Church leaders are hearing the term “intergenerational worship” everywhere these days. Intergenerational worship is more than kids going to “big church” with their parents. Intergenerational worship invites children to participate equally in worship with adults. In order to accomplish this, intentional planning is needed to create a truly intergenerational service. (Suggested articles: 10 Tips for Intergenerational Worship and Keeping Kids Interested in Family Worship)
Intergenerational worship is not …
Intergenerational worship is not children sitting with their parents, passively watching, coloring papers, and trying to be patient until church service ends. Often, churches take this approach hoping that children will “observe” their parents worshipping God, “learn” from watching the congregation worship, and “prepare” to participate fully in worship someday. It is not unusual for churches to hope that watching their parents will train children for the future. And, in order to help children cope with adult-centered activities, churches provide coloring pages or children’s bulletins to give them something to do that is age-appropriate.
Intergenerational worship is …
Intergenerational worship is the intentional effort of church leaders to create a worship service that equally invites all participants to worship. In order to do this, church leaders will need to step out of their comfort zones as they prepare worship service and consider some elements that capture children’s attention. This is a big change for worship planners and for worship attenders. Tension is sure to occur. And, if that wasn’t enough, it’s difficult to imagine planning worship that intentionally engages children if one has never seen it done before. That’s why I created the guide “Kids in Worship.”
Kids in Worship: A Guide to Intergenerational Worship
When planning my own events, I look at the ideas of others to help me imagine my event. But, there aren’t many places to find a list of ideas for planning intergenerational worship. That is why I created this guide for you! This guide is full of ideas for worshipping with children that go beyond coloring sheets (though I’m not against coloring at all) and invites children to participate in worship. These ideas are ones that I’ve tried, observed, or that other ministers I know have shared with me.
YouTube Webinar Replay
In this webinar, Shannon, and guests explore the preacher minister’s role in creating intergenerational worship that engages children and adults. Dr. Jeff Cary, Dean of the Smith College of Biblical Studies at Lubbock Christian University and Dr. Jim Martin, Vice President of Harding School of Theology challenges preaching ministers and leaders to consider children in their planning, finding simple opportunities to build relationships with kids and to connect children to the sermon each week.
Before you go, check out these additional resources
(Full disclosure: I am an Amazon affiliate. If you click on a link below and then purchase from Amazon, I will receive a tiny amount of compensation, at no additional cost to you.)
If you’d like to read more on intergenerational worship, check out these books. Intergenerational Christian Formation offers a full discussion of why intergenerational ministry is important and options for intergenerational ministry. Along the Way includes a chapter by Holly Allen, who was a co-author of the previous book. In addition, it includes chapters focused on communion and baptism, among many other helpful conversations. Parenting in the Pew is a favorite of mine to recommend to parents that are hoping to create a family rhythm of worshipping together in corporate worship. Finally, Teaching Kids Authentic Worship begins with a discussion of children in worship and concludes with 52 worship activities for children.
I keep each of these books in my library and use them often. The links below will take you directly to their listing on Amazon. One final hint: check Kindle, some of these books are offered on Kindle Unlimited.
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