Maximizing the kids' spot at church

Lurking in many family-friendly church meetings is a segment that is oft over-looked and under-prepared: the seven or eight minutes when the church focuses on the little people huddled up the front, before they are sent off to Sunday school or kids’ church. At our church we call it the ‘Kids’ Spot’. Although a common occurrence, this segment often slides under the radar of our theological analysis. The fluffy puppets and pretty pictures should not distract us from asking: Why do we do kids’ spots? How do they glorify God? How can we maximize their benefits for those who see them?

The risks of the kids’ spot

Many of us will have witnessed a substandard kids’ spot. The leader is enthusiastic but underprepared. Or worse: not enthusiastic. Other common pitfalls include:

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• Using the kids’ spot to preach to the adults rather than the kids
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• Emphasizing families with kids to the extent that singles and childless couples feel left out
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• Stealing the sermon’s thunder
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• Not engaging with the kids.

Given these risks we may wonder, why bother? What’s the purpose of the kids’ spot anyway?

The purpose of the kids’ spot

The sole purpose of the kids’ spot cannot be to teach the kids. If it were, we wouldn’t have one at all. Instead, we’d send the kids straight to Sunday school, where they receive age-specific teaching without the distraction of a bunch of adults watching them. To quote my minister, the aim of the kids’ spot is to “make a cultural statement about who we are as a church”. The fact that we send kids out for most of the service could give the impression (to them and to the adults) that church is not for children. However, we know from the Bible that children are valuable to Jesus (Matt 19:13-14) and are able to know and understand the sacred scriptures (2 Tim 3:15); after all, they receive specific teaching from Paul (Eph 6:1; Col 3:20). Having a kids’ spot says that together—kids and big people—we are God’s church in this place. It says to the kids “You belong at church, you are part of us”, and reminds the adults that this is so. Having kids in church for at least some of the time, and having a segment to serve them in particular, reflects the unity we have as the people of God, as the body of Christ.¹

Maximizing the kids’ spot

There are lots of ways a church expresses our united fellowship in Christ. We pray together, sing together, hear God’s word read and explained together, and testify to Jesus together. If the goal of the kids’ spot is to reflect the unity and value of adults and children, then each of these expressions could form the basis of a kids’ spot. A kids’ spot could involve praying or singing together; it could take the form of testifying as well as explaining God’s word. The question becomes not “What should the next kids’ talk be on?” but “What kind of kids’ spot would express our united fellowship in Christ?” Under­standing the purpose of the kids’ spot allows us to maximize its value.

A concrete example

These may sound like lofty ideas, but how could it work in practice? Let me share how kids’ spots function at our church. We have eight types of kids’ spots that run during school terms. Each type of kids’ spot reflects one of the ways that we express our unity in Christ. We run some types more frequently than others.

Prayer altogether—talking to God together

We start each term with ‘Prayer Altogether’. The kids brainstorm things to pray for, and then they (or some volunteering adults) pray for them. The person giving the kids’ spot helps the kids brainstorm by using a model of prayer (e.g. teaspoon prayer—Thanks, Sorry, Please; target prayer—us, our area, our country, our world, etc.) or by drawing on a prayer from the Bible. What an encouragement it is to hear an eight-year-old suggest we pray that the people in church would become Christian, and to hear a six-year-old want to confess to God how we turn our backs on him.

Kids’ talk—learning from God’s word together

We have about eight kids’ talks per year. For the sake of continuity for the kids, we don’t link these to the sermon. Instead, we work through a series of topics (creation, sin, salvation, trusting Jesus, God’s word, prayer, evangelism, the Holy Spirit, etc.). There is much more that could be, and has been, said on how to give a kids’ talk. The most important thing is to put the hard yards into wrestling with the passage even though it’s ‘just’ for kids. Another thing to note is that, even though the talk is for the kids, the adults who are listening shouldn’t be ignored. Visuals and microphones should be used in a way that allows everybody to hear and understand what’s going on.

Kids’ program spots—learning from God’s word together

Each term we give each of the kids’ programs (infants, primary, etc.) a chance to share with the rest of the congregation what they have been learning. This helps build relationships between the parents and the Sunday school teachers, and gives parents an overview of what their kids have been learning, hopefully triggering them to talk with their children about it over Sunday lunch.

Mission kids—supporting God’s global mission together

Graham and Carol are a couple in our congregation who are passionately involved in global mission. Once a term they share this with the kids. For example, last year they traced the impact of mission on one particular child in Africa. This segment lifts the kids’ eyes to what God is doing in the wider world, and encourages them to pray for mission in and outside of their contexts.

Stories from the schoolyard—testifying to Jesus together

Twice a year we invite the kids to talk about the opportunities they have to talk about Jesus with their friends at school. As you can imagine, this spot takes special care as many adults would be daunted by such a task. Our approach is to choose a confident child, consult closely with their parents and ask them pre-prepared questions.

Kids’ songs—singing to God together

As part of the people of God, we have the privilege of singing together about what he has done for us. In this kids’ spot, our music team leads the congregation in singing kids’ songs (sometimes complete with actions!). This has the added advantage of teaching songs to the adults that they can sing with the various little people in their lives.

Culture watch—critiquing the world together

About twice a year we have a ‘Culture Watch’ kids’ spot. A particular member of our congregation has an eye for critiquing media culture, and he aims to nurture a similar discernment in the kids. In our first ‘Culture Watch’ he shared the simple truth that just because people don’t talk about Jesus or God on Sesame Street, or mention the Bible in cartoons, doesn’t mean they’re not real and important. This segment can involve evaluating a particular cartoon, toy or event (e.g. Halloween) from Jesus’ point of view.

Home Bible time—encouraging families to read the Bible together at home

We seek to support parents as the main Bible teachers and Christian role models for their kids. While our kids’ spots primarily serve to make a statement about the value of kids in church, we’ve also found they are a great way to achieve the subsidiary goal of encouraging families to read the Bible together at home. To this end, once a term we run a spot where we interview a family (parents and kids) about how they read the Bible together at home. Each term we also produce a resource to encourage family Bible study. Sometimes these are really simple (e.g. a bookmark with passages from Mark and generic questions) and sometimes they’re more creative (e.g. a map following Noah’s journey and Paul’s missionary trips, or a nativity calendar of the Christmas story, each with passages to read and activities to try). Each term, one kids’ spot is devoted to launch­ing the ‘Home Bible Time’ resource for that term. The aim is to get the kids, and adults, excited about that book of the Bible. In doing so, we are mindful that some parents face genuine obstacles in reading the Bible with their kids at home (e.g. a non-believing spouse). It has been really encouraging to hear of families starting to read the Bible together at home, or beginning to do it more regularly. This is by no means an exhaustive list of kids’ spots, but hopefully it’s shown that the underlying purpose of the kids’ spot gives room for variety. These times in our church meetings can be a wonderful source of encouragement and fellowship as we express the unity we have in Christ. Hearing what kids would like to pray for, what they are learning, how they are living lives for Christ, as well as hearing them be taught from the Bible and challenged by mission, is a great reminder and rebuke to adults and kids alike as we wait together for our brother and lord, Jesus, to return.

Endnote

¹ For more discussion on this topic, see David Gibbs’ article ‘Unity in the gathering or ‘adults only’ church?’, Briefing #376/7, January-February 2010.