If children are expected to attend, do they stay for all or only a portion of the service.

Do adult worship services include Children's Message or Children's Sermon for the children in attendance? 

Thank you,

Lisa B from NC

Lisa B from NC

      Currently, children 4 years through 5th grade attend children's church during the sermon at the traditional service, so they attend approximately half of the worship service.  During the contemporary service, however, the children attend children's church the entire length of the service; we offer cl for nursery, 2s & 3s, 4s & Ks and 1st-5th grades.  As the children's minister, I feel that the children (at least 1st grade & up) need to be included in adult worship. 

     I hope to see the 1st through 5th graders begin attending half of our contemporary worship sevice soon.  If that happens, I want to involve the kids in "big church" by having them "teach" the songs from the Kids Own Worship and quote Scripture.

   We do not have any type of Children's Sermon.

-  We also have 2 services - a comtemporary and a traditional. For both services, preschoolers remain in SS first service and a second hour SS during the second service. K through 2nd grade attend the first half of the services, leaving after the children's message. Ages 3rd grade stay for the entire service.

I like your idea to have children teach the adults the KOW songs and recite scripture. It's age-appropriate and inclusive.

Lisa B from NC

We also have a Children's Sermon before the Sermon that the kids are invited to come up front for.   The children sit at the front of the church facing the adults.  I think this is also an interesting decision to make - do kids face the alter or the adults?   I think that facing the alter is more in line with worship.

Unfortunately, the head of our building committee did not have the children's best interest in hand.  He demanded that kids are to be in church so refused to allow room for a nursery (the crying room is just an overgrown closet which feels crowded when more than one adult and one or two children are in it.).  I got into an argument at a building meeting one time when he stated that if there was a nursery, it would be locked during church services.  I replied that it was the parent's choice how to use the nursery not his.  Unfortunately, he intimidates lots of people and not very many are willing to stand up for what is right when a strong willed person is talking.  No one would come to my aide in the argument and we have a new building with no nursery.

I keep trying to convince congregational members that what we have in place for the children is so important to how visitors view us.  If they do not see a children's program through a decent nursery (not a hole in the wall closet) they will not see us as a congregation who loves kids.  What family will join our congregation if we have nothing for their kids in line of a nursery?  (we do have Sunday School, Kings Kids Klub, Puppets and sometimes chimes when we have a leader)

When I visit other congregations, I find myself looking for how active they are through their displays of events on bulletin boards, ect. and how they treat their children by how a nursery is set up and the rules for the nursery.

Anytime children and adults participate in something together, it best benefits the kids if it is on their level.   I also believe that many adults need God's Word on the children's level to truley understand and grow in faith.

Adrianne