“First Sunday”: After the Service
On the first Sunday of every month, we intentionally welcome Griggs Kids—ages six and older—to sit in the service with their parents.
Our primary goals in this are twofold:
To raise biblically literate children who are integrated into the life of the church.
To support parents in raising their children to participate in corporate worship.
We know this isn’t always easy. Kids who aren’t used to sitting upstairs may feel squirmy or restless. Parents may feel torn between correcting behavior and guiding their children to love the church from the heart.
But we’re all in the same boat. Let’s acknowledge that we all need help to “bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4).
With that in mind, here are some simple, practical steps to help your kids engage with the Sunday morning service!
Ways to Engage after the Service:
Ask Questions: Ask questions to help your child process and understand what the service is all about. Here are some examples:
What was one thing you learned from the sermon?
How did the sermon make you feel?
Is there anything you didn’t understand?
What was your favorite part?
Was there a song that you really liked?
Spend time with people after: Show your kids the importance of our church family and community by engaging with other members at the end of the service, plan a lunch out with some friends to continue the fellowship and discussion about the message. You can talk about the joy and acceptance we find in worshipping with our church family.
Provide encouragement and goals for future Sundays: It is important to take notice of all the things that your child did well during the service. Explain and provide some goals for things they may need to work on for future Sundays (reminding them and yourself that we are all learning and progress is better than perfection).
Ways to Engage through the Week:
Practice the application at home: If there was an application given at the end of the sermon, try to find ways to apply it at home for the whole family. During dinner, family devos, or a time that works best for your family, talk about how each of you tried to apply the sermon that day.
Memorize a part of the passage through the week: Pick one or two of the verses preached on and hang them somewhere in the house. You can all practice meditating and memorizing the passage together and hiding it in our heart.
While training our children is hard work, Jared Bridges provides this encouragement:
“Even if our kids don’t at first understand everything encompassed in the readings, singing, and preaching—and make no mistake, they won’t—they will at least understand the people who love them and stand beside them… In worship, we have the opportunity to introduce our kids to a taste of the eternal—God’s saints celebrating him together. At the least, attending worship with your child may prompt them to ask you the reason for the hope within you (1 Pet. 3:15). Transitioning kids to the worship service is difficult, but it’s a difficulty worth enduring. Yes, you may have a few months (or a few years) of distraction. But the distraction won’t last forever, and you’ll be building on something that will.”
