The eternal question – How do we engage kids in worship? Here are some practices and resources to help you reach your youngest members in a traditional Sunday worship.
Pray-ground at Augustana Lutheran Church, West St.Paul, MN
Tactile resources
Most kids (and many adults) engage better when there is some tactile element to the learning, such as interactive bulletins. Options like Sanctuary Scribes, Kids Celebrate, and A Lutheran Welcome keep hands and minds engaged in the lessons and rituals of the service. You may find a boost in curiosity around traditions, verbiage, decorations, and more!
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Children’s Sermon/Message
Bring it to their level. Growing up, one of my pastors preached his sermons through the lens of his PhD in Biblical Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics. While interesting in the right moment, they often flflew MILES over my head (and pretty far over many of the adults too!). What really connected us to the story was the Children Sermon. Our youth ministry director took the story of the day and spent 8 minutes boiling it down to its core message, connecting that to something an elementary schooler could grasp, and sending us off with a goal and prayer to use it in our life. Sometimes there was even a take-home piece (a craft, activity, candle etc) that we would get two of; one to keep and one to give to someone else in the congregation.
Crafting these messages can take time that pastors or youth directors simply don’t have. Luckly, weekly lectionary-based Children’s Sermons are a piece of bonus content included in Sparkhouse Digital subscriptions for users to easily plug and play without the extra time spent.
Church jobs!
They need to wiggle? Give them a job! One of the simplest ways to have kids engaged with worship is to have them actively in it! Have families sign up to greet, usher, or acolyte together. Invite middle schoolers to be readers. Ask the youth choir to lead the psalm. Invite young musicians to share their gifts during the prelude or offering music. Can the confirmation class write the prayers of intercession for the day? When anybody of any age feels like their actions are directly supporting an endeavor, they become invested in it. And as they age, you just may find that you are soon looking at your new liturgist, sunday school teacher, council member, or even pastor!
Intentional Welcome
Not long ago, the idea that children should be seen and not heard reigned supreme in our churches. This sentiment might still ring true for some of your older congregants. However, we know now that the wonder and energy of youth is what keeps a church ministry going! As such, practices are changing. We need to put in the work to intentionally welcome the noise, questions, mess, and chaos of young ones in order to delight in the joy and engagement that accompanies it. A nursery is a great space for a little one that needs a break from the stimulation of worship, but what about those that just have the wiggles? And their grownups who want to still feel the community and spiritual care of a service, not tuck away in the corner away from it all? Consider “Pray-grounds” or books nooks INSIDE the sanctuary. Not hidden away, not excluded, but in the center of the holy ground of communal worship. Soft foam mats, books, coloring supplies, dolls, stuffed animals, toys, games, fidgets, and whatever else your youth seek declares “We want you here. We have prepared this for you. Your wiggles and noise are loved. All are welcome”. Sound familiar? If we want to share the love and abounding grace of Jesus Christ, we must begin with the little children at His feet.
Find coloring sheets and other activities under "Free Resources" on wearesparkhouse.org and through Sparkhouse Digital, and stock your shelves with books to help kids thrive emotionally, socially, and spiritually from Beaming Books.
