Engaging Our Children in Worship
How do you engage your kids in worship on a Sunday? It’s a question I’m sure nearly every Christian parent thinks about. It’s a question without an easy answer or a one size fits all solution – after all, every child is different (so is every parent for that matter!). But just because it isn’t easy, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try. After all parenting in general isn’t easy but I can’t just throw in the towel on that one. So, here are some things I am finding helpful to think about when trying to encourage our children to engage in worship on a Sunday.
1. Modelling worship at home
A Christian parent’s primary responsibility to their children is to disciple them. Our kids watch what we do and copy what we do, both good and bad. That means if I want my children to be worshippers, I need to be a worshipper. I can’t delegate that to anyone else. So, before I even think about a Sunday, I need to make sure I’m modelling a life of worship and prayer to my children in my day to day.
2. Engaging children in worship/devotion at home
If the only time my children are exposed to a time of worship is on a Sunday morning, they are unlikely to engage. If we build times of worship, prayer and reading of the word into the rhythm of family life then Sunday just becomes another expression of that.
3. Preparing children for a Sunday worship time
In the same way we need to prepare our own hearts when we gather with God’s people to worship, we also need to take time to prepare our children’s hearts. Do our children know what to expect from a time of worship? Do they understand why we do the things we do and what they mean? What do they find easy / difficult about worship? We wouldn’t invite an unbeliever to church and expect them to engage with what is going on without any explanation. Why do we expect it from our kids?
4. Leading them in worship on a Sunday
Whose responsibility is it to lead my children in worship during a Sunday service? There might be someone up the front with a microphone or a guitar, but ultimately it’s down to me to try and lead my children in worship. And yes, that effects my personal engagement. It doesn’t stop it, it just changes the dynamic. It actually helpfully reminds me that corporate worship isn’t an individual pursuit. I am supposed to be worshipping with others! I want my children to know that I really enjoy worshipping with them, that I treasure them and those times, and that I’m not looking at my watch waiting for them to go out to kids work.
5. Understanding them and helping them to understand
Children are different and they change as they get older and grow up. I serve my kids best when I’m entering into their world; trying to understand them and helping them to understand themselves in relation to God. I want to try and help my children think through how they enjoy worshipping; whether that’s singing, dancing, writing, drawing, praying, sitting etc. I want to actively encourage them to express their faith and love for Jesus in ways that flow out of who they are. I also want to try and explain to them on a Sunday morning what different words in songs mean or what someone’s contribution means. Finally I want to try and reflect on the worship time with them afterwards, asking them what they enjoyed, why they enjoyed it, what they learnt about God, what they felt God saying to them, and what they didn’t understand.
I don’t know whether the above sounds manageable or overwhelming, but I know in my own strength and wisdom I’m not up to the task. We all need the Holy Spirit to help us disciple our children and trust that God will work through our weak and imperfect efforts to bring them closer to Him.
Recommended resource: parentingforfaith.org
