But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.
John 4:23
We are called to worship – indeed worship is a natural overflow, not only of a life that has been saved, but of a life that has been created. The heavens declare the glory of the Lord. If we don’t worship even the rocks will cry out. Such is the greatness of God that worship is the only true response.
Hooray! Hallelujah! Praise God! Yesss! But …
I hear the cries of you, dear reader.
This is what most children’s leaders long for. But …, the reality of our Children’s Church sessions are often far from this. Instead of children being lost in worship and in awe of the Almighty, they can often be reluctant participants or resistant spectators in times of worship.
Yet this need not be the case. In fact it should not be the case! The spiritual reality is that worship is something we have been invited to bring since the dawn of creation. Now, under the new covenant, access to the Father is never easier thanks to the death and resurrection of Christ – the temple curtain is torn in two. If they are not willing to worship God then this should sound alarm in us concerning their spiritual state and their relationship with the Lord.
Now being unwilling to sing in public is not the same as being unwilling to worship. So, first let’s get a working definition of worship.
For children I describe worship as worth-ship: we are simply giving God what he deserves, what he is worth. That means worship is so much more than joining in with an action song. Worship is a life choice where every action is one done for God’s glory.
Worship involves an action of some form.
Having said that, a life that is living in this manner will have no problem in bursting into song (even if it is off key, out of time and too loud!). After all, out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. In the Old Testament patterns of worship were laid down in the temple, that involved sacrifices, priests and music. In the Early Church we know they sang hymns, such as 2 Timothy 2:11-13.
Our actions demonstrate the object of our worship, reflect the glory of God and reveal our devotion. Without specific actions directed to God our worship could be of anything. We must worship in truth and teach our children to do the same.
True worship is from the heart.
We don’t want our children to only participate in the singing of songs, we want to release them to worship the Lord from the heart. It’s not about going through the motions (though there is something in the rhythm of daily devotionals, weekly worship and annual celebrations – echoes of this are found in liturgy and hymns that were used to teach doctrine).
While we can’t make children worship – and nor would we want to – we can make it easier for our children to focus on the Lord in worship. We can also model true worship to them and invite them to join us.
We must worship in spirit and teach our children to do the same.
Again, I doubt there are many who would disagree with the above. The real crunch comes in the practical outworking of this with our children in their groups.
Practical pointers
Here are some practical pointers to help us as we help them.
1. Choose songs carefully.
Songs with simple words and melodies that are directed to God. There are many great songs available. Some are songs we sing to encourage each other (Read your Bible, pray every day). Others share Biblical truths (Jesus loves the little children) or even sing about God (My God is so big; Our God is an awesome God).
If we want our children to engage with God then as well as these songs, which each have their role, we must also sing songs directly to the Lord – declaring his character and nature. Note there is a difference between exuberant praise that declares what God has done and intimate worship that loves who he is. If we want our children to grow in worship then we must make space for both praise and worship.
2. Remove distractions.
As we lead our children encourage them to close their eyes. This removes 90% of the distractions going on in the room (there’s still the noise and their own thoughts going on). Of course you don’t have to close your eyes to worship, but as we are training our children in worship this can help them to focus. Note there will be some children who may not want to close their eyes due to curiosity or past trauma, be sensitive to where each child is at.
3. Introduce it.
Our children will have come from lots of different situations and from varying weeks. Some may be tired and unfocussed, others distracted and others still riling from the discipline they received on the way to church.
By taking a moment to pause before starting worship and directing the children to think about God it can help them to engage with Him. You may look at the words of the song you are about to sing, or you may think together about why God deserves our worship, or you may share a verse from the Psalms to get them to put their attention on the Lord. We need this as adults, how much more should we take time to pause and give children the head space to focus on the Lord before starting.
4. Posture of worship.
In the Bible there are many different postures of worship. Sometimes people would stand at other times they lie prostrate before the Lord. Sometimes hands are raised other times they are not. Each posture symbolizes a heart attitude and many of these postures come naturally as we go deeper in our worship.
When we are starting to encourage children in worship I like to encourage them to stand and invite them to raise their hands.
By standing they are becoming active participants rather than passive spectators. This seems to be particularly pertinent for children who have been raised in church where they have been trained that sitting = listen and standing = take part.
By raising their hands they are taking a posture of surrender and reaching out to God. This doesn’t mean that that’s what is going on in their hearts but it can be a helpful step up for them to engage with God and not just with the moment. Try worshipping God with your hands open to him and with your hands in your pockets. Does it make a difference for you? For many people it does. We want to make it as easy as possible for our children to engage with the Lord in worship and this is one tool that helps many.
5. Make space for children to worship God in their own words.
There is something profound about expressing your own worship to God in your own words. To make space for children to worship God in their own words in tehir own way during a time of worship we are making space for them to grow in their relationship with God.
For younger children they may need some scaffolding to help them with this: Let’s tell God why we love him so much and why he is so amazing! Lord we love you because …
As children grow older we can simply model this form of worship for them and over time they will learn to express their worship freely too.
6. Encourage children to continue worship at home
It is easier to worship God together when you worship God alone. When you bring together 6 people who all worship God daily in their homes, the worship flies out of them as they unite together.
Encourage your children to worship God at home. Some children will do this naturally as they learn the songs. If you have good relationships with the parents you will hear the stories! One of our children, when they were 3 used to come home from church, go up to their room and sit under the table. There they would worship the Lord for an hour at a time. We would keep checking on them and find them worshipping still! Remember for young children God has ordained praise to come out of their mouths (Psalm 8:2).
7. Worship is not a competition
Occasionally I have heard of leaders who have encouraged children to join in the singing by saying the person who worships the best will win a prize. How do they know? If worship is an overflow expression of what is in our heart, how do they know who is worshipping the Lord the best? It may be someone who is less expressive but more devoted in their heart who is bringing the best worship. This is not for us to judge. By offering a prize we not only make worship about outward appearances, we also distract from the object of worship with a cheap prize.
I understand the motive of this is to encourage children to engage, but there are other ways to do this. Praise the group when they worship. Get the children to choose songs and lead the worship so they are engaged. Demonstrate passion for worship by joining in and not spectating yourself.
8. Depend on God
When we move our aim from getting children to sing, to helping them to encounter God in worship often some children struggle. Expect it to take a couple of months for them to shift if you have not been making space for heart worship. You may find some of your best-behaved children disengage. All of this highlights where their hearts are at with the Lord and the solution to a dead heart is not a lecture but fervent, effective prayer for the children. Spiritual life comes from God and so we need him to intervene. Prayer opens hearts that are closed and brings life to those that are spiritually dead. We cannot do this on our own – we need the Holy Spirit to come and encounter each one of the children.
9. Diversify styles of worship
As our children grow in worship remember that worship is a lifestyle and there are many ways to worship. In my experience sung worship is a good place to begin to help children connect with God. There are a few groups where more creativity is required up front (9 year old boys!) before they are willing to sing. However, I have found that if you begin with creative forms of worship it becomes about doing an activity and the focus shifts from worshipping the Lord to doing the activity. When they have learnt to engage with God in sung worship then the activities become useful vehicles to develop in worship.
Here’s a few ideas: Create a worship montage declaring the greatness of God. Write the 151st Psalm together. Write a worship rap. Serve the community together as an act of worship. You can find over 100 creative ideas in our book Give Me 5.
10. Be expectant
Expect that your children will encounter the Lord in worship. Expect that they will grow in worship. They have child-like faith. Jesus invites them to come to Him. Persevere, be prayerful and be creative as you release your children to worship the living God. As they worship Him they will be changed by Him (2 Corinthians 3:18).
Worship is not an optional extra as we follow Jesus. It is the heartbeat of our spiritual life and our duty to our Lord and Saviour.
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