From the February 2010 issue of the Chimes
Inspiring worship is a personal and communal encounter with the living God. It is a time infused with the presence of God resulting in times of joyous exultation and times of quiet reverence. Inspiring worship is not driven by one particular style or ministry or group. Rather, inspiring worship is the shared experience of God’s presence among us.
As we continue our series on the Natural Church Development process and the work of the Church Health Team, this month we focus on the third element of "Inspiring Worship Service," Caring for Children and Youth. In this element we consider the role that our children and youth play in the worship service as well as what we do with children and youth doing the worship time. Here are some questions we should ask ourselves about the participation of children and youth in worship:
- How are children and youth included in the worship service?
- What parts of the service "go over the heads" of children and what parts do they understand?
- How are children cared for and who is responsible for their care when they are not in the service?
- If children are present for the sermon, to what extent do they understand the message?
- In what ways are youth and young adults contributing to our worship services?
- How can youth be involved in caring for the children of the church?
- What input do we have from children and youth about our church’s worship?
There is much that we already do at PUMC to incorporate and consider children and youth in worship. We have a robust church school program during the first service and a new children’s church during the second service. We now have a children’s sermon at both the first and second service, and we provide nursery care during both services. Our children are the acolytes at all services. Our youth have the opportunity to help with the children’s church program. We have a Youth Sunday during which our youth are responsible for every aspect of the worship experience, and our youth that participate in ASP share their testimony with the congregation the Sunday after they return. We have a very ac-tive children and youth music ministry with choirs for all ages. In addition to the choirs’ participation in the regular services, our children participate in an annual Christmas Pageant, and our youth choirs perform a musical during the worship service once a year. Our youth are visible in the service when they make announcements for ASP events.
We do a lot – but can we do more? Deuteronomy 11:18-19 reminds us how critically important it is to pass on the faith we have experienced. "Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads; Teach them to the children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up," it says. In other words, instructing our young people should be a 24/7 focus for our church. Indeed a strong emphasis on our youth can revitalize the energy in our local church and in the denomination and can lay a strong foundation for the church of tomorrow.
As we reflect on the questions above, we should prayerfully consider how the presence and participation of our children and youth help to inspire us during worship AND how the worship experience inspires them to know and feel the presence of God.
Next month we will consider the fourth element of The Inspiring Worship Service, "the visitor-friendly church." If you have any comments or questions, please contact any member of the Church Health Team. To know who is on the Church Health Team, please contact the Church Office office(at)princetonumc.org or the webmaster (webmaster(at)princetonumc.org
