Some great excerpts from the Building Church Leaders download:
- Scripture presents coming to know God as a family and community-based process.
- A relational community where the children were to grow up participating in the culture.
- Children were not just included, they were drawn in and assimilated into the whole community.
- For children to experience authentic Christian community, they must be present with the worshiping community.
- As children are assimilated with a deep sense of belonging into the body of Christ, they will make sense of their experiences with God. They will see their parents and others worship, pray with and for each other, minister to others, and be ministered to. They will come to see that all things in their lives are under God. They will be privy to the normal Christian life as lived by the significant adults in their lives. And they will come to know God better.
1. What opportunities do children have to engage withthe life of our church?
2. Why do we separate people by age group in our church?
3. How has focusing on age-specific ministries strengthened our church? How has it created challenge?
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Rambling ideas from a children's ministry director.
These are interesting questions. Here is my dominating thought. If the general culture is to include kids of all ages in the worship community, how will it change the experience to intentionally include elements that are actively engaging for kids? For example, our tendency would be to skew things toward the adult 'palette' and expect kids to adjust. However, there are distinct elements that appeal to kids and pull adults out of their comfort zone (i.e. dancing to music). It would be interesting to me to see a community that operates with a foot solidly in both worlds.
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