Throughout Church history, Jesus’ followers have often wanted to build worship primarily around the experiences and preferences of adults and thereby exclude children from encountering Jesus. This tendency goes right back to Jesus’ first disciples who mirrored the perceptions of a society in which children had no status and therefore actively sought to prevent children from encountering Jesus.
Jesus, as he so often did, turned their perceptions upside down by stating that the kingdom of God belongs to children and that anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it (Mark 10:13-16).
Too many of those who come to church as adults are in danger of not receiving the kingdom of God because they are unable or unwilling to receive God and to worship God as a child can and does.
All age worship is one of the aspects of Church life and worship where this unwillingness to receive from God as a child becomes most apparent. There are many benefits to all age worship. As the name states, it provides an opportunity for all ages to worship together - a time when we can truly be a worshipping community. Children can enjoy being with adults in worship in ways that are not usually open to them. Adults have the opportunity to worship in a different way, one that is not so word-based, being more visual and interactive.
The church is intended to be a family and when have separate worship for different age groups, we forget that. An all-age service reminds everyone—from the smallest child to the most seasoned believer—that they belong here. Together. Children get to see the big picture of church and older generations can find purpose in showing up for the next generation. And everyone walks away feeling like they’re part of something bigger.
Discipleship happens when generations live out faith side by side. All-age services create space for those moments—where a child sees faith modelled by an adult who’s not their parent, and older generations see their investment bearing fruit. That is where the church gets strong.
The church should also be a glimpse of what’s coming. And in heaven, worship won’t be divided by age. When we worship together, we get a small preview of that future day. It’s not about musical styles. It’s not about personal preferences. It’s about bringing everyone together to focus on the One who brings us together. That kind of unity is powerful. And it’s well worth building.
In addition, to all these things all age worship teaches adults the fundamental truth that to genuinely and fully experience God and receive from God, they must become child-like. The resistance we have to this, like the resistance people have towards having their feet washed on Maundy Thursday, is based ultimately on the pride that we take in our own self-image.
As parents and grandparents, we quickly learn that if we cannot get down on the floor or the grass or the sand alongside our children or grandchildren, then our interaction and relationship with them will be severely constrained. We become better parents and grandparents when we share our children’s and grandchildren’s experiences and interests. It is just the same in church, we become better Christians as we worship in ways that involve and engage children.
All too often as adults, we think we have everything to give to children and nothing to learn from them. That’s how Jesus’ first disciples also thought. They were wrong then and we are often wrong now in just the same way. Jesus says to us, as he said to them, Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it. And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them. May it be so with us too. Amen.
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Damien Rice - On Children.
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