Some children love going to church every Sunday. They have no trouble saying goodbye to their parents at the door and have lots of fun during the children’s programme. Afterwards, they proudly show off their completed worksheets and activities, and happily chatter about what they learnt in Sunday school.
My own children, however, were the exact opposite. Both my toddlers refused to attend children’s church on their own, and threw tantrums whenever we tried to leave them there.
On a typical Sunday morning, we would be in a frenzy getting the kids ready for church, putting on extra bright and cheery demeanours, and talking to them about how church would be so much fun!
But on our way, our elder son would start saying that he didn’t want to go. We would try to overcome his fear by reminding him of craft time, which he enjoyed, and how he would get to play with his friends at church.
None of that seemed to work though, and as a result, my husband and I had to accompany our toddlers to children’s church every single week. As they were in different classes, it meant neither of us could attend the adult service.
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A Commitment Despite the Hassle
Naturally, we wondered if it was really worth it bringing our children to church, and whether we should continue doing so.
It was tiring constantly having to persuade our children to come with us to church on Sundays. And we really had to work at helping our kids stay engaged.
Wouldn’t it have been easier and more beneficial to us if we did “church at home” ourselves to cater to their specific likes and dislikes, since we knew how to capture their attention with a more targeted programme?
Alternatively, we could have simply left them at home with a babysitter so that we could attend church, kids-free!
Still, we knew full well that imparting faith to our children began with us. We had to take the initiative in our God-given role as their parents.
Children’s church could never replace our parental role in teaching them about God and helping them develop their own faith. Part of our role was to ensure that our kids could be fed by God’s Spirit in the company of God’s people. As Hebrews 10:24–25 encourages us:
So, we pressed on, bringing our kids to church every Sunday—despite the tiredness, despite our spiritual dryness, despite our own misgivings about the children’s programme at our church.
Children’s church could never replace our parental role in teaching them about God and helping them develop their own faith.
We did this not because we had to, but because we wanted to. We were convicted of how important it was for our children to attend church.
Remembering the Value of Attending Church
At the end of the day, we want to help our little ones grow to know God and His character through the carefully crafted Bible stories and activities at children’s church.
We want them to know, love, and one day serve God within the local church. We desire that they would love the church the way Christ does, in spite of its imperfections (Ephesians 5:25).
Through our own faithfulness in bringing them to church despite their resistance, we hope to model for them the value of setting aside time to worship with God’s people weekly.
They may not have fully understood, but we hope that with time and prayer, they would find joy meeting God at church.
Despite their resistance, we hope to model for them the value of setting aside time to worship with God’s people weekly.
If you are in a similar situation, we found the following tips useful in helping our kids to enjoy church better:
1. Help your children build a relationship with the teachers.
Talk about the teachers at home, and discuss the lessons our children were taught. Encourage your children to greet their teachers when you see them around in church. We ask our kids to give their teachers a high-five to help build recognition and rapport.
2. Help your children build friendships with the other children.
If another parent in your small group has a child who is attending the same class, make every attempt to let your children play together so that they can form friendships and want to be at church together.
3. Continue to sing the worship songs and talk about the Bible story taught at church throughout the week.
Throughout the week, my husband and I would continue singing the songs our kids were taught at children’s church. We even did the actions they learnt as part of our family devotions so that our children would enjoy praising God at home too.
Repeating the Bible stories they heard allowed us to clarify anything they might have been unsure about, as well as to reinforce the lessons taught.
A Journey of Perseverance
We don’t want our kids to dislike going to church or feel forced to go just because their parents wanted them to. So we choose to lay aside our thoughts of simply attending church without our children, and continue accompanying them to children’s church.
If you choose to do this as well, you may have to put more effort into finding ways to replenish your spiritual tanks. This may mean catching up on the “grown-ups’” sermon on your own on a weekday, or spending some time reading Scripture on your own, apart from family devotions.
Repeating the Bible stories they heard allowed us to clarify anything they might have been unsure about, as well as to reinforce the lessons taught.
While we may have to be extra intentional, we believe bringing our kids to church is a worthy investment.
In the meantime, we look forward to the day when our kids happily wave goodbye to us when we drop them off at the children’s programme.
This blog was first published on wholelife.sg and is adapted with permission.
