Little Kids in Big Church

Our church is quite small, and Little man is one of the few (and sometimes the only) little one his age. I haven't really liked the idea of having someone miss worship service to watch my one kid, so I have opted, since he was born, just to keep him with me. Something that was almost necessity, has become something I'm starting to feel quite strong about. At the very least, it's become something I quite enjoy.  I really enjoyed reading this article, and when the time comes and Little Man is old enough for children's chapel, I may make the decision for him just to remain with me.
It's been a learning experience, to say the least, with having him sit (or stand) quietly where he is. I'm no where near perfect, and he's nowhere near perfect. Just recently I had to take him out, when he wanted to whine-loudly. If you are a part of a small church like me, or perhaps you would just rather have your little one with you, here are some tips and activities for little ones from baby to toddler.

Baby-6 months:
I didn't know when I had it good! This stage is easy and hard at the same time. Babies cry, sleep, get hungry sometimes when it's the least convenient. The best thing at this stage is getting a schedule for your baby that will allow you to sit through church. It doesn't always happen, and my husband and I would swap Sunday Morning/Night Service, so that we got at least one a piece. What worked for me was letting Little Man nurse and nap during Sunday School, and be awake during church.

6-12 months:
Things get easier at this point, at least in predicting your baby's schedule. It's also easier than the future, entertaining your baby. At this stage I had touch and feel soft and board books and quiet baby toys. Here are some of my favorite books:


I also liked the 'Is that my..." series from Usborne, for touch and feel books. These are still entertaining him today!

12-24 months:
Here is the hardest time to quietly entertain, in my opinion. One of the things that helps is when you read your child a story, make sure they sit for the entire thing. This will get them used to being quiet and letting someone else talk. At this point they are more likely to start getting bored with just looking at books, but too little for more of the toddler quiet play. Things like stickers, crayons, quiet toys, Cars, little people, etc. are good for this stage. And I'm going to own up to this-but my child ate plenty of those Puffs during this stage! Those things can keep them busy!

2-3 years:
Ahhhhh....We are back to an easier stage! You might be thinking, "What about the 'Terrible 2's tantrums?" I'm not saying it's always great, but at this stage, your child should know when you mean business, and know that church is not the place to get very loud. Also, when you take your child to the nursery if they act up, make them sit in the chair with you and not let them get up. Then the nursery will not seem like the fun option during church. They will want to go back to the pew where they can at least play with their toys! Here are some of my favorite quiet toys and activities:
I love the little 'go' packs from the dollar store. They have a lot of the Disney movies that my son likes.
Also at the Dollar Tree they have those sticker scenes that can entertain for a long amount of time!
Pipe cleaner activity

*My son loves the Water wow!! This entertains him for a long time!
This can be paired with books, stickers, legos, cars, etc. I have a church bag that I try to change out each week so that there is something new and exciting. I also have a few things that he only does at church, so it feels special

4-6 years
Here are the unknown years for me, but I can tell you what my parents did for me and my siblings, and what I plan to do with my little boy. At this point, especially if they are being schooled (by you or elsewhere), they should know how to sit and be still. Because they still haven't reached the point of finding sermons very interesting, coloring books, tracers, and sticker books are really great. Most of these things allow you to listen to what is being said. I was six when I came to know the Lord, so I can tell you that little ears hear more than you give them credit for! Also, make learning about the Bible something you learn about every day in your home. My little boy is not yet 3 and he will tell me when he hears a familiar name or story being told by the preacher. The key is not only making your child quiet so others can hear, but the activity not so engaging that they don't hear what's being said.

7+
I believe that once a child gets saved, it's very important that they listen to the sermon. After they join the church, they are just as much a member as anyone else. This is key growing and maturing time for them. This means that you need to make church going, and Bible time at home a priority, if you want your child to see it as such.
That being said, this is a good time for sermon note taking. When they are just learning to read and write, maybe they can draw a picture of what is being preached about, and maybe a sentence or two of what they learned. The sentences can get longer and the drawings can become more doodle-ish (I myself am a doodle note taker. It helps me to think!).

So there you go. Some tips on helping your child stay with you during church. Of course, I am not against children's chapel (my son went just this last week!), and if you feel like you need to then by all means. I will encourage you to ask your child what they learned and have them pay attention in class. God's Word is so important, and teaching your children young is so important! Let me know what you do to keep your child with you in church.

The Fellowship of the Believers (Lord of the Rings pun intended)

A while back (very long ago, seeing I haven't posted in almost 9 months!) I wrote an article about going to church. If you would like to read that post, you may do so here: http://ayouthpastorswife.blogspot.com/2013/09/back-to-basics-going-to-church.html. And here I am to post again on the same subject. It has been weighing heavy on my heart because here lately our church has seen pretty decent numbers on Sunday mornings, then less than 20 on Sunday night, and even our faithful members seem to find excuses to not come to Sunday School and Sunday Morning Worship. 

As usual, my husband and I (and now our cute little boy) were watching a pastor on one of our local channels that comes on, early Sunday morning. He was talking about the first church and used these verses:

Acts 2:41 Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church that day—about 3,000 in all.

42 All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer.

⁴³ A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. ⁴⁴ And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. ⁴⁵ They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. ⁴⁶ They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity— ⁴⁷ all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.

This was a wonderful time for the early church. People were getting saved daily, and worshiping daily. Worshiping daily?! We can hardly stand to get together at the most 3 times a week! They met together, fellowshiped together, and had corporate worship in the Temple each day. They didn't mind worshiping in public even if that meant persecution.


I guess my question is, What reason did you not go to church today? I know there are reasons to stay home. Maybe you are a shut in, or sick (ain't nobody got time for a stomach bug!), etc. However, I think we are too easily tempted to make excuses for why we can't come to church. My favorite one right now is the 'I didn't get to bed until 'such and such' time in the morning, therefore, I needed my sleep.' As a new mom that is happy to get a solid 4-5 hours, this annoys me so much. Rant aside, I know it's easy to let other things become a priority: sleep, family coming over, work, school, but how shallow do those things sound when the early church was meeting together daily with the threat of persecution over their heads?


I don't say this to make myself look great. I am also tempted to put other things before church, Bible, prayer, but the sermon this morning, and scripture, remind me that I should count it a blessing to have fellowship with my fellow believers.

Back to the Basics: Going to Church

Note: Much of this post has been inspired by this article: http://bible-truth.org/whyatten.htm. Even though it may seem long, it is very good and will go into more detail than I will here.

It's Sunday Morning and you look at the alarm and gasp to see that it's already 8:30! You rush around trying to get ready, while you really wish you were back in bed sleeping, or perhaps outside in the beautiful sunshine, or maybe in the living room feet propped and watching TV. You do like the preacher, and the Sunday School class that you have, so you speed out the door and head out to church. After church you grab a lunch and settle on the couch, begin to dose and don't wake up until late in the afternoon. Whoops, you overslept, but that's okay, because Sunday night isn't as big of a thing; people will understand that, besides anyone hardly ever goes.

As you know I am the youth pastor's wife, and on Sunday Mornings we run about 15 students (sometimes up to 20!). On Sunday nights, we have been quite excited to have 4 or 5, since for the longest time, we had only 2 students who were faithful Sunday Night goers. I tell you this to say, that there is a great difference and decline in those who attend Sunday Morning and those who attend Sunday Night. I have this feeling that they feel like Sunday night isn't that big of a priority. Let's delve into this issue by first looking into a well known verse on attending church:
¹⁹ Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, ²⁰ by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, ²¹ and since we have a great priest over the house of God, ²² let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. ²³ Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. ²⁴ And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, ²⁵ not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Church isn't all about me

What! Yes, Church isn't for just sitting on a pew soaking in a message and going home. It's for 'stirring up one another to love and good works...encouraging one another'. When you skip out on church, you are basically saying that you don't care about other believers and their relationship with Christ. I often get caught up in staying in my little sphere, but Christ calls me to be intentional in helping others love and do good works. 
This is why just watching a church service on TV doesn't cut it. Church isn't about the building, the sermon (although, going to a church where the true gospel is preached and sermons are biblically correct is extremely important), or the carpet, it's about fellowship and encouraging fellow believers. 

Sunday and Wednesday Nights are important too!

'Not neglecting to meet together' isn't talking about just Sunday mornings (although Sunday Mornings are very important!). You see, the way you live your life is all about priorities. If you watch TV instead of going to church on Sunday nights, then you are saying that TV is more important than church. You may not think it's a big deal, but remember that people are watching you. What you make as a priority will be watched by the saved and unsaved alike (and I think most importantly, your children). We have been bought and paid for by the precious blood of Christ (Heb. 10:-21) and we should want to 'draw near in assurance of faith...and not neglect to meet together'.
 
If you would like to learn more about the church, and how it functions, 1 Corinthians is a great book to read. My challenge is, will you make a commitment to attend church every time there is a scheduled meeting? This is not something that God calls someone to do, but He commands it! 

It's my way or the highway!

I love my church. We have a wonderful pastor, pastor's wife, and a very handsome, amazing youth pastor (you knew I was going to say that, right?). We also have some loving church members, that are very friendly and welcoming to other people. As you walk in you'll be greeted with smiles, and if you get to know them like I have, you may even get a hug! Something has happened recently that is making us move to the gym for worship, and we all have seen the not quite so Christ-like attitude come out in the church members!
What is it about change that makes us become ugly to one another? I used to laugh when preachers talked about members bickering over the color of the carpet, but now I'm not laughing so hard. If people can get upset just over where they will be conducting Sunday school for a few weeks, then I guess a church can split over the color in carpet.
Okay, my little rant is over. However, I think that our church isn't the only one that goes through troubles like that. It's human nature to be selfish and to want things our own way, but it's not Christ-like, or the way we should be to our own brothers and sisters in Christ!

In Ephesians 5:21 it says we should submit to one another out of reverence for Christ, and in Philippians 2 it says this:
So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, ² complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. ³ Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. ⁴ Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. ⁵ Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,⁶ who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, ⁷ but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. ⁸ And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

So, it says here that we are to be servants, and make others more important than ourselves! I understand that it's hard to do, but it's what we are commanded to do.

Do you find yourself wanting your own way in the church? Do you find yourself voicing your own way very loudly in the church (A lot of times it is very loud and opinionated woman who are doing most of the voicing, when really, we are supposed to be quiet in the church: 1Cor. 14:34)? When's the last time you served someone else instead of asking to be served?  The world does not revolve around us, but we are supposed to be living our lives for Christ.