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)
Jennifer and I have struggled with this same issue. When I grew up we didn’t have children’s church. Our older two are already to old and only one of the younger two wants to go to children’s church. He may have to get over it soon. We tend to waffle back and forth on the issue.
We do tend to run into a road block however when we are needing to be in aduld ss during the second hour. This quarter we are sitting the children others during worship.
I respectfully disagree. I admire Brother Piper a great deal, but children should not need the worship service to see how their parents worship. What has happened to living out our faith if we need this time to demonstrate our devotion to the Lord. Our children should see us bow our heads in our homes for prayer; they should learn from our example of family devotion time; they should see us “catching the Spirit” in our homes. This is the problem with the modern church...we relegate our Christian lives to the few hours that we spend (for some families the only hour they spend) in church.
Childrens Church is a wonderful tool for making the Bible accessible to children who do not come from a Church Home. Due to the need to provide meet for the adult congregation, those that still need milk may not be fed. the Bible makes it clear that we are to provide for both. Children’s Church provides for this need. I have ministered at a church in which children were transported in...their parents wanting nothing to do with church. One little girl knew a few Bible stories(Noah’s Ark, David and Goliath, etc.); she was 9! We have to have a service for providing milk. by the way, I believe that one of the biggest problems in the church today is that we expect those who need milk to eat meat, while we give to much milk to those who should, by now, be eating meat.
Sorry to be long-winded, but- in summation- if our kids need Sunday mornings to see that we are living for Christ, then I would argue that we are not fully living for Christ.
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