Children in Church
When I was about four years old (I may have been slightly younger than that) my family had made one of our frequent trips to my father’s home town. My grandparents lived in a very small town - the town’s sign on the highway claimed exactly 1,000 residents, but I’ve always been a bit skeptical of that figure - and their home was on a corner diagonally across from their church. We went to church with them, and I did not want to go into the children’s class with kids I didn’t know, so I promised my father that I would be quiet in church if he let me go to the service with the adults instead of going to the children’s program. He consented to this, and from that time forward I attended the regular worship service both there and in our church at home.
It surprises me now, looking back on that, that I have allowed my own children, who are now aged 6 and 8, to attend children’s church up to this point. I was directed last week to an article that brought those events of my childhood to mind, and I have decided that my wife and I should change our Sunday routine to include taking our children into the service with us from now on. They are certainly old enough to sit through the service, though they may find the adjustment difficult for a time.
The article I read was written by John Piper, pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church of Minneapolis, MN. While it is not new, the issues involved have certainly not changed much if any in the 13 years since it was originally published.
Here is a key excerpt from the article:
Catch the Spirit
Parents have the responsibility to teach their children by their own example the meaning and value of worship. Therefore, parents should want their children with them in worship so the children can catch the spirit and form of their parents’ worship.
Children should see how Mom and Dad bow their heads in earnest prayer during the prelude and other non-directed times. They should see how Mom and Dad sing praise to God with joy in their faces, and how they listen hungrily to His Word. They should catch the spirit of their parents meeting the living God.
Something seems wrong when parents want to take their children in the formative years and put them with other children and other adults to form their attitude and behavior in worship. Parents should be jealous to model for their children the tremendous value they put on reverence in the presence of Almighty God.
If you would like to read the entire article, you can find it here. I will try to remember to report back in a few weeks as to how our family is adjusting to this change.
(H/T: Denny Burk)
