Why Do Kids Need Church?

Why Do Kids Need Church?

First let me start by saying in this COVID-19 world, there are good reasons for your family to self-quarantine and limit exposure to other groups of people outside your pandemic pod. But when you feel safe and ready to expand your circle, we want to challenge you to make sure attending your local church with your children is in that plan.

I have thought about this a lot, and I have wondered: If I did not work for a church, would my perspective be different? Over the last few months, we have gotten comfortable in our online church at home routine. We could sleep late, make breakfast for the family, and settle into streaming our favorite church services all from the comfort of our pajamas and the couch. Think about it. There was no rushing, no tears about missing shoes, no breakfast spilled in the car, and certainly no check-in and drop-off issues with our littles. I could be convinced that this is how God intended us to celebrate the Sabbath. But slowly as the novelty started dissipating, most of us found we were streaming less, engaging our family in worship less, and allowing complacency to set in.

This pandemic is not the first time I have run into this situation. When my son was young, my husband and I were out of the habit of attending church. Our Sunday morning routine had become donuts and the Sunday morning newspaper in bed, followed by some extra snuggle time. Who can resist a child’s snuggle and reading the Sunday comics together?

So, the questions become: “Why do our kids need church?” And “Why does our family need to be engaged in a local church community?”

Reason 1. To show our children the Word of God is alive.

The Word of God needs to be part of our daily comings and goings, when we sit, when we walk through our day, when we lie down, and when we get up. That is how He has always wanted it. But it is so easy to get complacent and for this to happen less and less. Participation in a church community is a regular reminder of God’s Word.

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates.

Deuteronomy 6:4–9 (NIV)

Reason 2. To teach our children God’s story.

Our children have different learning styles, interests, and enjoy learning from a variety of teachers. There is a lot to learn about God, and that learning needs to be a lifetime pursuit. At Stonebriar, there is a plan to care and feed your kids so that when they move from lying in a crib to graduating high school, they will be “ . . . a kid with a passionate love for Jesus Christ that shows itself in an unquenchable love and concern for others,” (from Grace-Based Parenting by Tim Kimmel). We call this “loving God and loving others.” There is no better goal. This is the very essence of knowing and following Jesus. This kind of thinking and behavior does not come easily. It takes years of training and teaching.

We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and His might, and the wonders that He has done. He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers to teach to their children, that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children.

Psalm 78:4–6 (ESV)

Reason 3. To encourage one another as God has called us to meet together.

There is no replacement for growing up in a community of believers who love God and serve each other. The diversity of a church community should be grounds for children to experience the world outside the view of their own ecosystem. The church community allows them to experience God’s love from a variety of people, but also to show God’s love to a variety people.

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Hebrews 10: 24–25 (NIV)

Reason 4. To spur on your children’s development of their spiritual gifts. We are all gifted by God in different ways, for God’s unique purpose to serve the body of Christ. Developing and using those gifts takes years of practice, tuning, and maturing. The body of Christ —the Church—is where we do that training.

In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.

Romans 12:6–8 (NLT)

Attending church is not a magic bullet to develop well-behaved, respectful, and kind children. But participating as a member of the Body of Christ, as a family, is the starting place to develop a lifelong love for God, and love for others. Parenting is a difficult job, and the outcome is not guaranteed for anyone. Still, your church community is wholly committed to setting the table for your child (and you) to see God more the way the disciples did, and more the way Jesus did.

If you are in the North Texas Area, we would love to introduce you to our Family Ministries team, who is ready to engage you and your family in our church community. You can get more information at stonebriar.org/family.

Author

  • Christine Clark

    Christine Clark is the Ministry Leader for Family Ministries at Stonebriar Community Church. She has a passion for supporting parents and helping them gain confidence and tools to be spiritual leaders in their homes. She is blessed to be the mom of a one son and the wife of her college sweetheart for 25 years. She and her husband are finding their way as empty nesters, and enjoying the new found freedom that comes with this stage of life. She is also an avid sports fan who loves all things NASCAR and football, especially in the fall in Texas.

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