A Place for Growing and Learning Worship Skills
Church can be hard for young kids. They are used to being the center of attention. Sitting still and keeping quiet do not come naturally. Those are habits that have to be learned through practice and repetition. Here at Grace we understand that, and we want to help. That’s why we’ve created Grace Place in the back of our worship space, where there’s a little more room, a softer floor, some desks for coloring or drawing, and some books that help introduce God and God’s love for the world in Jesus.
Practicing in the Pews
Children can participate in worship in lots of ways, even when they’re quite young. Most obvious is the weekly children’s sermon. (If your little one is shy you are welcome to come up with them.) But there are other little things that you can do right there in the pew. You can pick a prayer like the Lord’s Prayer and teach how to fold hands when we pray. You can help your children sing parts of the liturgy, though you’ll find them picking it up naturally just by repeated exposure. You can help them watch for special parts of the service, like when the pastor lifts the communion elements and says, “the gifts of God for the people of God.” You can teach them to make the sign of the cross at the opening invocation and final blessing, When they’re a little older you can teach them to dip their finger in the baptismal font and make the sign of the cross on their forehead to remind them of their own baptism. Those are just some examples. You will surely come up with your own ideas as well.
Kids and Communion
At Grace, we welcome to the Lord’s Table all baptized Christians. That means that there are no age limits or educational requirements to receive this sacrament. The education and faith formation of children is an ongoing process that begins at birth and continues throughout life. So children can begin receiving communion whenever their parents are comfortable. Just speak with the pastor if this is something you’d like to begin doing.
Learning Bible Stories
A big part of church is learning and repeating the stories of the faith from the Bible. You can begin this at home with your children by reading to them from the Spark Story Bible. Copies of that Bible are on the table in Grace Place. When they’re older, you can turn to other more age-appropriate Bibles. Speak to the pastor if you’d like to borrow a copy of the Spark Story Bible.
More Help
Grace has a nursery that parents are welcome to take their children to, located down the main hall on the right, just past the bathrooms. It includes a private bathroom and a changing table. Some of us who have raised children in the church learned that one key to a successful strategy in getting them comfortable in church was making it more attractive to be in the worship space than somewhere else. That meant avoiding the nursery as a place to play until after the service.
“Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.”
— Matthew 19:14
