Children’s Church
In recent years our brethren have begun
to toy with a practice borrowed from the denominations, which is sometimes
referred to as “Children’s Church.” This practice involves offering a special
session, set aside for children during the time the congregation usually
assembles for preaching. Children are dismissed from the assembly and escorted
to a separate area in which classes are given to children which range anywhere
from puppet shows, (offered by some churches), to more traditional Bible
classes. As with all practices involving the church it is the duty of New
Testament Christians to analyze the Scriptural soundness of any practice.
Ephesians chapter
six verse four tells us who
has the primary responsibility for the spiritual training of children.
It states— “fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but
bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.” (NKJV).
The example of Timothy shows that mothers are not excluded from this duty.
When Paul writes his second epistle to the young man, he speaks of the
faith which first dwelt in Timothy’s mother Eunice (1:5) and later says
of Timothy— “from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures”
(3:15). So clearly those who bear the foremost responsibility in this matter
are the parents.
With this established we must ask the question,
- “Do other Christians bear any responsibility in the spiritual training
of children?” We must answer, yes! From two standpoints: 1.) Christians
have a responsibility to one another to encourage one another to do right.
Hebrews 10:24 teaches us—“And let us consider one another in order
to stir up love and good works.” Thus Christians have a duty to encourage
other Christians who are parents to raise their children in accordance
with God’s word. 2.) Christians also have the duty to try and influence
others towards obedience to the gospel. I Peter 3:15 teaches us—“But
sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense
to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness
and fear.” Children, though not yet accountable, are potential converts
whom we have a duty to seek to influence. The local church and it leadership
share these same responsibilities. They are spoken of as those who—“watch
out for” souls (Hebrews 13:17).
Even so it must be acknowledged, that the responsibility
of others is quite limited. No other Christian is ever charged with the
duty of chastening (i.e. spanking, grounding, etc.) a child. The elders
especially are never charged with making certain that the children of members
behave themselves, except to the degree that it is their duty to teach,
rebuke and discipline unruly saints. (See Titus 1:9 & II Thessalonians
3:6-15). Parents on the other hand are commanded to chasten, in order to
train. (See Hebrews 12:5-11 & Proverbs 19:18).
In an effort to try and fulfill this limited
responsibility which we have towards the children of others, many congregations
set aside times in which they offer Bible classes for all ages, taught
by members of the congregation. In general a Christian is authorized to
teach anywhere they have the opportunity. We see this from Acts 8:4 which
tells us that those scattered by persecution—“went everywhere preaching
the gospel.” Even so, we know from I Timothy 1:12 a woman is prohibited
from teaching over a man, but women are commanded to be “teachers of
good things.” (Titus 2:3), thus they may teach children and other women.
The church is authorized to support teaching. Ephesians 4:12 shows this
in describing the objective towards which church leaders work. Notice—
“the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying
of the body of Christ.” Whether such teaching is conducted in homes,
street corners, barnyards or rooms in a meeting house the principle remains
the same.
With these principles set forth, let’s consider
a few problems associated with the practice referred to as “Children’s
Church.”
1. Terminology. The first problem we might
consider is the name associated with this practice. “The church” as described
in Scripture is the “body” of Christ. (Ephesians 1:22,23). It is composed
of those who are in fellowship with God, having been obedient to the gospel
of Christ. Acts 2:47 says of the church in Jerusalem—“the Lord
added to the church daily those who were being saved.” Scripture will
speak of the church: In a Universal sense (i.e. all in heaven and on earth
who are saved - Hebrews 12:23), in a local sense (i.e. those who have obeyed
the gospel and identified themselves with one another in work and worship
- I Corinthians 1:2) and in reference to a local church assembled (I Corinthians
11:18, 14:34 & Matthew 18:17). While as those who are innocent and
not yet accountable for sin it might be argued that children are a part
of the Universal church, it could never be suggested that a group of children
forms either a local congregation or an assembly of a local congregation.
Thus to speak of this as “Children’s Church” is using a the word church
in a way it is not used in Scripture. Wouldn’t it be best to use “Bible
names for Bible things”?
2. Missing An Opportunity to Worship. While
there are many times we can (and should) offer ourselves to children in
order to teach them spiritual truth on their own level, there are some
serious problems with doing this at the time the church has come together
to study God’s word. The adults who conduct these “Children’s Church” sessions
are missing an opportunity to worship God as they ought. When a congregation
assembles to worship, the elders attempt to offer to the congregation the
spiritual nutrition which they need to live in Christ (see Acts 20: 28).
They do this by their appointment and oversight of those who lead the worship,
and their specific direction regarding the order and content of worship.
When a system is set up (no matter how well intentioned) which routinely
deprives the adults who lead these “Children’s Churches” of the spiritual
nutrition the elders offer to them it is bound to have an effect upon their
own spiritual life.
3. The Effect on Children Themselves. As
a father of three children it occurs to me that one of the most serious
and yet powerful duties I have is the task of trying to nurture faith in
my children. To myself and my wife lies the task of trying to raise children
who will delight in hearing God’s word taught, who will love to sing songs
of praise to the Almighty and feel that prayer to God is a normal, regular
part of life. While most of this teaching must occur in the home, the time
this is the most clearly demonstrated is when the church assembles for
worship. Ours is the task of teaching our children, it is not boring to
hear God’s word taught! We have the task of teaching respect for God in
times of worship. This is not easy but it is a serious responsibility.
What do we teach children when they are dismissed
from the assembly and “spoon-fed” an entertaining “Sesame Street-like”
presentation? Are we saying to them - “I know that worship is boring, so
we’ll give you entertainment!”? Is it possible that the reason we feel
that children must perceive of worship as boring is a reflection of our
own feelings about worship?
Someone might suggest, “But you can’t expect
children to sit still for an entire service!” My youngest son, at the age
of one sat motionless through a two hour theater presentation of the movie
Toy Story. We (as other parents) insist that our children behave
in the theater so as not to disturb others. If a child can be taught to
behave themselves and pay attention for something as unimportant as a cartoon
why on earth can’t we do the same when it concerns spiritual matters? Somewhere
along the way in our generation of Dr. Spock and permissiveness we have
come to think that children can’t do what used to be expected of them.
Laura Ingalls Wilder who lived in the late 1800’s in this country wrote
a series of books about her life and the life of her husband when they
were children. In her book entitled Farmer Boy she gives an account
of her husband, Almanzo at church one Sunday. She writes -
“...there was nothing to do but sit still till the sermon
was over. It was two hours long. Almanzo’s legs ached and his jaw wanted
to yawn, but he dared not yawn or fidget. He must sit perfectly still and
never take his eyes from the preacher’s solemn face and wagging beard.
Almanzo couldn’t understand how Father knew that he wasn’t looking at the
preacher, if Father was looking at the preacher himself. But Father always
did know.” (pg. 90).
Another argument is that if we insist that children
behave and pay attention we may cause them to resent coming to worship.
This is possible, but there are some things in life that are important
enough that we must insist upon them. Do we take our children out of school
because it is difficult for them to sit through classes? And yet who among
us does not look back and appreciate the benefits of our schooling? Besides,
there is evidence that these “Children’s Church” programs don’t always
have the desired effects. I know of one church that has had such a program
for years. What they now face is the problem that they have teenagers,
no longer young enough to go to “Children’s Church” but who have not learned
to behave and engage in worship themselves. I wonder, when is it easier
to shape behavior, when someone is a child? Or a teenager? Have we so permitted
children to dictate their own behavior that we have deprived them of what
they need to be sound adults? Thomas Szasz has said - “Permissiveness is
the principle of treating children as if they were adults and the tactic
of making sure they never reach that stage.”
Conclusion. Our effort is not to criticize
the sincere desire of good men and women to try and help children. Rather
it is simply to call upon us to consider what is really at stake in these
matters. In the decisions my wife and I have made regarding how we raise
our children I am sure that we have been viewed as a “too hard” on our
children. We do not allow them to bring toys to services, and as small
children have not allowed them to sit with others during services so that
we can teach them how to worship. What effect will this have on them? Only
time will tell. Even so, given the serious nature of this responsibility
we feel we can do nothing else but try to teach them (even as children)
how to worship God themselves. I fear that “Children’s Church” programs
keep children from learning this very thing.
| Children’s Church ©
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