Children In Worship

Our worship is designed to be a welcoming community which forms our faith and life together. When worship happens in the fellowship of faith, it becomes a celebration of belonging and participating in that community, but our worship is not just another activity to fill our time or a social club. It is an important opportunity for us to gather and direct our attention towards God.

This is why it is so important to us that we include our children in worship. We want our young people to grow up feeling loved and cared for by God and God’s worshipping community and to experience, from their earliest memories, how important it is for us to be together to praise our living God.

Introducing your child to worship can be a wonderful, worshipful event in the life of your family, but it can also seem like an uphill battle--one for which you might not feel fully equipped. Expecting a child to automatically “flow” into the very grown up world of the worship service is not realistic. It is important to remember that helping our children learn how to worship is a process which requires patience, flexibility, and a sense of humor.

Following are resources, best practices, and helpful hints that have been gleaned from pastors, educators and other parents. Each of these has been tested to see if they are helpful. We hope these tips will be helpful to you as we join together to shape your child’s faith life.

• Before Worship Begins
• During Worship
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Further Reading

BEFORE WORSHIP BEGINS:

Sunday morning starts Saturday night - Make Sunday morning more peaceful by laying out clothes the night before, finding socks, finding offering, etc.

Try to make Sunday morning special - Get up early enough to not be rushed. Choose a special, simple breakfast to have only on Sundays. Play worshipful music to set the tone for the morning.

Be firm and consistent. Give worship the same emphasis that you give other important matters.

Plan ahead to avoid “bathroom parades” - On the way into worship stop for a family bathroom break.

Sit close to the front pew so that children will be able to see the “action” of worship. Don’t worry about “hiding” your child in the back row. Fairmount loves your child.

Be sure to introduce your children to the greeters and folks sitting around you on Sunday morning, so they begin to know members of their church family.

Have children use the crayons in their worship packets to color code the bulletin according to the activity we will be doing. (i.e. blue for prayers, green for scripture, red for music.)

Look for familiar or repeated words or phrases in responsive readings, and point these out to non-reading children so they can join in.

Look up hymn numbers together and mark them.

DURING WORSHIP

Worship WITH rather than BESIDE children - Allow children to stand on the pew so they can “read” the hymnal with the adults around them.

Use an index card or book mark under hymn words to make them easier to follow.

Whisper instructions and questions to help the child focus on what is going on, or what it means to you.

Set the expectation that they are paying attention by whispering encouraging cues to children so they know what is coming next.
Enjoy this time and hug your child during the service. Tell him/her how happy you are to have them with you in worship. Remember, as you help your child to learn about worship you are ministering to him/her.

Try not to look at this time as one of interruption, but as one of putting into practice what Jesus asked of us...that “whoever welcomes in my name one child such as this, welcomes me.”

Above all else remember, we have all taken baptismal vows to love and help raise your child so we are in this together. No one will look at you as if you are a bad parent if your child is not perfect, because none of us are.

Frequently Asked Questions

Further Reading

The Children in Worship proposal referenced in the January 2009 Fairmount Flyer.

Articles of interest for Faith Formation discussion on including Children in Worship.

• Worship For All God's People
  (Adult Resource 1, from Get Ready! Get Set! Worship!)
• Worship: The Work of Everyone
  (Foundations in Children's Ministries)
• 1. Why Include Children in Worship
  (Including Children in Worship)
• 2. As We Worship, So We Believe
  (Including Children in Worship)

All linked articles are in PDF format, ranging from 350kb to 1 Mb. A Zip file with all 4 articles is available for download [ChildrenInWorship.zip 2.81Mb]

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