Isaac's Keep | Reformed Canton Church in Downtown Canton, GA

As a mom, I know that finding ways to make our corporate worship meaningful for my kids is very important to me. And I believe it’s also important to other parents. That’s why one of the questions on our FAQ page is “What about the kids?” Knowing how our kids will be ministered to and involved in a local body is important to us. And it should be.

At Isaac’s Keep, we want to involve children at an early age in our corporate worship experience. There are lots of reasons for this, but one of my favorites comes from John & Noel Piper’s article, “The Family, Together in God’s Presence”:

Parents have the responsibility to teach their children by their own example the meaning and value of worship. Therefore, parents should want their children with them in worship so the children can catch the spirit and form of their parents’ worship… A deep sense of the unknown and the mysterious can rise in the soul of a sensitive child in solemn worship—if his parents are going hard after God themselves. A deep moving of the magnificence of God can come to the young, tender heart through certain moments of great hymns or “loud silence” or authoritative preaching. These are of immeasurable value in the cultivation of a heart that fears and loves God.

As parents, we are providing our children with an invaluable lesson in worship when we allow them to worship alongside us. There are lessons on the greatness and magnitude of God that they can learn even if much of what is said “goes over their heads”. God is above us, His ways are far beyond us. Teaching our children that truth is a good thing.

However, there is the practicality of how to actually enjoy a worship service with a young child at your side. How do we make it a meaningful worship/learning experience instead of an hour and a half battle over bathroom breaks and being quiet? As a mom and teacher, I have a couple of suggestions that I think will help. I’m going to start with the worship service and work backwards.

During the worship service, I’ve found it’s helpful to have a special “church bag” stocked with appropriate items to help minimize disruptions and aid involvement. For our oldest daughter, this includes her Bible, some paper and crayons, a (quiet) snack, and water.

The Bible allows her to see where exactly where in the word of God the Scripture readings and sermons come from. Though she can’t yet read the words, she is learning that the Bible is important and a central part of our corporate worship. The crayons and paper can be a tool to aid her in paying attention. Sometimes I will quietly ask her to draw something from the sermon or passage we are reading. And, let’s be honest, sometimes she just draws rainbows or traces her hand. But this participating in worship thing is a work in progress. And at least she’s quiet! The snack and water are not really necessities, but I find that they cut down on the “I’m hungry, I’m thirsty, When’s lunch” comments.

Working backwards, the next item is preparing your child the morning before worship. Since we are part of a church where the preaching is verse by verse it’s pretty easy to know what passage of Scripture is coming next, even if you’re not married to the pastor : ). So, I always try to read the passage with Piper in the morning and talk about its message in language she can understand. Sometimes this is easy, like the parable of the sower in Mark 4, and sometimes it’s harder, like Paul’s discussion of the elementary principles of the world in Galatians 4. But there is always something that can be drawn out for children, even if it’s just to define a word like “grace” or “justified”. Familiarizing them with the passage beforehand will only enhance their understanding of the preached word.

The final part of preparing your children for worship begins on Monday each week, or even on Sunday evenings. And it’s the most important part. It is to consistently and patiently teach our children the Word of God through our words, actions, and lives. Basically, to live out Deuteronomy 6:7. Why do I mention that in an article about preparing our children for worship? Because our children are going to be prepared for worship if they are hearing and seeing the truths of Scripture lived and taught throughout the rest of the week.

When you are spending time reading Bible stories with your children, the characters and themes become familiar to them. When you pray with your children, the act of bowing their heads and talking to God becomes normal to them. When you discuss biblical truths with your children, the language of the Bible and theology becomes a part of their vocabulary. And when you teach your children to memorize Scripture, the very words they hear on Sunday morning are often already written in their minds and hearts.

Ultimately, it is our responsibility as parents to “train up our children in the way that they should go”. Being involved in a biblical, God-glorifying church is part of that, but that can’t be where our children’s training begins or ends. Worship on Sunday morning will be a meaningful, educational experience for them when worship happens frequently for them throughout the rest of their week. And the same holds true for their parents, too!

Here are some other great resources for preparing your children for corporate worship:

“Getting to the Church on Time” by The Responsible Puppet. This blog post has specific practical tips from a mom & dad of 7 kids.

Parenting in the Pew is an excellent book by Ruth Bell Graham and Robbie Castleman. It is full of excellent practical advice for guiding your children in worship.

“The Family, Together in God’s Presence” which I quoted above is also a fabulous article on the practical and spiritual aspects of including our children in corporate worship.

This is a gathering of women around good coffee and great conversation.  Join us as we honestly discuss the challenges and joys of being a wife, mother, and woman.  Gathering dates and places are posted on the IK calendar.  For more information, contact us (church@ isaacskeep.com).

Reformation Brewery(RB) is about gathering in community with those who share an interest in and love of good beer. If you are interested in joining please contact at info@ reformationbrewery.com, brewing schedule and times of gatherings will be posted on the RB  website.

If there is anything in our culture that could use the redeeming influence of the gospel it is beer.  We live in a confused culture when it comes to this issue and  Reformation Brewery seeks the balance of the gospel.  We want to foster community around a biblical understanding and enjoyment of good beer.

As a church that believes children and family ministry is biblically done within the home and as a church that desires to support families in this responsibility I’m always seeking good balanced resources.  The reality is that family worship means a lot of different things to a lot of different people.  At the root of it all is Deuteronomy 6:4-9 where we are instructed to teach our children the Word of God and the ways of God.  The methods may vary in this endeavor and I think that each family dynamic and personality will have its own techniques.  That said, I would like to share with you a resource I ran across on family worship called The Family Worship Guide.  What I’ve read thus far is very good and offers as much structure as you may want.   I have subscribed to have it sent to my email account everyday and I look forward to using it in our own family’s time of worship.  Give it a look and see how you might be able to utilize it within your family.