It is a blessing to have children participate in our Sunday Morning Service each week. Here are three benefits of having children in the service with us.

 

 

Families Participating Together in Worship

God has uniquely designed the family as a means for spreading his fame and making disciples (for example, Deuteronomy 6:4-9; 31:12-13; Psalm 78:1-8; Ephesians 6:4). This includes making disciples in the “pew.” Parents have the joyful opportunity to sit in service with their children and share with them their joy and love for Christ.

Plus, as children spend Sunday after Sunday, week after week, month after month, year after year in the service with their parents, God provides numerous teachable moments. Whether it is explaining the Lord’s Supper to your kids, participating in song together, reviewing the sermon passage with them, answering their many questions, or helping them see the importance of worshipping Christ, parents have an excellent opportunity to care for their children as they participate together.

Church Members Modeling the Way

As people, we learn a lot by observing the actions of others. Children, in particular, pick up many skills by watching others. Just think of the times you have seen your kid mimic something they have seen you do (for better or worse). Having the children in the service allows them to see us model the walk of a disciple of Christ in corporate worship.

Children learn a lot by observing their mom, dad, and others. They learn as they see us sing songs to God, open our Bibles to study God’s Word, Pray, and greet one another with the love of Christ.

I’m not sure if you’ve ever noticed, but many of the kids come into the service and immediately look to greet their friends. They have learned that by being in here with us and seeing us greet one another.

And isn’t modeling something that our Lord did? Christ modeled how to follow God while living amongst the disciples. They saw him day in and day out and learned from him. So too, the children learn from us as we spend time together in the service.

Children Learn that They are Welcome and Belong

Children are a part of the fabric of our church life, and we want them to be included in our church activities; we want to encourage their participation in the activities of our church. Therefore, being in the service with us gives the children actual and personal experiences of sharing in our joy and love for God.

As we welcome them in with us, we are showing the love of Christ to them and communicating to them that we are glad that they are here. We teach them that they belong in our church family—there’s a place for them.

And this action of showing children that they are welcome flows directly from the example we see of Jesus Christ, who loved and welcomed children (Mark 10:13-16). As we minister to and include children into the life of our church, we are living like Christ.

 

What a joy it is to guide children into the enjoyment of Worship!! See you Sunday!!