What Do Children Learn In Church?

Many young couples become motivated to go to services when they have their first child. There is an inner urge to want to raise their children in their faith. It was that way for us. As young adults, both my husband and I had slipped into irregular church attendance; after we were married several years and expecting our first child, we finally decided to join the same congregation and put our roots down there.

But going to religious services with children can be intimidating, especially if you've gotten out of the habit. Let's look at all the things that get in the way of a family's involvement in church and Sunday school or religious education classes today. Not only are parents busy, they are busy with activities with their kids, even on Sunday morning. More and more traveling sports teams compete on Sunday mornings, year round. Sleepovers are more frequent and common today, including nights before services. Kids burn out on the weekend from numerous birthday parties and they need "down" time on Sunday morning. The advent of bedroom electronics, with kids having their own equipment in their own rooms, often means they watch or listen late into the night and then are tired out the next day. (Ideas adapted from Neil MacQueen, Presbyterian Christian educator and president of Sunday Software, Inc.)

Smart church educators find a way of building on our media culture to make faith connections. Kids need challenges in their religious education that will push and intrigue their brains as much as their other activities absorb them. Parents may want to consider computer or video games that teach Bible stories. A good source for software with the stories of Joseph, Abraham, Prodigal Son, Ten Commandments, Paul and many more is http://www.SundaySoftware.com . At a younger level, find a good children's Bible storybook that the kids look forward to reading with you.

One of the most helpful things for children to learn through their involvement in religious life is the inclination to give of themselves and their money, and to serve and help others. This, of course, is reinforced- or perhaps initiated by the environment in the home as well as the attitudes that parents teach by their words and actions. One third grader at our church has such a giving heart that during her town's "yard sale" day, Erin not only sold lemonade and some of her belongings to benefit her local S.P.C.A. (animal shelter), but talked her friends into doing the same thing for their own favorite charities. Children as young as seven or eight can volunteer alongside their parents in various helping ministries.

At a church retreat, some children were explaining the pictures they had made during their activity time. One of the nursery school students held up his drawing of a smiley face. Ben said, "This is my smiley face. I made it because ... [pause to find words] God is nice."

I thought, this is what faith is about for a three-year-old. We may expect more complexity out of someone older, but for a three year old, this is what he had learned at church (and home). The church and the parents were doing their job with these young people, building a foundation for a faith that would be expressed throughout life in loving words and deeds. Is that enough motivation to do the right thing, crawl out of bed, and take yourself and your family to actively participate in a faith community?

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Submitted by Melodie Davis from her weekly column ANOTHER WAY: www.thirdway.com