Let the Little Children Come

Are children really welcome in God's house?

When it comes to having children in church in America, there's only one place for them, Sunday school. This is the norm in our modern day setting for children to go off to their own spaces, while the adults have their "real worship" in the main service. But...

Does this show children that they are welcome in God's house?

Does this teach them that they belong among God's people?

Does this teach them they belong to God?

When some children were trying to be brought before Jesus to be blessed, the disciples kept them from coming to Him. But Jesus said to His disciples, "“Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these" (Matthew 19:14, Legacy Standard Bible). It's easy to miss the importance of children in God's Kingdom. Jesus had to remind His disciples just how important it was for these little ones to be with Him and even that His Kingdom was their inheritance. Jesus demonstrated just how much the children belonged to Him.

When we had our first child, we made the decision that we would always have our children in church with us. We would be a family that worshiped together. What we quickly discovered on that journey is just how powerful that space of worshiping together as a family can be, not only for our children and for us but as a picture of how God has designed the family to be. Our children quickly learned how to pray, how to sing, and even were able to express the truths of God's word in ways that only a child can express, with a simple and beautiful faith.

In this episode, we share some of our personal journey in choosing to bring our children into God's house and the blessings and challenges that have come with that decision.