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.

written by Paula Nix

I’ll be honest. When the discussion of Isaac’s Keep becoming a house church originated, my first thought was something along the lines of “Does that mean I would have to mop every week?” I know. Not overly spiritual. But not far after that came the thought, “That might actually be kind of nice.”

Then, several months later God once again ordained that Isaac’s Keep should find a new place to worship. Moving isn’t really anything new for IK, in my estimation we have met in 6 places in our 2 1/2 year existence. This time, like in others, the transition didn’t exactly go as we had planned. And so, on Tuesday when my husband informed me that the following Sunday’s worship would be held in our living room, my first thought was, “Does that mean I have to mop this week??”

I am happy to say that our first week in the Nix living room was absolutely wonderful, even without my mopping : ) In fact, I think that our last four weeks of worshipping together as a house church have been some of my favorite worship services so far. After that first Sunday, we had a time of discussion about the positives and the challenges of becoming a house church. It was wonderfully encouraging, so I thought I’d share some of it here.

First, we all shared things that came into our minds as the positives of meeting in our home each week- such things as the intimacy of meeting in a home, the opportunities to leisurely talk over coffee and hang out after the service is over, the fact that our finances are now free to support ministries and passions of those within the church as well as those in need both locally and globally, and the fact that, for the foreseeable future, we have a permanent home. My favorite positive mentioned was that being a house church just seems to fit who IK is-relational, missional, intimate. As one elder put it, “Part of me wonders why we haven’t been doing this all along.”

Then, of course, we talked about some of the challenges of being a house church in our culture and context. Let’s face it, in the south (and in much of the U.S.) “church” is synonymous with “building”. When we ask folks “Where do you go to church?”, we are usually looking for a location as much as a name and denomination. And replying, “In my house,” sounds a little, well, weird.

But I’m pretty sure that the first time churches started meeting in separate buildings instead of homes there were people who said, “That’s weird! Why would they want to do that?” Throughout church history, and history in general really, there have been a lot of things that seemed weird at the start just because they weren’t the norm. And that’s okay.

I think what we are learning is that meeting in home or meeting in a building or meeting in a park isn’t what really matters. You can do any or all of those and it isn’t what defines you as a church. What defines a church is the people- their passion for spreading the glory of God, their love for others, and the way they live out the words of Scripture in their everyday lives. My prayer is that IK would be defined by all of those things. And if you’re looking for a family like that, our home is always open.

Isaac’s Keep is currently a house church located in the city of Canton, GA 30114. We welcome all. We are seeking to build a sense of belonging around relationships. We welcome seekers and hope to provide a safe place to explore, question, and belong while also providing a place to grow and strengthen the believer’s walk with Christ. You can find out more about our foundational values and beliefs on the website. If you have any questions or need to directions please contact us at church@isaacskeep.org.

Ok, ok, so I’m the pastor and it’s my little daughter up there. This makes me smile.