Children's Ministry

What about children?

"I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter hidden things, things from of old -- what we have heard and known, what our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, his power, and the wonders he has done. He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our forefathers to teach their children, so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children. Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands." [Ps 78:2-7]

Many of us in our 40's and 50's have raised our children in the church. Some of our children, from the time they were babies till they left for college were always separated from their parents and we rarely worshiped as a family. Eighty percent of teenagers, as they left for college, stopped attending church. They were never integrated into the life of a church family.

Friends of ours raised three girls on the mission field. The girls did everything the parents did. They learned early how to give first aid to the sick and injured, they visited prostitution camps to minister to the women. When earthquakes and tsunami's hit their region, they were alongside their parents ministering to Muslims. They were never considered too young to participate and live out their Christian faith. They have a vibrant, active faith today. The Christian life is caught as much as it is taught.

As the Scripture above demonstrates, parents are the primary disciplers of their children. It is the faith of the parents that gets passed onto the children. More and more people are integrating children back into the life of the church and children are learning by the modeling and training they experience.

Our House Gatherings are designed to be much more inclusive of the children with the adults. We want them with us when we eat, when we worship, during our fellowship time and often when we pray. At this point there will be no ONE model that we follow but will allow the different House Gatherings to establish their level of inclusiveness. A couple of options are available for parents to choose are:

Children can be included with the adults throughout the meeting time. However, this only works if parents take charge of their children and have trained their children a level of orderliness. Many house churches report that children have been able to participate and grow tremendously with their families. In some cases, children as young as 2 or 3 have shown great capacity to lay hands and pray for the sick. What doesn't work so well is families with differing parenting styles.
Children can be included for the meals, fellowship, worship, and some of the prayer time. However during the study, children under Jr. High can go to a different room with a parent or a paid teacher for their study and play time.

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