What to Do with Kids During Worship?

I hear this question more than any other from people who start new churches or
small groups, but never from a non-Westerner. The solution is fourfold. We
apply a more biblical approach to four Western traditions, for children's
participation, Bible exposition, varying methods and harmonizing people of
different ages.

1. Let children participate, more than simply hearing a 'children's sermon.'

Anne Thiessen (T&M Training, tribal, Ometepeq, Mexico) shared her creative
practice. "We want the children to participate, so we meet together before the
worship with the kids and practice acting out either the Old Testament or New
Testament reading (whichever is more story-like). We learn a song together and
a verse for them to share, too, which we practice over time so that the kids
really get them. During the service the kids act out the reading, which,
before, had often been poorly read and even more poorly understood by the
illiterate tribal people. The adults have a visual aid; the kids enjoy
participation that doesn't require much planning.

"The group gets used to allowing things that are enjoyable. Drama and music are
introduced in a non-threatening way. If adults watch the rehearsal, so much the
better. It means more prompters and better understanding. It's kind of fun. I
let the older kids take more and more responsibility for this. I help them to
pick out from the Bible passages the dialogue for the younger children to speak
or act out, and to summarize the story in kid-sized words. Adults, young people
and children who've never helped lead in a church before now jump in and put
their whole heart into it, learning as they grow. It's amazingly freeing."

2. Teach the Word the way Paul did.

Good Bible exposition seeks lays the legal and historical foundation for
abstract doctrinal teaching. Anne's practice raised the question, "What do we
do if the Bible text does not lend itself to dramatization, such as the book of
Romans." The answer lies in Romans itself. Good Bible exposition builds on
historical passages that illustrate or give the legal basis for an abstract
doctrinal passage, as Paul did in Romans. He assumed that his readers knew the
OT stories of Adam, Abraham, Moses and the law, and referred to them
constantly. Christianity (and OT Judaism) is unique among religions in that its
doctrines grow out of the great redemptive events of history. All other
religions started with some dreamer's philosophical musings on metaphysics and
ethics. But Christian doctrines resulted from inspired consideration of
historical, concrete, redemptive events--creation, the fall, the flood, the
pact with Abraham, slavery and deliverance from Egypt, the Law, its violation,
etc. An example is the 'trial by fire' before Jesus' judgment seat (1 Cor.
3:11-15) to make sure we don't sneak evil contraband into heaven. We find the
legal and historical basis in Num. 31; Moses confronted the victorious soldiers
who were bringing illegal booty into the holy camp. They had to build a fire
and pass the objects through it. What was purified by fire could enter; silver
idols were melted down. A purely doctrinal New Testament text will have a
historical basis. We can link it to an Old Testament passage or earlier New
Testament event that gives its prophetic or legal basis, which kids and adults
can act out. We rob people of a great treasure, not to mention lots of fun, if
we fail to reenact these foundations when we teach the Word.

I thought this all applied well to house churches and shared it on the network
ntcp(AT)housechurch.org . Responses varied from
mild skepticism to "Them's good groceries!" When teachers fail to plan such
participation, it may be laziness or ignorance of the need to build
relationships while teaching. A later response from Anne Thiessen adds, "If the
passages for the day (Psalm, OT, NT) lack drama, I simply find something
related. Today we studied prayer and how God provides for us, so we did Elijah
and the ravens. A small girl was a raven with a piece of tortilla in her
'beak.' A boy was the prophet sitting next to the brook (a bowl of water--being
in a house makes it easy to find props). An adult spoke the Lord's words
telling him to go find a widow. Last week we read Psalm 23, so we did the
parable of the lost sheep. The poor lamb bleated loudly and pitifully in the
next room during the first part of the service. Then the kids went with the
'shepherd' to find ...

3. Vary the way you present a passage.

Jesus avoided using only one method. He used conversation, lecture, parables,
object lessons, questions and a whip. You can illustrate slaying a lamb in Old
Testament worship with no spoken lines. Someone enters pretending to be pulling
on a rope; at the other end comes a 'lamb' on hands and knees, bleating. You
ask the 'worshipper' to lay hands on its head (to confess sins) then 'priests'
place it on the altar and slit its throat. An adult describes the blood
spattering all over them, the noise, smell, flies and fire. For worship this is
shocking and repugnant--because our sins are shocking and repugnant to God.
Sometimes people simply act out a truth silently, other times they read lines.

For example, you might teach from Romans 5 the grace that abounds for many
through the obedience of the final Adam. Paul compares the two Adams, so
reenact Adam and Eve's fall. Don't make it an elaborate production, it needs
not be long and it's not to entertain or display acting ability. Participants
simply read (and add the appropriate actions) the words of Adam, Eve, the voice
of God, the serpent and the narrator. Tiny children portray animals as Adam
names them. If you want a moment of fun, let the most serious man in your
church-the last person people would expect--do the serpent. When he appears he
hisses at the audience. If people laugh, he stares them into silence, hissing
with an intent sneer. Let young people teach the passage to younger people and
practice the reenactment well ahead of time. Help people to disciple their
families and younger friends. Make it easy for them, model it and praise their
efforts publicly.

4. Mix people of different ages.

Dramatized sermons make a greater impact if adults also participate. It edifies
more people when the older kids prepare and the younger and disciple them in
the process. Children of all ages and cultures have a natural desire to receive
attention from older children. It's a crime to always segregate them by age.
Sometimes, yes, it's normal for them to gather with peers, but not exclusively.
That impairs their ability to relate normally. A young people's advisor wanted
two boys to leave the group because they always made noise and distracted the
rest. I felt that they were simply bursting with energy and creativity, so I
asked them to start a new group and disciple younger children. I helped them
plan and gave them the tools for discipling. They all grew as a result.

Galen Currah observes from Africa and Asia, "In most human societies, children
are considered to be family and society members in training, and are made a
part of most social events. Unacceptable behavior is corrected immediately by
any member of the family or whoever attends an event. Those societies also hold
purely cultural events to mark every child's transition into adulthood with new
behavioral expectations. The industrialization of Western societies required
workers (not people) and the secularization of education imposed artificial
grading and graduation, effectively tearing apart families and delaying adult
behavior. If Christians are to practice a godly counter-culture, then we must
move towards what God made us to be."

If you would like a list of suggestions for getting people of all ages to
participate in Bible readings or short dramatizations, we will work one up if
enough request it. Simply reply: Bible Drama.

For information on T&M: www.TrainAndMultiply.com

For information on the electronic textbook Disciple the Nations:

http://www.trainandmultiply.com/

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