Thank God for Squirming Kids: Why Congregations Should Reconsider Children’s Church
It seems to be happening in more and more places. It is about time for the sermon to begin, and a boatload of parents carry or walk their precious children to a different part of the building and then return for the lesson. The kids are in “children’s church” and the adults are in what is sometimes jokingly called “big church.”
Today, I want to urge congregations to rethink this approach.
Typically, when people want to start (or defend) “children’s church,” they give the same couple of reasons. Admittedly, both are understandable, but both also need to be thought through carefully.
Some suggest that children’s church gives young people a chance to learn on their own level instead of sitting through a sermon for adults. By extension, then, it is often said that the preacher can preach more in-depth, “meat of the word” sermons.
There are at least two responses to this. First, there are already opportunities for children to learn on their own level. That is called “Bible class” or “Sunday school,” as well as youth devotionals and other opportunities.
Also, though, we need to keep in mind that children grasp more than we give them credit for. As a preacher, my goal should be to give something in each sermon that is “milk of the word,” both for children as well as guests or new Christians, and “meat of the word” for more seasoned Christians. It does not have to be either/or. In fact, it is better if it is both/and! Still, even if the sermons are filled with deeper things, you might just be amazed at how much children grasp when given the chance.
Second, some give the excuse that this is the only time where parents can “really” worship, because they are able to avoid having to deal with squirming, crying, fidgety children. While I preach most Sundays, I have still sat in those seats with those kids enough to realize that this is a real issue for many.
Still, we need to remember that these are opportunities to teach and train our children. They need to learn how to act, how to sing, how to listen, and so forth. But it goes far beyond that.
We need to teach our children that worship is the whole church coming together! Young and old. Educated and uneducated. Rich and poor. Builders, Boomers, Gen-Xers, Millennials, Gen-Z. Every skin color.
I do not want to make this an exact parallel, but do we not see some sad irony in the fact that we often lament the fact that there are “black” churches and “white” churches in the same town, all the while we have a “young” church and an “older” church in the same building? Our children need to see that the church represents their local community, including the different ages, all coming together to worship God and grow closer together.
There are already so many opportunities for each age group to learn and grow together through classes, fellowships, activities, devotionals, and more. Let us not segment worship and lose the beauty of teaching our children not only how to worship, but who can worship. It includes them!
And when those kids get a little fidgety or they squirm, let’s train them, but let’s also thank God for them. What a blessing to have a congregation with crying babies and squirming children. After all, that is a congregation with a future!
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AUTHOR: Adam Faughn
