{"id":7055,"date":"2018-07-23T04:00:42","date_gmt":"2018-07-23T04:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/equipmagazine.org\/?p=2172"},"modified":"2023-08-29T11:22:35","modified_gmt":"2023-08-29T17:22:35","slug":"not-okay-kids-bored-church","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/not-okay-kids-bored-church\/","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s Not Okay for Kids to be Bored in Church"},"content":{"rendered":"

I baptized my three oldest kids in 2015. It\u2019s incredible to watch them worship together with the local body of Christ they\u2019ve become a part of. I love worshipping with my kids. Whether at home or with our church, there\u2019s something awesome about joining them in song to our Creator and Redeemer.<\/p>\n

Last week in service I held my four year old\u2019s hand as we sang together. I looked across the aisle at three of my other children as they praised alongside their friends. My middle school daughter stays through the entire service, taking copious sermon notes and we often discuss it afterwards. But, after a few songs, my younger children are prayed over along with the other kids in our congregation. Then they’re dismissed to age-segregated classes outside of the main service.<\/p>\n

Children are valued members of our families and church communities. It\u2019s a beautiful thing when they can fully participate in our services. However, some who\u2019ve embraced this idea believe that children of all ages should remain in the main worship service. Even if parts of it are mostly meaningless to them or designed entirely for adults. Some believers\u2014particularly within the \u201cFamily-Driven\/Integrated Ministry\u201d movement\u2014object to children having age-based classes or services.<\/p>\n

It’s okay for kids to be bored in church?<\/h3>\n

In a popular blog post entitled, \u201cIt\u2019s Okay For Kids to Be Bored in Church\u201d, the author praised the idea of kids sitting quietly and coloring during the sermon. The author had confidence that God was able to translate the adult messages into meaningful content for the kids. Her basic argument was that kids will likely be entertained or bored at church. Thus, it\u2019s okay for them to be bored so they learn to sit quietly and get more than entertainment.<\/p>\n

But the truth is it’s not<\/em> \u201cokay\u201d for\u00a0kids\u00a0to be\u00a0bored in church.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s true that children\u2014and adults\u2014benefit at times from the experience of kids participating in adult-oriented church services. It\u2019s true that God, in His gracious and powerful way, can communicate truth to children through vocabulary they don\u2019t understand. But we must avoid the idea that the only options for children in church are being bored or being entertained. From this standpoint we could be content with children being bored in church. Because, after all, the purpose of church isn\u2019t to entertain us.<\/p>\n

Entertainment or boredom are not the only options.<\/h3>\n

We know that church does not exist simply for our viewing pleasure. So it sounds compelling at face value to say that it\u2019s okay for kids to be bored. However, this view fails by not acknowledging why church exists and considering options other than “entertainment” and “boredom”. \u00a0Just as it\u2019s true that church should not be designed strictly to entertain children (or adults!), it\u2019s also true that it shouldn\u2019t be designed to bore them either.<\/p>\n

Corporate gatherings of the church exist to give believers an opportunity to worship and fellowship together and be discipled for acts of service to one another and evangelism to the world. Children are under-served as members of the church when they are forced to sit quietly and color in gatherings designed exclusively for adults to participate in.<\/p>\n

Just imagine the outcry if the tables were turned! Can you imagine anyone suggesting that it\u2019s \u201cokay\u201d for adults to be bored in church? Of course not. Everyone would easily recognize that our options are not limited to being bored or being mindlessly entertained. When we come together as the church, boredom and entertainment may be incidental to some of what we do. But neither should it be accepted as the status quo<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Church gatherings are for all ages.<\/h3>\n

[bctt tweet=”If we value what happens at church, we should value it for all members – even our children.”]<\/p>\n

If we value what happens at church gatherings we should value it for all members of the church. Even our children. We should design services that allow children to worship, fellowship and be discipled for acts of service and evangelism. And this is unlikely to happen in services designed exclusively to fulfill these goals with adults.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s ironic to me that for some, the solution to children thinking that church service design revolves around them is to expose them to the harsh reality that it actually revolves around their parents! Shouldn\u2019t Christian children and adults both be invited into corporate gatherings of the church which revolve around God and lovingly accommodate the uniqueness of all those in attendance?\u00a0 Many churches say \u201cyes\u201d to this question, and this is why they choose to design separate, age-segregated services. The notion that children should be “seen and not heard” in services designed exclusively for their adult counterparts seems lacking in Christian love. And it stands in direct opposition to Christ’s instruction not to place obstacles between Him and children.<\/p>\n

Age-appropriate classes and services are an option.<\/h3>\n

I’m thankful to be a part of a local church that values our children enough to intentionally design age-appropriate classes and services for them, ministering to them in a way that allows them to fully embrace their identity and mission as members of the church.<\/p>\n

My seven children\u2014ranging in age from six months to twelve years\u2014all require different approaches, teaching methodologies, and instruction in order to be ministered to effectively. Simply throwing them all into a service designed exclusively for adults and expecting them to pick up the occasional random piece of truth doesn\u2019t strike me as an intentional way to disciple children.<\/p>\n

To illustrate my point, consider a parallel situation. Imagine a group of people all committed to education for their entire family. Now imagine they all assemble in a college classroom and receive instruction from a college professor, designed for college students. Does it make sense for the children in these families to be thrown into this classroom and expected to sit quietly and pick up on the occasional item that they can grasp?<\/p>\n

Of course not.<\/p>\n

We\u2019d all insist that those children should be schooled at developmentally appropriate levels so that they can gradually build up to and master the ideas being taught at the college level. We wouldn\u2019t be satisfied with them being \u201cbored\u201d by a college lecture. We wouldn\u2019t assume the only alternative is for them to be \u201centertained\u201d by something that does nothing to educate them. We\u2019d say they need to be educated in an age appropriate way.<\/p>\n

Shouldn\u2019t it be just as easy to say this about children in churches?<\/p>\n

Disciple believers of all ages.<\/h3>\n

[bctt tweet=”It is our divine commission to disciple believers\u2014both young and old\u2014in our corporate gatherings.”]<\/p>\n

This is not a matter of choosing entertainment over boredom. It is a matter of choosing to treat children like valued members of families and church communities. Not like second-class citizens who can be neglected while the parents enjoy their custom-made grown-up service. It\u2019s not \u201cokay\u201d for kids to be bored in church. It is our divine commission to disciple believers\u2014both young and old\u2014in our corporate gatherings. This is not a process that cultivates boredom or mindless entertainment. It is one that engages the heart, soul, mind and strength of all those involved.<\/p>\n

\n

\u00a0<\/span>Do you serve in a leadership role in your local congregation? If not, would you like to? To become better equipped for incorporating every age-group into your congregation’s vision,\u00a0 here are some excellent Artios resources for you:<\/em><\/p>\n