I've been preaching and teaching that we (the local church) are a family for years now. At our local church we recently made a change to reinforce that concept - we now include our K-5 children in corporate worship. We're one week in, but I'm already excited...
It seems odd to me that so many local churches shuttle their kids off to their own little corner virtually every time they meet. I understand that there's great value in having kids grouped with other kids sometimes: age-appropriate teaching, peer bonding, etc... But why the trend toward virtual isolation? I'm not sure it speaks well of our culture.
Having said that, one of the things I most like about our local church is that people actually want to include kids in the life of the local church! So we finally took the next major step last week, keeping the K-5s with their parents until the start of the sermon. For my part, it was great! Having all those kids viewing and participating in corporate worship, seeing what a mass of adult followers of Jesus looks like when singing their praise to Him, ... The benefits are probably incalculable, to be honest.
So, if you get a chance, let me know how you see this issue. What does your local church do? What would you change about the involvement of children in the life of your local church?
Hatushili
Saturday, February 28, 2009
We are a family
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2 comments:
Love it! I would like to see churches go a step further and not segregate worship at all! (After all, you know segregation was a humanist idea ;-)
Let them hear the reading of the Scriptures, the "amens" of the congregation and watch as the stuff "over their heads" remarkably becomes part of their hearts and minds. "Let the little children come.."
Our church is completely integrated and we love it.
I'm glad your church has found full integration effective in the discipleship of your children! I agree that there's much children can learn that might seem "over their heads". For us, in our context, I think what we're doing makes the most sense. May God bless both our assemblies as we work to make disciples - both big and small!
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