09/08/2026
This month, we're taking some time to talk about parts of our worship services that we might be so familiar with that we don't stop to think about it. We're kicking it off with KIDS IN WORSHIP.
We are blessed to have children in our pews on Sunday morning, but it can be easy to take them for granted or to think that they “should” worship how adults are worshipping. Did you know…?
👦🏻Children don’t worship the way adults do. They move around A LOT and they often don’t have “inside voices” yet. Instead of shushing, try to direct that energy toward helping them wonder about what the other worshippers are doing. Worship bags help keep their little hands busy!
🧒🏼 Children learn by watching the adults around them. YOU are part of the Great Cloud of Witnesses that is teaching them about our faith. Didn’t bring a kid to church with you today? You can always invite one to sit with you or become an unofficial “pew grandparent” to one of our little ones.
👧🏽Children aren’t the future of the church—they are the present church. Just like a family changes when they have a new child, so, too, does our church change in response to our growing number of children. Traditional liturgies are adult-centric, so any time we add in simple repetitions, easy to sing hymns, sign language, body movements, or simpler sermons, it’s a way of putting children at the center of our congregational life.
The pictures here are from the Heal the World Summit that Pastor Laura and her family attended over the summer. Her family's posture in worship looked differently than the adults in the room, but by accommodating children's needs, the adults were able to worship and the children were able to experience a space where they knew they belonged.
