When I initially started this blog, I thought it would address the question we hear a lot as parents of young children in a house church: “What do you do with the kids?”
This question gets at what matters most to me. But the more I search the Bible and my own heart, the more I’m convinced it’s the wrong question.
No one asks, “What do you do with the middle aged men?” because the structure of most churches is already designed to accommodate them, and because we assume they play a vital part. What if churches didn’t favor one demographic over another, but encouraged people to learn from each other and grow together toward God?
I’m convinced this approach is closer to the heart of God. But it’s still the wrong question. I believe the purpose of the church is to live God’s present and coming kingdom together.
It’s not about accommodating kids, teens, singles or seekers. It’s not about you (or your kids) getting fed spiritually, or even about people getting saved.
It’s not about us.
It’s about pleasing our King. Together.
We crave order, so we create categories and hierarchies. But God is one. He sent the Holy Spirit to take your fragmented heart and give you one heart, and unite our hearts with each other and with him. This happens in family.
We’ve focused on being the church as a family for the last 6 years. Instead of accommodating or managing people, We ask our king how He wants to be worshiped and do only that. We’ve done this with 5-100 people, from newborn to elderly, across languages and cultures, at every level of spiritual maturity. Anyone who agrees to worship God the way He wants to be worshiped is welcome.
Sometimes, we don’t sing. Usually there’s no sermon. The Holy Spirit is there, every time. When people set aside their agenda and focus on blessing their king, he meets needs and satisfies desires better than we can. Really.
And more times than I care to admit, I’ve feared missing out because my kids needed me. I’ve felt the urge to dismiss my kids so I can get down to serious “ministry”. But God is using them to minister to me, and to other adults who are mature enough to receive them.
So when people ask me what the kids do while we’re in church, I think, “What don’t they do?” Our kids minister anywhere where they can be kids and function as part of the body of Christ. We don’t accommodate or exclude them, but we do assume they have something vital to contribute.
What questions does this post raise for you? Share them in the comments below so more families can take this from idea to reality.