Children's Church

[ps127v1]

Just seeking a thorough discussion on the thoughts and feelings of all who care to respond. I have mixed feelings on children's church and would like to know the pros and cons as you see it. So....what's on your mind about it?

[Guest LadyC]

i dunno about most churches, but when i was a kid, i learned in children's church... far more than i ever learned in sunday school. my children's church pastor led both me and my brother to Christ, and more than three decades later, he's still a part of my family's life.

[Merin]

Just seeking a thorough discussion on the thoughts and feelings of all who care to respond. I have mixed feelings on children's church and would like to know the pros and cons as you see it. So....what's on your mind about it?

you pick a church that best fits your family...you being more important than your kids...that sounds wrong...anyways...ok that's so you get what you need.

then you are able to train up your kids. their training will come sunday thru saturday from you!!!!!!!!! it's your responsibility to train them so childrens church is not a big deal as long as they are not teaching conterary to jesus.

and yes the better kids program they have the better for your kids....

lot's of midweek stuff different places awanas....mops groups for preschoolers and moms...

[Qun Mang]

I can't speak for other churches, but at my church kids are taught Biblical truth. In 4th and 5th grades (where I serve) we teach them how to use the Biblical people and stories they learn about to live for Christ daily.

[Openly Curious]

Just seeking a thorough discussion on the thoughts and feelings of all who care to respond. I have mixed feelings on children's church and would like to know the pros and cons as you see it. So....what's on your mind about it?

My opinion of children's church is if you have qualified leaders who take their ministry to children seriously then there will be changes in their lives. But if a church puts a person over children's church then all you will have is baby sitting time and more than likely a unruly bunch of kids that will take that behaviour home with them. But children's church can be a beautiful thing as they learn to sing and praise the Lord and learn of God's word and have fellowship with other kids as some don't have these things taught to them or have other chidren around them. It is a good thing for the church to invest in the future of the church or they could stray when they get older.

OC

[nebula]

The church I grew up in - we had only a 1 hour service . . . but I thought it was so long and so boring. Then we had Sunday School, which involved workbooks and learning the Bible. (We had enough children that we were able to be divided by grades.) I wouldn't call it "fun" either, but I did learn a lot from the classes.

So, I would say, children's church done right can be very good.

I have, though, heard of churches that believe children need to be a part of the service with their parents. They have good arguments with that.

The bottom line, I would say, then, is it depends on how it is done. If children are kept in for the e-e-n-n-t-t-i-i-r-r-e-e service, I believe there should be some element to the service to keep it of interest to them. They have shorter attention spans and a lot more energy begging to be released than we adults do. If there is a separate children's church, make sure they are being taught both the Bible and how to apply the Bible to their lives (not just playing games and such).

[Treasure]

The children at my church meet in the Sunday School room and then we go into the church service for praise and worship. After the praise and worship, we go back to the classroom where I can assure you they are being taught about a relationship with God. We have interactive activities in which they learn the practical application of Scripture, we do crafts that apply to Scripture, etc. There are typically between 15 - 17 first through third graders in my class. I'm not a baby sitter. In fact, I'd consider myself to be more of a farmer. I sew seeds

[irishcowboy]

Just seeking a thorough discussion on the thoughts and feelings of all who care to respond. I have mixed feelings on children's church and would like to know the pros and cons as you see it. So....what's on your mind about it?

depends on the facilitators, for some "Children's Church" facilitators, it is nothing but a baby sitting service.... for others, it is teaching children about God and His love and how He send Christ for us....

Our grandson, loves Sunday School, Children's Church and even Adult Praise and Worship ( not quite able to sit through an entire 3 hour service yet ) (only three years and one month old)

when we (Teresa and me) did the nursery (2 & 3 year olds), we had structure, very loose, but did have structure.... we had

a lesson, an activity, song time, play time, and prayer time. the services would be at least 2 hours in length, and our prayer time with the children would last about 15 minutes, the children thrived on it once they started participating (we did not force any of them to participate) there was one young lady, we thought she was about three when we started, but she was only two, and she loved praying, and she would pray specific prayers....

we had some teens that would help from time to time.... this one day, we had 2 teen girls assisting, and when it came to prayer time, it came to be Emma's turn (about two and half at this time) , and she got up from her place sitting in the circle, and went to one of the teen girls (Kayla), put her hand on the girls forehead and started praying a specific prayer for Kayla, for an issue that Kayla had shared with Teresa, Emma was playing at the time that Kayla shared it with Teresa. Needless to say, Kayla was just overwhelmed and had a totally new respect for the Lord and prayer...

Children's Church is a good thing, if it is done as CHURCH..... and the Nurseries are also...

The Church fellowship we now attend, the first Sunday of the month, the children stay in the Adults service, so they can share in the time with the adults. being they have had Children's Church, and being taught how to present themselves in church this way and through their parents, they are very well behaved.... even the crying babies do not bother people

mike

[Guest Gary Quest]

A couple of things: Kids in the adult service is a great idea it only falls flat when all you do is tell them to pay attention, try to keep them busy etc. Now you (parent)

are distracted for the praise and worship.

In children's ministry, like it or not our competition is video games, texting, tv plus. If you can't make it exciting or engauging you end up being a

kid-sitting service. Or, popping in the Veggie Tale video.

Many can teach but few have the gift of engauging the kids in the lesson.

One more thing, many, many adults don't have the attention span for an hour service (thank-you Sesame Street).

Example: look at my writing form. It is written for ease in skimming the post. Kids Ministry in The Trenches.com

[ladypeartree]

Another ancient thread