WHAT ABOUT CHILDREN DURING THE WORSHIP SERVICE?

When the Apostle Paul was addressing the congregations in Colossae and Ephesus , he directly addressed the children (Col. 3:20; Eph. 6:1). Evidently the Apostle assumed the children were in the assembly!

In striving to be as Biblical as possible, we have the children in the worship service.

There will still be nursery care for infants and toddlers through age 3. We encourage parents to start training their children at age 4 – 5 by using the Training Chapel. In the Training Chapel they can learn to sing, pray and sit still. The Training Chapel is not a place to allow the children to play around or for parents to visit. It is a part of the sanctuary and a preparatory room for the children to learn how to worship God.

If as a parent you feel some hesitation about having your children in service because of potential behavioral problems, please take the following advice:

• Read “The Family: Together in God’s Presence.”

• Prepare your children by teaching them what prayer is, and why we’re quiet during prayer (we are talking to God); what worship is (we’re singing to God); what preaching is (God is speaking to us through His Word).

• Be firm in instructing them to be respectful of God and others during the service. Be consistent in your discipline.

• Reinforce the importance of worship, prayer, etc. Help to build them up in looking forward to the Lord’s Day.

• Sit in the Training Chapel or the back of the church, where training, and if necessary, discipline, can be administered without causing a distraction.

COMMON OBJECTIONS

*Children can’t take in a sermon geared for adults.
Children comprehend much more than we give them credit for. We believe in the power of the Holy Spirit and the Word. He can grant them more understanding than many adults! Third, the children are consistently addressed in the ministry of the Word.

*Children are a distraction; they will only disrupt the service.
Jesus Christ heard the same complaint (Matt. 19:13 -14).

Jesus replied, “Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me.”

Download the sermon titled “Semper Reformanda: Children in Worship” available from our Sermon Audio page.

CONCLUSION

Our passion is the supremacy of God! And we desire to see God made supreme in the lives of our children. Having children through the entire service, we believe, is a step in the right direction. May God bless our little ones as they learn to worship God in joyful reverence!