Dear youth ministry friends,

A question for you: Where do you experience joy in worship?

For many of us, it’s in the music. For others, it might be in the sense of gathered community. For a very select few, it could even be in the sermon! All of these components carry joy within them. But for me, the place of greatest joy is in seeing children and teens in the pews.

Yes: squirmy, antsy, rambunctious, sometimes loud children and teens.

I’m not starry-eyed about this. In between church calls, I was a stay-at-home mom with my two young boys for four years. The effort required to wrangle little bodies out of the home and into typically less-than comfortable church seating for an hour is no small feat. My boys and I arrived with books, crayons, fidgets, and stuffed animals in hand, and we made the best of it. As they aged and outgrew their separation anxiety, nursery care and Sunday school became options… but the sanctuary remained a second home for them. It was a place of comfort. And now that they are older kids and tweens, they have become more active participants as acolytes and members of choirs. They know that church is for them, as much as it is for anyone else.

It occurs to me that Jesus welcomed the children and taught the adults… which is frequently the opposite way we work. We are very quick to wish to teach children about God and Jesus. And while the impetus is a good one, I am persuaded that faith is more caught than it is taught. Helping young people develop a sense of identity as part of a worshiping community requires some experience in worship. On the other hand, we cannot expect children to function as little adults in worship.

So how do we do this well? A deeper question might be: Whom is worship really for? Some churches would assert that worship is for the attendees, to learn faith and to be inspired to carry that faith into the world. That is partly true. But first and foremost, worship is for praising God. Children can teach us quite a lot about what joy can look like, and what unabashed praise can look like, in a worship space. It may not be as formal. It may not be as quiet. But every time a child is allowed to be a child in a worship space, I smile to myself and think, ‘There is hospitality. That kiddo will grow up knowing that God’s love is for them too.’ And that thought brings me joy.

For those of you who are hard at work on these facets of ministry: I wish you every blessing. It truly matters. You are ministering to not just the future of the Church, but to the now of the Church. May you find it rewarding and nutty… and joyful too.

With you on the journey,

Rev. Jill