Where are the children?
September 23, 2009
Look around the typical large or mega-church and try to find the children. Increasingly, they are disappearing from the church's corporate worship.
I know why we do it:
Kids can be noisy.
Parents need a break.
Kids won't really learn anything in "big church."
Ironically, the third reason which is the most frequently used as a justification for not including children in the corporate worship of God's people is by far the most dubious reason. I know that kids can be noisy. I know that parents need a break. But please do not tell me that kids don't learn anything in the corporate gathering of God's people.
Corporate worship provides parents with a unique opportunity in parenting. Where else are kids taught to listen and be still? that the world does not revolve around them? Where else are they exposed to the proclamation of God's Word. Where else are they exposed to the biblical substance and generations worth of wisdom that are reflected in the great hymns of the church? In what other venue are parents and children being taught the same thing and thus given the opportunity to work out the implications together? I remember at the previous church I pastored being asked by a visiting parent (who just discovered that we did not have children's church), "What am I supposed to do with my kids?" I responded as gently as possible, "parent them."
From Joshua at Creed or Chaos:
Read the entire post HERE.
I know why we do it:
Kids can be noisy.
Parents need a break.
Kids won't really learn anything in "big church."
Ironically, the third reason which is the most frequently used as a justification for not including children in the corporate worship of God's people is by far the most dubious reason. I know that kids can be noisy. I know that parents need a break. But please do not tell me that kids don't learn anything in the corporate gathering of God's people.
Corporate worship provides parents with a unique opportunity in parenting. Where else are kids taught to listen and be still? that the world does not revolve around them? Where else are they exposed to the proclamation of God's Word. Where else are they exposed to the biblical substance and generations worth of wisdom that are reflected in the great hymns of the church? In what other venue are parents and children being taught the same thing and thus given the opportunity to work out the implications together? I remember at the previous church I pastored being asked by a visiting parent (who just discovered that we did not have children's church), "What am I supposed to do with my kids?" I responded as gently as possible, "parent them."
From Joshua at Creed or Chaos:
This division does more harm than good. It teaches children that they are not a vital part of the congregation, which in some churches is sadly true. However, my sense is that most churches value their children. The everyday church’s impulse to provide a place where children will connect with the church and stay with the church for many years to come is noble. But if ministers and parents want their children to connect deeply with the church, then they should stop allowing their children to be sent away during the most important part of the Christian life—the collective worship of the Triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I am glad that I gather in a church where all the parents are looking for a way to keep their children in the service and where a cooing baby is a blessing. In this environment, my children will grow up feeling important and my guess is that they will stay in the church much longer than they would if they went to Sunday School in lieu of assembling with the whole community. Besides, the gospel is for children too, and there should never be too few in pew.
Read the entire post HERE.
