Does Your Church Have Children's Church?

[Backwoods Presbyterian]

Came up in another thread but I was wondering if anyone's churches excused children under a certain age during the Sunday morning/evening worship service into a separate worship or Sunday school?

Also would like to hear from those who say yes the reason for why your church does have this.

 

[BobVigneault]

My church (OPC) does not.

 

[Backwoods Presbyterian]

I don't own a church.

 

[PuritanCovenanter]

Mine does. I believe my RP church I attended in the late 80's had a great Sabbath School for the younger kids. I can't remember if they stayed for the service or not. My Reformed Baptist Church in Virginia Beach excused the children before the sermon. My kids have stayed in the service with me for the past 7 years or so. One reason why was that my PCA Church didn't have a Childrens church for their age group. The Baptist Church I attend now has a children's church for the very young kids. On Sunday nights the teens group meets. It is an awesome group and the Pastor for the teens is really good. I like him a lot. He is spot on with the issues that the kids are dealing with. I like it also because He backs up what I say at home. That away the kids are getting it from me and another source.

 

[DMcFadden]

I'm with Joshua (don't own a church). Man, I don't even rent one.

The church where we attend does have one and the kids are excused before the sermon (after the singing and offering). With 400 in the worship center, I'm not sure how it would go if we did not. However, the logic of my covenantal brethren for not having it is awfully attractive to me.

[If I ever live long enough to retire from my current ministry (11 years and counting), my hope is to join a Reformed Baptist or PCA (or OPC) church where they might or might not have one.]

 

[R Harris]

Richard Bacon wrote a book a number of years ago entitled "Revealed to Babes: Children in the public worship of God", which obviously dealt with the issue at hand. He made a very compelling case (from Scripture, of course) that all people should partake in the congregational worship, from cradle to grave.

He deals with the issue of crying babies and unruly children, primarily by establishing a "cry/discipline room," which is essentially soundproof but the people can see the pastor through a large window and can hear the service through a piped in sound system.

My response to that is, well, then how did people manage in the old days without the technology? I don't recall that he really answered that question.

 

[Backwoods Presbyterian]

I know Churches that do have Cry Rooms/Nurseries that pipe in the Service. Too often I see cry rooms and Children's churches used as excuses to skip out of service.

 

[RamistThomist]

That's where we would always have puppet shows.

 

[Wannabee]

The church we BELONG TO is in process. We do have children's church right now, and are in the process of streamlining it. It's more of a catechism class that will have a distinct curriculum that will be gone through every year. The children who learn the material will go to church with their parents. The others can either go to the children's class or to services with their parents, whichever their parents desire. We won't promote it so much as offer it. And the curriculum is such that the kids cannot learn it without their parents helping them at home. The idea is to foster home worship and discipleship with a vision for eventually getting away from any children's classes at all. We don't offer any children's SS classes. Much of our decision on when the children meet is based on space. We have a small building and only two rooms to meet in.

 

[Seb]

We have CC for 3 year olds through 3rd grade. I understand it's primarily to present the Gospel and songs in a more age appropriate manner. Less formal, more accommodating.

My wife and I are always amazed at how good of a job they do with our 4 year old. She worships, learns and they always have a 'feast' at the end. It's not the Lord's Supper by any means, nor meant to be, but it's a special fellowship time for all of the little ones.

 

[Timothy William]

I don't own a church.

Joshua, far be it for me to correct you, but you should go back and check the requirements for joining the Puritan Board; I'm sure church ownership was in there somewhere.

The church I'm currently attending has a Children's Church. The PRC church doesn't. I'm not entirely averse to the idea, as there can be some benefit to teaching children separately. However many children are kept (or keep themselves) in children's church long after they have outgrown it, and should be in public worship with the whole congregation.

 

[Pilgrim]

I answered "other." The church I am currently attending does not have "children's church" but it's not an applicable question to us because we are a small church plant that has no children presently! I haven't discussed the issue with the leadership so don't know whether they would have it if we had children or not. But we would have to grow considerably larger than we are now for it to become a issue one way or another.

 

[blhowes]

Generally speaking, is children's church frowned upon (for lack of a better term) in most reformed churches? Do most reformed churches expect children of all ages to be in the regular worship service?

 

[Dwimble]

The church where we attend does have one and the kids are excused before the sermon (after the singing and offering)...

That's the way it is for us, too.

Our daughter is still too young for it (almost 20 months), so we currently put her in the nursery around the time they dismiss the kids from the service. For awhile we tried to keep her with us throughout the service, but she had too much difficulty with it, and I don't want to disrupt others and interfere with their receiving the message. Going forward, I don't know yet whether or not we will send her to children's church when she is old enough. I'd like to have her there in the service with us when she is old enough to handle sitting and/or listening quietly.

[If I ever live long enough to retire from my current ministry (11 years and counting), my hope is to join a Reformed Baptist or PCA (or OPC) church where they might or might not have one.]

Ha ha...I might or might not agree or disagree with you or someone else about that or some other thing.

 

[jwithnell]

Where I am a member, children's attendance follows a fairly predictable pattern: we bring them in as infants; when they start getting loud and mobile, they go down to a nursery where the service may be heard. The stated "upper limit" for the nursery is 4, but many children in the 18 month + group are back up in the service. Adults rotate taking care of the young'uns. In short, without a stated policy, we make every effort to have all age ranges worshipping together, realizing that toddlers need a little extra wiggle room.

 

[DMcFadden]

Sorry, Michael,

Trying to get my real work done and drop in on the PB leaves me with cryptic and inartful sentences. I would like to retire and unite with a confessional church. Since many of them seem to frown on children's church, it is quite likely that they will not have one in the church I join. It was intended to express flexible indifference on the subject. That is all I meant by the comment.

 

[Dwimble]

Didn't bother me...to me it just looked like some flexibility with a dash of humor. That why I laughed at it.

 

[staythecourse]

Generally speaking, is children's church frowned upon (for lack of a better term) in most reformed churches? Do most reformed churches expect children of all ages to be in the regular worship service?

It is frowned on in our church and I see children 4 and under taught how to stay still for an hour. Not just some of them, every one of them. It's a social study almost. All the kids know they will be removed and disciplined with spanking if need be. The parents know all the other parents expect the child to get pulled from the service and return with a child that is back under control. And, a child gets pulled out every Sunday, sometimes more than once. Rarely more than twice

Children are more capable than we think in hearing a sermon and getting points in the message. What we frown on is separating the family from worship.

We do have Sunday School where the children learn Church History, catechisms, Bible memorization, and lessons, too.

I need to add that we have nursing and baby rooms so that families can sit together when they have very small children.

 

[VirginiaHuguenot]

Links and Downloads Manager - Worship - Children and Worship -- Karl Hubenthal - The PuritanBoard

 

[Herald]

We'll be in a smaller facility in about a month. Out of necessity children's church will be discontinued. Some may think it's temporary but I am going to do everything in my power to make sure it is permanent.

 

[staythecourse]

We'll be in a smaller facility in about a month. Out of necessity children's church will be discontinued. Some may think it's temporary but I am going to do everything in my power to make sure it is permanent.

The benefits of the family learning how to manage themselves and be in Christ's presence (as Brother Andrews link pointed out) far exceed the pragmatism of sending the "noisy and easily distracted" children away!

I hope God blesses your efforts and the rest in the decision-making agree with you, Bill. I am one who has seen both and this approach is much better in raising disciplined little ones. Those Puritans knew what was up, again...

 

[jaybird0827]

No children's church here.

 

[Backwoods Presbyterian]

I answered "other." The church I am currently attending does not have "children's church" but it's not an applicable question to us because we are a small church plant that has no children presently! I haven't discussed the issue with the leadership so don't know whether they would have it if we had children or not. But we would have to grow considerably larger than we are now for it to become a issue one way or another.

That is a good "other"

 

[toddpedlar]

You bet, our church has a "Children's Church".

It meets at the same time, place and duration as our "Adults Church", "Teens Church", "Men's Church", "Women's Church", and the ever popular "Disenfranchised Others Church".

 

[Galatians220]

Generally speaking, is children's church frowned upon (for lack of a better term) in most reformed churches? Do most reformed churches expect children of all ages to be in the regular worship service?

I don't know about "most reformed churches," but ours expects the children to be there for the service, as they are to learn the whole counsel of God from an early age...

"Crying rooms" were innovations of the Sixties, when people, especially kids, were no longer expected to sit down, shut up and behave themselves, exhibiting appropriate decorum, in certain places. We Catholics, though, were always expected to do so... As a kid, I was an exception that proved the rule.

Right before I left the RCC, I used to use the crying room there (by that time, they had them, but my son was older and didn't need to be in there) as an escape from the blasphemy on the outside. You could play with other people's kids in there and I enjoyed at least that.

Margaret

 

[KMK]

I answered "other." The church I am currently attending does not have "children's church" but it's not an applicable question to us because we are a small church plant that has no children presently! I haven't discussed the issue with the leadership so don't know whether they would have it if we had children or not. But we would have to grow considerably larger than we are now for it to become a issue one way or another.

I guess, to be honest, I am in a similar situation. Our church meets in a small community building and has no room for a 'children's church'. (Unless they were to meet in the kitchen or the bathroom) The fact that we do not have a 'children's church' is a matter of practicality rather than propriety.

 

[Pilgrim]

Now our church does have some kids present, maybe 4 of them between the ages of 8 and 15. I was thinking of small children when I read the OP. And they are present for our Core Seminar (Sunday School) as well, although they typically don't participate that much. Our interim pastor is making more of an effort to make sure that they are included in the discussions as well.

 

[Herald]

I answered "other." The church I am currently attending does not have "children's church" but it's not an applicable question to us because we are a small church plant that has no children presently! I haven't discussed the issue with the leadership so don't know whether they would have it if we had children or not. But we would have to grow considerably larger than we are now for it to become a issue one way or another.

I guess, to be honest, I am in a similar situation. Our church meets in a small community building and has no room for a 'children's church'. (Unless they were to meet in the kitchen or the bathroom) The fact that we do not have a 'children's church' is a matter of practicality rather than propriety.

Ken, I pray it becomes a matter of conviction. When you expand to a larger facility you will not have to give in to the separation of families.

 

[Southern Presbyterian]

We'll be in a smaller facility in about a month. Out of necessity children's church will be discontinued. Some may think it's temporary but I am going to do everything in my power to make sure it is permanent.

The benefits of the family learning how to manage themselves and be in Christ's presence (as Brother Andrews link pointed out) far exceed the pragmatism of sending the "noisy and easily distracted" children away!

I hope God blesses your efforts and the rest in the decision-making agree with you, Bill.

I second the and will add my for the desired result.

 

[LadyFlynt]

Ours does not. We meet for services, we lunch together, we meet for Catechism.