CHILDREN IN THE WORSHIP SERVICE & NURSERY

During the week, spend time training and practicing the skills necessary to engage in worship together.

Begin with your dinner table. Practice sitting still, listening, and waiting for others to finish their meal before anyone leaves the table.

Nightly family devotions is another great opportunity to instill sitting still and listening. Read a short portion of Scripture or from The Jesus Storybook Bible. Ask a couple of questions and ask for them to answer by whispering. Close by singing a song together or by praying together before sending them to sleep. It is important to train our children in these skills in a quiet environment when we are not anxious.

Spend time talking with your children about why we sing, pray, stand, sit still, and listen during various parts of the worship service. Giving purpose to these elements allows us to shape expectations for engagement.

Spend time praying together for the Sunday service as you drive to church.

Intentionally think through discussing with your children how to engage and model such engagement in the service (e.g., singing, praying out loud, lifting hands, giving, etc.)

Reinforce expected behaviors throughout the service (e.g., whispering: “This is why we sit still and listen during the sermon”)

Talk through with your spouse to create clear expectations of who will train and reinforce in particular parts of the service (e.g., who will take the initiative to take a child out of the service, who will train during the singing, etc.)

Intentionally create opportunities to evaluate engagement with the service — specifically being intentional to honor and remember places where children succeeded.

Spend time on the drive home or during lunch asking questions about specific aspects of the service (“Was there a song you enjoyed?” “What do you remember from the sermon?”)