Your church may wish to develop a resource like the one presented here. This material was designed to aid parents and members of the congregation in making room for children in worship. The concepts and ideas for this folder were adapted by Christ Memorial Church in Holland, Michigan, from a brochure developed by the Children Committee of Central Reformed Church, Grand Rapids, Michigan. (Reprinted by permission.) These brochures were initially placed inside the hymnals with just the top part visible, so that parents would take notice and take them home. They now sit in the pew racks by themselves as a reference tool and an offering to visitors.
Feel free to adapt the following text for your own context. If you are willing, please submit your own versions so we can add to this resource.
Welcome to Worship
Children at Christ Memorial Church are very much a part of our worshiping community. Their presence here is based on the biblical tradition and Reformed conviction that children are members of the covenant community.
Worship is one of the basic ways people learn what it means to be Christian. Children learn to worship by worshiping with the congregation Sunday after Sunday.
Children gain the following from worshiping with the community of faith:
- They learn that they belong to Christ and are welcome to Christ's church.
- They come to know, through repetition, the Lord's Prayer, the Doxology, the Gloria Patri, and other frequently used responses.
- They build memories of shared experiences of Christian community.
- They are enriched by the beauty of music and art as creative expressions of human praise to God.
- They hear stories from the Bible read and interpreted, and begin to experience worship as one place where God may speak to them.
- They witness the drama of baptism and the Lord's Supper—both visible signs of God's grace.
- They discover that they are valued as persons by God and by God's people.
The Preschool Child
Parents may wonder at the wisdom of including preschool children in worship. They can be restless and distracting to those around them. Their behavior can sometimes be embarrassing to their parents.
The preschool child comes to worship with a rather limited attention span, seemingly endless energy and a growing curiosity about everything. While these ingredients can combine to test a parent's patience, there are several things parents can do to make the preschooler's worship experience (and their own) more relaxed and enjoyable:
- Sit near the front where children can have a clear view.
- Prepare children for the various parts of the worship service, explaining special events ahead of time and answering questions that need an answer "right now" in a quiet whisper.
- Allow children to place your offering in the plate or let them bring their own coins.
- Encourage children to use the children's worship activity bulletin (available from the ushers), inviting them to draw or color in these bulletins.
- Allow children to bring a favorite stuffed animal, colored pencils, or crayons along, or help them check out a book from the church library before the service.
- Encourage children to bring their own Bible storybooks.
- A sensitivity to the preschooler's abilities and needs can help make worship a pleasant experience for everyone.
The Primary Child
The school-age child brings some new abilities to worship: a greater capacity for attentive listening, an increasing ability to read, and the ability to organize and memorize information.
Parents can help the primary child toward greater participation in worship as these capacities develop by using the following suggestions:
- Help children memorize the Lord's Prayer, Gloria Patri, and the Doxology.
- Review the bulletin with children to identify new or difficult words, previewing together those parts where the congregation responds by reading and speaking.
- Encourage children to put their own offering in the plate.
- Invite children to follow the reading of the Scripture lesson in the Bible; encourage children to bring their own Bibles.
- Encourage children to locate hymns in the hymnal, and go over the words; place book marks at each hymn in advance.
- Encourage children to listen to the sermon for stories, answers to questions, or important thoughts.
- Talk about the sermon after church and ask the children what they remembered best about the sermon
- For this age group, some parts of the regular worship bulletins will be meaningful.
ABC's for Parents and Friends of Children
Arrive in time to find a good place to sit.
Sitting near the front will provide younger children with a better view of the chancel.
Bring colored pencils or crayons.
These tools can be used for coloring the children's worship activity bulletins. The ushers will be happy to provide your children with one as you are seated.
Clue in children to what will happen next in worship.
Children who can read will want to go over the printed Prayer of Confession and find hymns in the hymnal. They like to be prepared.
Discuss worship at home.
This will give children time to ask questions and receive answers concerning worship. It will also help prepare them for any special events or services of worship (i.e., the Lord's Supper, baptism, or special commissioning).
Express your joy in having children in worship.
During the Greeting be sure to welcome the children near you. Include them in your conversations before and after worship to let them know they belong.
Free yourself from worry about children's behavior.
Be open to receiving their ministry to you.
Children Worshiping in Other Ways at Christ Memorial Church
We make room for children in worship by providing these other options:
- quality child care and Sunday school during worship for infants and for toddlers through age two
- an opportunity for toddlers to "walk-out" to the Care Center during the second hymn
- children's worship for ages three through second grade; these children leave with "walk-out" during the second hymn (summer walkout is for three-year-olds through kindergartners only)
- opportunities for children to participate in holiday celebrations and sacraments
- three children's choirs (Cherub Choir: kindergarten through second grade; Carol Choir: third through fifth grade; and Praise Choir: sixth and seventh grade)
- worship-activity bulletins for children, available from our ushers
- Mission in the Marketplace—a summer Bible school experience for preschoolers through fifth grade
- Sunday School for three-year-olds through senior high
