From the Elder's Pen "Children In Worship" 07/07/02 Past/Future Articles

One of our main goals in life is to help our children and other young people to become Christians who are faithful to God’s Word and active in His kingdom, the church.  We want to “bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4).  We want them to know the joy of knowing, serving, and worshipping the Lord.  Our children should be taught why we worship, how we worship, and how to make our worship most effective.  Here are a few ideas that will help us train our children to be good worshippers.

1. Set a good example.  Children need to see your worship and the joy it brings to your life.  You need to come to the worship assemblies regularly with an attitude of joy and anticipation – not with a sense of drudgery or obligation.  You need to sing, bow in prayer, listen intently to the sermon, give joyfully, and partake of the Lord’s Supper meditatively.  Children will follow your example, so set the right king.
2. Prepare the child.  Before Sunday, talk to your child about how to act in the assembly.  Tell the child why we pray, sing, give, partake of the Lord’s Supper weekly, and listen to a sermon.  As you would in preparing him for school, make sure the child gets enough rest the night before to be awake and alert on Sunday.
3. Involve the child.  When singing, help him locate the page of the song.  With your finger on his book, point to the word as we sing.  Encourage your child to sing even though he may not always sing the right words.  When the sermon is delivered, help the child locate the Scriptures cited and/or encourage him to write them down.  This impresses upon the child the importance of paying attention.  It also stresses that worship is active and not passive.
4.  Avoid disturbances.  Make sure that your child has gone to the restroom and for a drink of water before the worship service begins.  Traffic in and out of the auditorium during worship is both unnecessary (with but few exceptions) and disruptive to the worship of many.
5. Sit up toward the front.  Don’t follow the natural tendency to sit in the back so that that child does not disturb others.  Think positively.  Sit close to the front so that your child can see and hear what is happening.  You’ll be amazed at how much better he will behave when you sit toward the front, and how much more meaningful worship will be to you too.
6. Follow through.  Reinforce your child’s learning by discussing various aspects of the worship period afterwards.
7. Be patient.  Children will not act like adults, but with patience and love, they can be taught to love God and worship Him from the heart.

This process will take time, but it will be time well spent.  The time to begin is now, regardless of how young your child is.