Have you noticed that there’s no mention of Children’s Church or Sunday school in the Bible? We know people in the early church had children, so where were they when Christians “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:42)? Most likely, the children were there too! Children were with their families, learning about the things of God right alongside them. They heard the letters of Paul being read; they sang the Psalms with their parents. Maybe they weren’t perfectly still or quiet, but they learned the stories of the Old Testament and were taught how they pointed to Jesus. They learned of their sin and need for a Savior.

And they were bringing children to Him that He might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, He was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to Me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.  Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” And He took them in His arms and blessed them, laying His hands on them (Mark 10:13-16).

This account shows us that not only are children included in God’s kingdom, but they are vital in God’s kingdom. Through children, we’re reminded of the helplessness we ourselves have in our sin. We see the need for a loving Father to care for us and lead us. The children in our congregation aren’t just waiting to be adults so they can participate fully, they are welcome in our worship service. When children are with us in worship, they’re not only there to see what adults are doing, they are part of worship too! They are active participants in worship of our God, but it’s our job as parents and teachers to train them to worship him rightly.

When we train our little worshipers, it takes a little more disruption, a little more effort, and a little more intention on our part. It takes patience from the people around us and an understanding that this work is worth it. While it’s tempting to focus on simply training behavior, our goal with our children in church should be training young worshipers. When we only train behavior, we communicate (implicitly) that corporate worship is not for them—that they are simply a guest in the sanctuary. Training young worshipers requires a change in our language and expectations of them. When we free ourselves of the expectation that our children sit still and silent throughout the entirety of service, we start to see how they can participate in the service instead of how they make it difficult. Instead of saying, “Sit still. Be quiet.” We can ask, “Are you showing a posture of worship right now?” This changes our perspective as parents of young children, too.

We recently changed our Children’s Church class on Sunday mornings. Now, children go with their families to corporate worship until a certain point and then are dismissed for the Children’s Church lesson. (We use Teach Us to Worship!) When we first started this, I had a conversation with a grandmother who brings her grandson with her. She told me she would probably just take him home instead of bringing him with her. She was intimidated by having him in worship, because he is a wiggly little boy and it made her nervous. I encouraged her that he might surprise her and that I hoped she would try it another day! A few weeks later, she came back to tell me that she had brought him with her, and it went so well that he didn’t want to go to Children’s Church at all. He has now sat with her through all of the corporate worship services for at least a year.

Instead of seeing corporate worship as an hour “off” from parenting, we start to see the opportunity that corporate worship is to train our children in righteousness. Additionally, we get to enjoy our children being with us! When my four-year-old daughter knows a song we’re singing in worship, she goes all out. She’s got motions she’s made up herself. She may close her eyes, as she is singing loud and proud. It is a precious sight, and people around us often look at her and smile. There’s something beautiful about a child worshiping uninhibitedly! She’s not thinking about the long list of things that need to happen that afternoon or the busy-ness of the week ahead. She’s in the moment, fully present. We’re reminded of what a joy it is to worship our Creator and what a privilege it is to be entrusted with training up worshipers. Discipleship is not a distraction; it’s a delight.