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Episode 23 | Children in Church
In this episode, we are tackling the topic of children in church. I’m sharing my journey from putting my kids in Sunday school to bringing them into the church service. I’ll give some reasons why I think children should be in the corporate church service and how you can help your kids engage in the service each Sunday. I also address several concerns and questions that I hear when it comes to keeping children in the Sunday worship service.
Scripture Related to Children in Corporate Worship
Here is a list of Scripture that relates to children being a part of the corporate worship of God.
Old Testament Scripture
- Deuteronomy 31:12-13
- Joshua 8:35
- 2 Chronicles 20:13
- Joel 2:16
- Ezra 10
- Nehemiah 12:43
New Testament Scripture
- Acts 20:7-12 (boy falls out of window while listening to Paul preach)
- Ephesians 6:1-3
- Colossians 3:20
Paul’s letters were to be read during the corporate gathering of believers and it included instructions to children. Nowhere in Scripture do we ever see age segregation during the church gathering.
What Children Learn Through Corporate Worship
By participating in the corporate gathering of believers each Sunday, children will learn:
- to sing to the Lord with other believers
- to pray in a corporate setting
- to follow along to the reading of Scripture from their Bibles
- to listen to preaching
- about communion and baptism
- to develop a habit of weekly Sunday worship with all ages of the body of Christ
Our Family’s Guidelines
Our family worships together for the Sunday service every single week.
During the Sunday school hour, our children are always welcome to attend an adult Sunday school class with us. We actually encourage our teens to attend adult Sunday school classes.
Our kids may choose to attend children’s Sunday school or youth group if these three criteria can be met.
- We must approve of the curriculum or things being taught.
- We must be comfortable with the teacher.
- Attending must not have a negative influence on them.
Three Principles to Guide You
Here are three principles to help guide you in finding ways to keep your children engaged in the Sunday service.
- Remember that the goal is to keep them engaged.
- Avoid things that will distract them from participating in the service.
- When taking kids out of the service because they are becoming a distraction to others, make sure to continue the training outside of the service.
Resources Related to Children in Church
Parenting in the Pew: Guiding Your Children into the Joy of Worship by Robbie Castleman
Let the Little Children Come: Family Worship on Sunday (and the other six days too) by Scott Aniol
Avoiding the Sunday Morning Scramble (Homeschool Mom Podcast)
Training Children in Corporate Worship (The Sword & The Trowel podcast)
The Church is for Kids Too (G3 article)
The Family: Together in God’s Presence (Desiring God, January 1995)
Voddie Baucham on Youth Ministry (YouTube video)
Quotes from Children in Church Podcast Episode
Sunday school is actually a very modern invention and it wasn’t even intended for the children of believers. It was assumed that believers were disciplining their own children; that they were bringing their children to the corporate gathering on Sunday mornings and that they were discipling their kids throughout the week in family devotions.
The goal is not to keep our kids quiet and still in the church service, but rather to help them engage in the worship of God through singing, through prayer, through reading of scripture, through the offering, through the sacraments and through the preaching of the word.
Teaching our kids at their level is not the responsibility of the church. It’s not the responsibility of the pastor or the Sunday school teacher or the youth pastor. God has given us, as parents, the primary responsibility to disciple our children.
Nothing can hinder you from worshiping God except your own sin. Your children and your circumstances don’t prevent you from glorifying God on Sunday mornings or any other day of the week. It’s your own sinful thoughts, desires, attitudes, and actions that keep you from bringing God glory. Your selfishness, your bitterness, your frustration and anger are what keep you from worshiping God. Your children are a gift from God to be used in your own sanctification. As you lay aside your own desires and place the glory of God as your highest goal, then your life, on Sunday mornings and throughout the week, will bring glory to God. Moms, we worship God on Sunday and every day, as we faithfully serve our families for the glory of God.
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