11 minute read
Let the little children come to me
Ruth Bromley reflects on how churches are carrying out children’s ministry in this season.
It’s interesting to note that children don’t feature very prominently in the Bible story. Particular children pop up here and there in what is largely an adult driven narrative. However, that doesn’t mean children are unimportant to God or in the life and work of his church. In Matthew 19:14, Jesus spoke those well-known words to his disciples, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” They are a reminder from the lips of the Master himself that welcoming children, and making the life and worship of the community of God’s people accessible to them, is important.
One of the challenges of the period following the lockdowns in which it became possible to deliver a stripped back version of church life was how to do so in ways that still accommodated children and their families. So, what have we learned about ways of including children in our church life, from the challenges of welcoming and then facilitating the return of children to church as pandemic restrictions eased?
Every congregation’s experience and approach will be slightly different. Jamie Maguire, minister of the congregations of Drumbanagher and Jerrettspass and Kingsmills, and Nicky Bradley, children’s director of Knock Presbyterian, offer their reflections.
Jamie writes:
I was surprised to learn that many congregations were experiencing difficulty encouraging young families to return to worship following the easing of Covid-19 restrictions. In the congregations of Kingsmills and Jerrettspass, the trend seems to be different. I don’t believe we are doing anything special, other than the very special act of worshipping the one true and living God.
Throughout lockdown, along with a letter and order of service, I sent out a short and simple worksheet for children to complete during their time of worship. It had questions related to the sermon, as well as the psalms, hymns and children’s talk. There were many enjoyable Sunday afternoons during lockdown when the children’s parents would WhatsApp me pictures of their worksheets. This was a huge encouragement to me at the time and I suppose, on reflection, it was a fairly straightforward way of making the children and their parents feel valued. As minister, it is my responsibility and privilege to build relationships, so far as is possible, with all members of the congregation. Since our return from lockdown, I have tried my best to make all the children feel ‘at home’ in public worship by welcoming them, addressing them specifically at various points during the service and speaking to them as they leave.
At present, because of restrictions, our capacity is limited but not yet exceeded, so we no longer livestream or record the services. (We do have a podcast of the audio for the few people who cannot leave their homes.) This encourages everyone to be gathered in-person with the covenant people of God and not to neglect meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing.
It is a delight to have children in worship along with all of God’s people because while they may be the church of tomorrow, they are no less the church of today. In Kingsmills and Jerrettspass, we believe that public worship is a time for all, from the youngest to the oldest, to be gathered together. As one, we give glory to God and receive from him the blessings and benefits of Christ. As pastor of the congregations, I want to commend the parents in Jerrettspass and Kingsmills for continuing to come to worship along with their whole family throughout the last number of months. I know that having young children with you during the service is not easy, and that many snacks are required, but I do believe the blessings outweigh the difficulties.
Having the children with us throughout the whole service is a blessing to them as they sit under the ordinary means of God’s grace. It is also a blessing to the adults because we are encouraged to hear the praise that God has called forth from children and infants. Our limited capacity means children must stay with their parents throughout the service of worship, so we have continued the worksheets to keep them engaged. The pandemic has allowed us to lean into the conviction that children should remain through the entire service.
I do hope restrictions will continue to ease but I have no simple answers for children, young families or anyone else. I know however, Christ does and will continue to communicate the benefits of redemption to his people no matter what age they are, through his ordinary means of grace.
Nicky writes:
Lockdowns, and the absence of in-person church services, provided churches and parents the opportunity to refocus on the home as the key place for discipleship and those best placed to nurture faith in their children. However, it has also been a reminder that parents were never meant to do this alone. Being part of the church means belonging to a community of faith, with a responsibility to pass on faith to each generation. Being connected to the body of Christ also means building friendships with peers who can encourage each other to keep going on their journey of knowing Jesus. For children, developing connections with both adults and other children within the church community, can be a formative faith experience. Meeting together is important!
As restrictions eased, we began to think of how to best shape Sunday mornings, in light of both practical considerations, but also a desire to connect children with each other, and with others, in the church community. We restarted our Sunday morning kids’ programme, called Lighthouse, last September, taking first steps towards regathering the children. We have been in and out of a few more lockdowns since then, but when it has been possible to meet, it has been a real blessing to reconnect children with each other and with the Lighthouse team.
Whilst there have had to be changes to how we run our Sunday morning ministry, the goal behind it is still a ‘head, heart and hands’ approach to encouraging each child in their faith journey. This has been especially important as children continue to process what they have experienced during the pandemic, and learn to connect their faith with the reality of their everyday life. Praying with and for the children and encouraging a confidence in who God is, and his love for them, has been key.
We began simply and had to adjust our usual programme, which normally would have involved a large degree of active learning. However, as we have continued to meet, our confidence levels have grown as we focus on what we can do, rather than what we can’t. When it was possible, we went outside to do part of each session with games, small groups and re-enacting Bible stories. We’ve used videos, quizzes, learned memory verses, used actions to songs and craft activities – all based around our key Bible story for that week or month.
This term, with our primary-aged children, we have focused on rebuilding time together in small groups, to give the children that time to connect with the Bible story, connect with each other and their leaders, and ultimately to connect with God. Our pre-school age children and P1s meet together in a separate group and have enjoyed using play dough, making crafts and hearing stories about Jesus. It is still not quite ‘normal’, there can be frustrations for both the children and the team, and there are challenges to make it happen, but for those who have been able to come, it has been worth it.
Our crèche has recently restarted and this has been a blessing to families with young children, many of whom have not known anything other than life in a pandemic! The team has focused on creating a welcoming environment in which the love of Jesus can be shown in this very practical, but important, ministry to families.
Through all of this, we are learning a lot as we put our trust in God, relying on the Spirit to work in the hearts of children and families who walk through our doors each week.
In reflection
We need families in our churches: to hear children’s voices; to see them participate within the life of a congregation; to learn from and teach them about what it means to follow Jesus. And in many places, families have returned as we have been able to meet again. There are also those who have not, and may never, return; maybe church was simply a tradition rather than a desire to be an active part of the church family. Others may need some confidence to rejoin the church family again regularly.
Having children within corporate worship is important. We want them to see what it means to be in church, to worship together, to watch participation in Communion, to celebrate baptism. Having opportunities for intergenerational worship is vital to any church community. And, as in families, different ages in a church family learn from and share with each other in many different situations, both joyful and difficult. That is what church is about: learning from each other and serving together as we strive to follow Jesus every day. If children do not have the opportunity to be within corporate worship at all they can miss out on so much. For example, the Lord’s Supper, or Communion, is one of the best visual illustrations of what Jesus has done for us and children often miss seeing it. Making full use of the time when all ages are worshipping together can have massive benefits for both the children and the adults and it advances the faith of the whole family.
But we also want to provide them with age-appropriate, solid Bible teaching, using active learning when possible, which church services are not normally designed for, and to interact with leaders of children’s ministry. We need to disciple them in following Jesus for themselves and to challenge them in growing their faith at different ages and stages. The Bible teaching for children is as important as that for adults. What happens in the church sanctuary is not more significant than what happens in a back hall where children’s ministry is held. The preaching of the Word from the pulpit is no more powerful in how God uses it than the sharing of a Bible passage with a group of eight-year-olds or the reading of a Bible story to a toddler.
In Isaiah 55:10–11, it says: “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”
We need to remember the crucial place there is for teaching the Bible to the younger generations and know that God uses his Word to impact the lives of every member of the church family.
Ensuring that children have adequate discipleship opportunities in church needs to be coupled with encouraging families to share faith within the home. Parents need to know that they are not on their own and resourcing families to grow in faith together is an important role of the church family.
We know well the account from Matthew 19 where parents bring their children to Jesus and, when the disciples try to put them off, Jesus becomes indignant and shows something of the place that he has for children within his kingdom.
Jesus’ interaction with children shows us the importance that he placed on them and the command that we are not to hinder children in coming to him. Whether all ages are together or there is time for children’s ministry that is age appropriate and separate, we need to point them to Jesus.
“Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.’ And he laid his hands on them and went away.” (Matthew 19:14–15)
