The ACR hears from Bex Purdue, children’s minster at St Matthias Anglican. She shares with us one of the greatest joys of her role: seeing the church embrace children as equal and valued members of the body.
As Anglicans, we wholeheartedly believe that children are treasured members of our covenant community. Praise God that the promise of salvation extends not only to us but also to our children (Acts 2:39). One way this belief is reflected is through the baptism of our children. However, our belief that children are equal members of the body of Christ shapes much more than just our view of baptism—it shapes how we do church. So what does this look like at our weekly church gathering?
Children belong in the gathering
Kids’ Church and youth programs during our church gatherings are wonderful provisions from God as a way to love and serve the children (and parents!) of our church. It is right that we teach God’s Word to our children and young people in ways that are helpful and appropriate to their age and stage. Yet it would be unloving if we allowed age-appropriate programs to exclude them from gathering with the wider church family. We want to enable all generations to be together for part of our church gathering and so our children’s and youth programs beginning with the whole church gathered together. This communicates that they are part of our church family, just as much as the adults are. Their age-appropriate programs are a continuation of the church gathering and not something insignificant or unworthy of being called “church.” It also communicates the truth that we, as adults, actually need our younger brothers and sisters in Christ.
We need the children in our church to stand beside us and sing praises to our God, reminding us that the truths of the gospel are for everyone, of every age.
We need the children of our church to minister to us through prayer, because the faith of a child and their simple way of approaching God encourage us to do the same.
We need the children of our church to laugh and make noise during our gatherings to remind us that church is family and convict us when we try to act like we have it all together. Our view of children shapes our weekly church gathering by reminding us that we need them among us if we are to be truly gathered as one church body.
Children as participants
If children are truly part of God’s covenant community, we should expect them to be active participants in the church gathering, as church members who have much to offer in service to God and their church family.
They might play an instrument or sing in the church band, or they might pray during the service, or participate in a spot and share what they have been learning, or help their parents serve morning tea, or assist with set-up and pack-up, or welcome newcomers and write name tags.
Children participate and serve in ways very similar to adults, so enabling children to serve in church is not rocket science. It simply requires intentional thought about how our view of children should shape the way they serve. What a blessing it has been to have our youngest members so eagerly serving us. Because of this, we have a richer understanding of the glorious gift of the Church.
Children participating in church does not only include serving; it also involves enabling them to be active participants in the church service itself. In light of this we made one simple change to our gatherings. Previously, children and youth had chosen to sit at the side of the church during the service, almost using it as a waiting room until they went to their kids’ or youth programs, instead of sitting with the rest of the congregation. They weren’t participating in singing, praying, or reading the liturgy with the church family; they were simply passively waiting for “their” church to begin.
By encouraging them to sit with their families or friends in the pews, we saw a dramatic and beautiful shift. As children and youth began physically sitting among the congregation, we started to enjoy more richly the blessings of being an intergenerational church. Children and youth began to sing the hymns, declare their faith as we recited the Apostles’ Creed together, confess their sins, pray the Lord’s Prayer with their older brothers and sisters in Christ, and be known and loved by the wider church family.
Children in the church are a blessing from God, and our God-given view of them must shape how we do church.