hymns with our Chancel Choir.
- Worship 11 AM: Contemporary / Modern Worship – Band, Candles, Families.
- Sunday school for children at each hour. Loving nursery care, too.
- Address: We are located at 30605 Avenida de Las Flores, Rancho Santa Margarita.
This Week at RSM Campus
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On Sunday we continue our series on "Making All Things New." Last week we talked about the "What" of the Gospel - the very nature of the Gospel and how God wants to transform the world through it. This week we are going to talk about the "Who" of the Gospel. We are continuing to move through Colossians and as it progresses Paul begins to pray for the people of Colasse and does so because he knows that they will need great trust and knowledge of Who the gospel is about, and Who will cause life transformation. So this week we will gather together to talk about Who Jesus is when it comes to transformation newness. What we discover is that Jesus makes things new everyday if we simply allow those tiny transformations to lead to big ones..... See you Sunday as we talk about the image of the invisible!
Church Wide News & Events
Pastor Craig’s Final Sunday at Shepherd of the Hills: Pastor Craig will celebrate his final Sunday at Shepherd of the Hills on June 16th. There will be one worship service at each campus that morning. • Rancho Santa Margarita Campus – 9:00 a.m. Worship, Pastor Craig Preaching • Mission Viejo Campus – 10:30 a.m. Worship, Pastor Craig Preaching Following worship at the Mission Viejo Campus, there will be a celebration luncheon of Mexican street tacos! After lunch, a gathering will be held in the sanctuary at Mission Viejo.
- Pastoral News: The Rev. Karl Stuckenberg to Be Appointed as the New Lead Pastor at Shepherd of the Hills...
- 'Celebrate Recovery': Launched April 10th at 6:30 pm at the MV Campus (part of "Connect"). The weekly gathering will serve as a support group for dealing with hurts, habits and hang-ups, providing a place to share, fellowship, and embark on a path to healing.
- 'Connect' Gatherings: Wednesdays from 6:30 pm - 7:45 pm, Mission Viejo Campus
- Event Highlights: See what events are going on at both campuses here...
- Shepherd of the Hills Happenings: Read our monthly newsletter here...
Multi-Media
- Campus Scenes: View a short video of scenes and activities from our campus.
- View Current Sermons: If you missed or want to re-experience a recent sermon, we have audio and video for you.
- Newsletters: An archive of recent newsletters. See what’s been going on.
- Sermon Series: Read about what’s upcoming and what’s past.
