Let me tell you a story about one of the ways this happens. My children have been attending St. Andrew since they were infants. At that time my husband did not yet worship with us, so bringing a child or two to worship was always more about the training up than what I could get out of it. I made allowances for the nursery/child care when they were being disruptive, but generally my diaper bag was filled with “stuff” to occupy them. Usually it worked out fine.
St. Andrew is a place that truly understands children and loves to have them in worship with us. We also provide child care for those children who are just not going to make it through the service or so that the parents who really need to worship without their young charge can do so. It is not uncommon for our children to wander a little during worship, sometimes they dance during hymns, and sometimes they bring the congregation a few chuckles with an amusing comment.
By staying in worship, we hope that eventually everything they hear and see will sink in to their brains, right?
The thing is…you never know how a child’s brain processes what they see and hear.
Once, during a family party for some occasion, I found my four year old daughter walking around to all the adults seated around the room placing a single potato chip in their hands and saying, “The bread of Christ for you.” As you can imagine, many adults were in stitches with laughter and predicted a future in the seminary for her.
My daughter had come to know Jesus.
With what little understanding her four year old brain could grasp, she understood that the grown ups around her received Christ when they went up to the front of the church.
When Pastor Fred joined St. Andrew he began the practice of welcoming children to their first Holy Communion around first or second grade. Previously they had to wait until fifth grade. His thought was that if a child could put his hands out to ask for Jesus, he should not be denied. While it is a standard joke among Lutherans that change is a four letter word, this is one change that was worth adopting. (By the way, I think St. Andrew is pretty adept at change, but I hear we’re not typical anyway.)
By being welcome in worship, our children see, hear and learn that they are loved, that there is a place for them in God’s house.
They come to know Jesus. Amen.
What does your church do to help children get to know Jesus?
P.S. Some of you who know me have heard this story before, but I thought I’d finally commit it to paper (or web in this case). My thanks to my daughter for providing the chuckle and letting me tell the story. Oh, and no seminary for her…She’s studying to be a forensic biologist specializing in DNA. But, her heart is full of love for Jesus and I know she’ll let that shine in all the things she does in her life.
http://www.elcaandy.org/
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