How We Worship With Our Kids: Part 1

I have received several e-mails and calls from friends saying they liked my Why We Worship With Our Kids post, but they would prefer a “How” posting. Today I thought I’d share three thoughts for before you head to church. Next week I'll write about what to do when you get there.

#1: Come to Jesus, my friends.

Now friends, we’re going to have a little Come to Jesus moment here. What I am going to say may not be so popular, but it’s what I really believe … so here goes.

Church is not about you. It’s true. Going to church is not an hour off for you. It is not about your peace and quiet. I know you may really desperately want that. You may actually need that. But church would not be that hour. It is actually about God. I know it’s not a popular belief these days, but’s it’s true.

We don’t go to church to pamper ourselves, it is not our day spa with free childcare. We go to worship God community. 

Sometime in the last few decades church has become this place where people want to be entertained and amused. They want their children babysat every time they walk in the door. You hear people saying things like, “I just don’t like the music at that church.” “That church just doesn’t do anything for me.” There is a near riot if childcare is not offered. The pilgrims didn’t say that. Our grandmothers didn’t say that. We need to develop a deep love of worship and the object of that worship. If we want our kids to care about worship, we need to start by personally caring about it. For we can’t lead our kids somewhere we don’t actually go.

We need to come to Jesus my friends. It's a good place to start.

#2:  There is a thin line between Saturday night and Sunday morning.

Those of us who have lived in or loved the” little latitudes”, appreciate a little wisdom from Jimmy Buffet now and then.  Jimmy’s right of course, what happens Saturday night effects Sunday morning.  If you want to make Sunday morning successful, you have to be intentional on Saturday night.  Most of us don’t put our little kids to sleep at 11 pm on Sunday night and expect them to be perky and happy to go to school at 7 am on Monday.   We don’t have sleepovers on Wednesday.  It works the same way on Saturday night. We should be as intentional on Saturday night as we are on school nights.  Here are five ways to prepare on Saturday night for Sunday morning.   

1.       Make sure everyone gets 8-10 hours of sleep.  (plan those sleepover on Friday night)

2.       Tell the kids what the Sunday morning plan is. “We are going to Sunday school at 9, then church, then lunch.”

3.       Lay out church outfits.  If you are raising girls, you know the church outfit selection process is monumental!

4.       Lay out what you need for church… bibles, journals, tithes. 

5.       Have a breakfast plan to make sure everyone gets something to eat before you head out the door. 

#3:  Soccer is not for eating worms and church is not for eating cheerios. 

On Emily’s first ever day of soccer practice.  Her coach sat all the little girls down at a table to talk about why they come to soccer practice.  He had a big bowl of gummy worms.  He asked the girls, “Do we come to soccer practice to eat worms?”  NO!  They screamed.  He spent time talking about other things we don’t come to soccer to do – gymnastics, laying on the grass, eating snacks.  It was brilliant.  The girls never forgot that we go to soccer practice to practice soccer.

Looking around in any church one has to wonder what elementary age children think they come to church for.

 They might just think church is…

·         for eating cheerios

·         for coloring pictures

·         for playing on mom’s phone

·         for reading random books

·         for laying across pews

·         for crawling around on the floor.  

You may desire to have your kids meaningfully participating in worship, but if you head out the door Sunday morning armed with snacks and a library book, you’re sending your kids a pretty strong message of what your expectations of what they’ll be doing in church are.   Instead why not take Saturday night dinner to follow Emily’s coach’s example and throw a handful of gummy worms on the table.  Ask your kids if you’ll need them for church on Sunday.  Start up a conversation about what they are supposed to be doing during church.  They might just surprise you with their wisdom.