We definitely want your kids with us in worship: Children Grow

By Rev. Joel S. Eden, Associate Pastor

We definitely want your kids with us in worship, because children grow in worship!

Growth implies change, but growth does not always imply good change. A child can grow in maturity, skills, knowledge, wisdom, etc. but a child can also grow to be a real—umm—not-nice-person. (So can adults, by the way.) Growth can be good or bad.

Once a strawberry seed begins to grow, the resulting health of the plant depends very much on the environmental factors around it: soil pH, soil consistency, availability of water, availability of sunlight, nearby herbivores, etc. The resulting growth can be “good” or “bad” growth.

We definitely want your kids with us in worship, because children are going to grow—for better or for worse.

In Christian worship settings, your kids will receive the life-giving and God-breathed nourishment that is the very word of God itself. The growth this stimulates is incomparable. A regular diet of God’s word enriches the spirit, mind, and even body of your child in ways that science can’t explain.

Every time we gather in worship, we read aloud the Scriptures that have been given to us by God and handed down for multiple millennia so that they become part of who we are and inform everything that we know. (How much better when we digest his word on a regular basis in our own homes, too, and not just at church!)

This is good growth! Without the environment that Christian worship and Christian community provide, we all are at great risk of growing up to be real—well—lost.

We definitely want your kids with us in worship, because your children will grow in the truth of God’s word, in the forgiveness of sins, in the Spirit that lives in them, and into the community that will support and love them throughout their lives.

We would be lost in sin, lost in lies, and lost in darkness. But through the teaching and preaching of the Gospel of Jesus, we are brought to life.

Through Holy Communion, we grow. Through his word, we grow. Through the cultivating we provide for each other, we grow as little Christs in the world—no matter what age we are.

If it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a church to raise a Christian. We don’t want you to feel alone in this and we don’t want your child to feel alone, either. Jesus still calls out, “Let the little children come to me." You can bring your child to Jesus at bedtime, at mealtime, in family devotions, in car conversations, and even on the playing field. We hope you’ll bring your child to Jesus in worship, too. After all, your child is going to grow, and you have the opportunity to facilitate great growth.