by Carter Brown
In my time at Cedar Heights, I’ve been asked many times about the potential of offering a “children’s church” (a separate program for kids during the corporate worship service). Aside from our nursery for kids ages 3 and under, we don’t have any programming for children during our worship service. While this decision has been made thoughtfully and intentionally, you may not be aware of the reasoning behind it.
Are kids the “church of tomorrow”?
Our church rightly prioritizes the corporate worship service. It’s one of our four pillars. We preach expositional sermons grounded in the Word. We structure the order of our service to point to the Gospel and remind us of our need for God. We choose songs that are lyrically faithful. We do all of this because we believe it is important, and the intentionality and priority of our corporate worship service is part of who we are as a church.
Since this is such a crucial part of our church’s identity, I am hesitant to exclude our children from it. You may have heard the phrase that children are the “church of tomorrow”. The intentions of this phrase are good – encouraging us to teach our children the Word of God so they grow up to become faithful leaders for the next generation after we are gone. But if we’re not careful, this same phrase can accidentally sideline our children from being actively involved in the church until “tomorrow” arrives and we deem them old enough to contribute. I believe all believers are an active part of the church today, regardless of age. The gifts of the Spirit – given for the edification of the church (1 Cor. 12:7; 14:12) – are not given out by age group. I think our kids who have put their faith in Jesus and received the enlivening work of the Spirit have more to offer than we often think. And our kids who have not yet put their faith in Jesus need the faithful proclamation of God’s Word which he promises will not return void (Is. 55:11). I think having a service that doesn’t welcome children communicates a different message.
Second Service
That said, I recognized the value of kids being taught the truths of Scripture and learning the value and routines of a corporate worship service – all at a developmentally appropriate level. The corporate worship service is understandably aimed at an adult audience, and much of the service goes over a child’s head. A service aimed specifically at a younger audience could have innumerable benefits. But there’s one element I think it must include – Qualified elders preaching.
I already mentioned that one of the key elements of our corporate worship service is the expositional preaching of the word by qualified men. If we were to have a children’s church, I believe that we should view it like a second service. It shouldn’t resemble Sunday School or Awana or daycare. It should be a worship service. If we were going to have a traditional service and a contemporary service that each ministered to a unique niche of people, each service would have a similar structure and a qualified man preaching. So if a church wants to have a children’s service to minister to the unique niche of that age group, that’s great! I could get behind that. But that service should look pretty similar to the other service. And a qualified man should be preaching to them.
It’s my belief that a program that takes place during the corporate worship service but does not closely resemble that service robs children of the opportunity to participate in one of the most important functions of the local church and risks implying their lesser value in the body of Christ.
At the present time, we’ve decided not to pursue this alternative service option at Cedar Heights. It’s not logistically sustainable for a church our size to have 2 simultaneous worship services each week. But we also don’t think it is necessary to have 2 worship services (for all the reasons listed above). So instead we welcome children into the corporate worship service with the rest of us!
What I’ve observed.
That’s my reasoning for the absence of a children’s church at Cedar Heights, and I’ve thought that for awhile. But over the last few years, I’ve observed some additional benefits that I hadn’t even considered. For starters, I’ve learned that much of what kids learn is caught rather than taught. I believe that the benefits of a child being embedded in the corporate worship service with the rest of the church – even if the message isn’t at their developmental level – are equal to or greater than any alternative. I’ve had many conversations with my own daughter about baptism and communion that would not have happened had she not been around to witness those things with wonder in her eyes and then come to me asking about them. I’ve listened to her sing worship songs that I know for a fact she only heard in one place – the corporate worship service at our church.
Secondly, Having kids actively involved in normal church functions not only helps the kids, but reminds adults of the value and importance of these small members of our community. We need to be reminded not to ignore their input (Matt. 19:14).
We’re glad your kids are here!
Now, because this is important to us as a church, we expect (and welcome) added noises in the sanctuary during worship services. Learning how to participate in a lengthy worship service is difficult, whether you start at 4 or 14. We’re thrilled that kids are starting early and don’t mind any of the noises or movements that come with that learning curve. And we want to help! We know that having your kids in the service with you can be a handful. And a 45 minute sermon might not engage their little minds in the same way it engages ours. Knowing this, we provide activity bags intended to help kids participate in the service. These are available each week to any family that would like them.
We will not have a children’s church at Cedar Heights Baptist Church. But it is not because we don’t value children or because we don’t want to be inconvenienced with more programming. It is because we value children so highly that we can’t think of a better place for them to be than the corporate worship service.
On a personal level, it is a distinct joy of mine to stand in the pulpit and look out into the eyes of your kids. I am a better pastor because of them.