What is your view on children's church? The time when the children leave the main worship service and go to their own program. Do you think this is a good idea? Is so, what should be the age ranges of children who go into this program or be excluded?
Children's Church
- Thread starter jeffsi435
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Children's church can be really good in my experience especially for younger children who can get quite restless after a while.
They can learn a lot from a structured Sunday School especially when there are dedicated godly teachers.
Rev T.S.Perkins
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As a children's teacher ,pastor ,and minister my take is this ... Adults need meat children need milk .yes it is good thing but I always try to do 10 mins or so with the whole church for two reasons ..the children go to children's church and are taught when in church they laugh and learn About Jesus ,But they know the adults are solemn and cold in most cases as they warm the pews ...but when you take time to have a little fun before we separate them they learn that laughing and learning about Jesus is a God thing not just a kid thing..also it sets a different mood for the sanctuary .it makes it a more learnable time is what most pastors have told me ...children need to learn this so when they become adults they know its ok to have fun learning about God...Rev
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Jeff: I can remember my Jr. Chruch experiences some 60 years ago. Back then Flannel Grapgs were to way we were taught, and I loved the stories from the Bible they taught as a foundation to start to learn about Jesus. These Jr. Church times and SundaySchool plented the seeds that started my Christian walk. Oh how I encourage Jr. Chruch!
There comes a time when children need to be in church. I suppose that age depends upon the child but generally speaking between eight to ten years old. There is no reason to have a child younger that eight spending their time marking up papers to keep busy. Nothing disrupts a service like a crying baby or a fussy child, they don't like it and neither does anyone else.
The big question is who besides the pastor's wife should be the leader> The pastor really needs his wife in church, she gives feed back as well can see if he is having a rough time in the message and she can pray for him as he preaches. The pastor was called but his wife was not required as part of the deal. Let her serve as she has the ability.
I had childrens mass when I was growing up where we would be dismissed right before the 1st and 2nd readings and the gospel. (I went to a catholic church as a kid) and then we were back with our parents for communion with our parents. When we hit grade 8 or 9 it was no longer open to us, but we were still welcome to go.
At the church that I attend now, the kids get signed in for childrens church when they arrive, and are picked up after service. We also have a service for kids grade 5-7, and they go for their lesson right after we have worship as a church. In the evenings all kids stay in the service for worship and then dismissed after worship.
At the church that I attend now, the kids get signed in for childrens church when they arrive, and are picked up after service. We also have a service for kids grade 5-7, and they go for their lesson right after we have worship as a church. In the evenings all kids stay in the service for worship and then dismissed after worship.
I was from a different religion, but I believe in christ and wanted to teach my daughter. She was confused between two religions because my husband doesn't believe in christ. Then I said God will show you which path you need to take. Then, God show her the way she went to summer camp through the church and at Sunday school she learned about Jesus which I tried to explain before but she couldn't get it when she went to sunday school and summer camp she knows Jesus is the true God.
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That is good to hear!!!
Praise the Lord for your daughters salvation!
The Lord draws people to Himself in many ways.
blackbear4110
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It would depend on the program, really.
I was in some Sunday School / Children's Church classes that simply watched a movie, colored pictures, had snacks, and goofed around. Filling kids full of sugar and sending them home with a craft and color page of Jesus with children on His lap isn't exactly what church (children's, jr.'s, baby's, adult's, or otherwise) should be about.
On the other hand, Children's Church can be a really good way to, as already stated, give younger children the "milk of the word" and to connect with them on their level so they will understand the Bible stories and learn about Jesus.
Giving a personal experience, in my church there are a handful of kids (2 - 12 kids ranging ages 4 - 11), some of which come every Sunday, and some of which come a few times every-so-often. A couple years ago, during a Fall Party, I had a Bible Trivia game set up to keep the kids busy. I was absolutely horrified and dumbfounded when the children did not know who Moses, Adam, Joseph, and Noah were!
Upon speaking with the pastor (who happens to be my grandpa), I, with the help of my mom, set up a simple Children's Church program for the kids. Beginning with Creation (Genesis 1:1) and working our way slowly through (we're now at Moses crossing the Sea), we read a story from a children's Bible. Kids under the age of 6 are given pages to color that go along with the story. Afterward, we ask the kids trivia questions to test and see how much they paid attention and learned from the story. They get points for answering the questions right, and we have 2 teams set up that compete against each other, creating a natural environment for them to WANT to learn and pay attention. A simple memory verse for each week wraps the lesson up.
A couple months ago, we had a pizza party for the Children's Church and played a Bible Trivia game, asking them questions from the last year-and-a-half of lessons. The pastor and I myself were so happy to see them answering the questions right, some of them popped off without much thought at all! It's amazing to me to see how much they have learned simply because the Bible has been presented in an environment and on a level they can associate with and learn from.
Our class doesn't have snacks (except for a piece of candy as reward for saying the memory verse), it doesn't have crafts, it doesn't have movies or games. Yet the kids love coming to learn about the Bible.
That being said, No, not ALL Children's Church programs are bad. However, there does seem to be a lot of fun-and-games with no learning going on in children's classes.
I myself was raised in the service with my parents. And I learned a lot from being in the service. It's hard to say either way, but perhaps I could have learned more being in a children's class. Regardless, being in the adult service DID help greatly in creating in me a desire to be in church for the sake of listening to the sermon...rather than a desire for snacks and games.
I think (personal opinion) a lot of teens are bored with church because they never developed a desire for God...they never outgrew the mindset of being entertained in children's classes. And if it takes entertainment to keep people coming to church, then something is wrong. God's Word, plain and simple, should be enough to draw people who are earnestly seeking Him.
Someone said something about children aging 8 - 10 should be in the adult service...honestly, I think it depends on the child. My pastor, my mom, and I decided to send kids 13+ into the adult service. Teenagers definitely should be in the adult service (handicapped are a different subject). 11 and 12-year-olds...possibly.
However, I think regardless of age or class/service, if the person/child is learning and continuing to grow, where he/she is at is fine. When the learning and growing begin to stop, then the person needs to advance to the next level.
I was in some Sunday School / Children's Church classes that simply watched a movie, colored pictures, had snacks, and goofed around. Filling kids full of sugar and sending them home with a craft and color page of Jesus with children on His lap isn't exactly what church (children's, jr.'s, baby's, adult's, or otherwise) should be about.
On the other hand, Children's Church can be a really good way to, as already stated, give younger children the "milk of the word" and to connect with them on their level so they will understand the Bible stories and learn about Jesus.
Giving a personal experience, in my church there are a handful of kids (2 - 12 kids ranging ages 4 - 11), some of which come every Sunday, and some of which come a few times every-so-often. A couple years ago, during a Fall Party, I had a Bible Trivia game set up to keep the kids busy. I was absolutely horrified and dumbfounded when the children did not know who Moses, Adam, Joseph, and Noah were!
Upon speaking with the pastor (who happens to be my grandpa), I, with the help of my mom, set up a simple Children's Church program for the kids. Beginning with Creation (Genesis 1:1) and working our way slowly through (we're now at Moses crossing the Sea), we read a story from a children's Bible. Kids under the age of 6 are given pages to color that go along with the story. Afterward, we ask the kids trivia questions to test and see how much they paid attention and learned from the story. They get points for answering the questions right, and we have 2 teams set up that compete against each other, creating a natural environment for them to WANT to learn and pay attention. A simple memory verse for each week wraps the lesson up.
A couple months ago, we had a pizza party for the Children's Church and played a Bible Trivia game, asking them questions from the last year-and-a-half of lessons. The pastor and I myself were so happy to see them answering the questions right, some of them popped off without much thought at all! It's amazing to me to see how much they have learned simply because the Bible has been presented in an environment and on a level they can associate with and learn from.
Our class doesn't have snacks (except for a piece of candy as reward for saying the memory verse), it doesn't have crafts, it doesn't have movies or games. Yet the kids love coming to learn about the Bible.
That being said, No, not ALL Children's Church programs are bad. However, there does seem to be a lot of fun-and-games with no learning going on in children's classes.
I myself was raised in the service with my parents. And I learned a lot from being in the service. It's hard to say either way, but perhaps I could have learned more being in a children's class. Regardless, being in the adult service DID help greatly in creating in me a desire to be in church for the sake of listening to the sermon...rather than a desire for snacks and games.
I think (personal opinion) a lot of teens are bored with church because they never developed a desire for God...they never outgrew the mindset of being entertained in children's classes. And if it takes entertainment to keep people coming to church, then something is wrong. God's Word, plain and simple, should be enough to draw people who are earnestly seeking Him.
Someone said something about children aging 8 - 10 should be in the adult service...honestly, I think it depends on the child. My pastor, my mom, and I decided to send kids 13+ into the adult service. Teenagers definitely should be in the adult service (handicapped are a different subject). 11 and 12-year-olds...possibly.
However, I think regardless of age or class/service, if the person/child is learning and continuing to grow, where he/she is at is fine. When the learning and growing begin to stop, then the person needs to advance to the next level.
