On the fifth Sunday of every month, first through fifth graders join the adults of our church in the auditorium for gathered worship. This has been a learning process for our staff team, and for me. I believe that the primary purpose of the corporate gathering is the spiritual formation of God’s people, and this includes not just adults, but children as well. This is not a time simply to give our children’s ministry volunteers a break, but a chance for discipleship to go both ways, for our children to disciple the adults of our church, and for the adults of our church to disciple the children.
The presence of children in our gathering should remind adults of the way that we are to approach our Heavenly Father. With the faith of a child, full of wonder, joy, curiosity, and without reserve. Children should remind adults that the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Children should remind adults that we are a part of the family of God, that we care for, serve, love, and are inconvenienced for one another - that we gather not to consume but to serve.
When children are in the gathering adults have the opportunity to model what it looks like to engage in the body of Christ. To sing, respond, listen, and wrestle with God’s Word preached. To give ourselves away in service, and to give our finances through tithes and offerings. To be reminded of the broken body, and shed blood that makes us a family. To confess our sin and receive God’s forgiveness once more.
One of the things we speak about regularly as a staff team is not wanting a Family Worship Weekend to feel like a Vacation Bible School Sunday, where the entirety of our gathering is oriented around our children. But at the same time, we do not want to have a Sunday that is ‘business as usual’ without acknowledging there are younger people in the gathering.
Here are a few ways that I am working to grow my awareness of the presence of children in our gathering on these weekends:
Through song choice. I know that there are a handful of songs we sing in the auditorium that our children sing regularly. When I am able, I like to lead those songs which overlap so that kids can see that grownups gather and sing just like they do.
Teach them a new song the week before. This past year, I have been going over to our children’s ministry the week before and teaching the kids a song that we will be singing the following week. I talk to them about what it means, and why we sing and play through the song with them so that they have something else that is familiar when they come to Family Worship Weekend.
Use accessible language. I want to be clear in what I say always, but when kids are in the room, it forces me to consider how I would articulate truths to my own children in a way that helps them to understand. Using accessible language helps cut through some of the jargon that many in our gathering may not understand.
Repetition. I want our children to be able to engage and respond with us, not just be passive observers. So I try and consider songs that are highly repetitive so that even if a child can’t read (or read quickly) they can still sing along. We have done this when reading confessions as well. Having a statement the leader reads, the corporate response being ‘Forgive us, Lord.’ Enables us to teach our children, rather than having - or adults for that matter - spend the mental energy to read aloud a changing line of response.
Scripture tells us that children are a blessing from the Lord. Certainly, this is true for the parents of the children, but it is also true for Spiritual parents and the community of faith. Children are a blessing to us, let’s welcome, engage, and serve them as we gather and as we are sent.