Welcoming Children to Worship

At Southwood, we encourage families to worship together. Children sit with their parents in worship, serve with their parents to make worship happen, and we are working on providing new opportunities for children and youth to help lead worship through music.

Why do we work so hard to help children feel welcome in worship? Because children learn best through experience and imitation.

Can children be distracting in worship? You bet they can!

But parents promise at baptism to teach their children the basics of our faith. And as a congregation, we promise to support them!

How could you welcome children to worship?

  • Learn the names of the children that sit close to you so you can speak to them by name.
  • Make a special effort to compliment a child that is sitting near you.
  • Pass the offering plate to children not past children.
  • Model how to worship as you stand, sit, sing and respond with the congregation.
  • Look past children’s behavior and open yourself to their ministry to you.

Preschool Children in Worship

The preschool child comes to worship with:

  • A short attention span
  • Boundless energy
  • A growing curiosity about everything

Here are some ways parents can help make the preschooler’s experience—and everyone’s—more relaxed and enjoyable:

  • Sit near the front where the child can have a clear view of what's happening during the service.
  • Prepare the child for the different parts of the worship service, explaining special events ahead of time and answering questions that need an answer "right now" in a whisper.
  • Allow the preschooler to bring along a favorite stuffed animal, picture books, coloring books or other quiet toys. Coloring pages, colors and story books are available in the Cry Room.
  • Encourage as much adult-like behavior as the child can tolerate.
  • Allow children to be active within limits of the situation, as long as the activity is not distracting others.
  • If necessary move to the Cry Room or out into the hall for a short break where you can still listen to the worship service.
  • Use the quiet time of church as a chance for a special togetherness of parents and child which may not be possible during the week.

Being sensitive to the preschooler’s abilities and needs can help make worship a pleasant experience for everyone.

School-Aged Children in Worship

The school-age child brings some new abilities to worship:

  • A greater capacity for attentive listening
  • An increasing ability to read
  • The ability to organize and memorize information

Parents help the elementary-age child toward greater participation in worship as these capacities develop when they:

  • Help children memorize the Lord’s Prayer and other parts of the liturgy.
  • Review the bulletin with the child to identify new or difficult words and preview together those parts where the congregation responds by reading and speaking.
  • Talk about the sermon and ask what he or she remembers best about it.
  • Encourage children to draw what they hear or experience at worship.

    • With regular attendance, a reasonable expectation is that a child can usually be expected to participate in an entire service in an orderly manner by the time they enter second grade.

Published in Children and Families
Social sharing
More in this category: « Baptism Class MOPS (Mothers of Pre-Schoolers) »
back to top