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Children are not a distraction from more important work. They are the most important work.
C.S. Lewis
Last week, I (Kurt) had the opportunity to attend a webinar on best practices for prayground spaces for children. I stumbled upon the training by accident, but took it as confirmation that we are moving in the right direction here at Zion in dedicating space in our sanctuary to engaging young children and their families. Allow me to share the biggest take-aways:
First, it takes a faithful congregation to raise a child. For years, we have lamented the loss of young people, never really considering that maybe we didn't show them that the church belongs to them, too.
Second, we have not done a good job teaching children how to worship, teaching them instead that church is a place to be quiet. Children learn to worship by worshipping—through participation, practice, and patience. And, they learn by watching all of us and being encouraged by all of us.
Finally, this deep kind of change does not happen overnight. Churches of all sizes that have reimagined children's ministry post-COVID no longer have separate nurseries or Sunday school; instead, they see worship as the central meeting and teaching point for children and their families. And these same churches report that the results speak for themselves, both in the quality of faith formation and in the number of new families joining.
While an increase in membership is a wonderful thing, it is important to remember that our primary job is to make disciples: people who, from cradle to grave, love God and love their neighbor. Thank you for being a part of this important work with all of us!
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