Children in Church

As I was sitting in church on a recent Sunday with a wiggly four year old on my lap, a snuggly six year old next to me and my other five offspring seated nearby I had a brief moment of wondering why I put myself through this extra work. Our last church was family integrated and there was no other option but to keep the children with us, so I was used to the parenting in the pew lifestyle. It was different in this new church. Keeping my kids in church when I am pretty much the only one doing it,  seems like an odd choice. There are sweet people in the nearby classrooms who would love to relieve me of my children for a few hours while I listen to the sermon.
As I listened to the sermon and monitored the children's wiggles I thought about the reasons why I continue to keep my kids with me.

Napping in church

1. It gives me another opportunity to see if they respect what I have to say, will they actually listen to me when I ask them to sit quietly or will they defy me?

2. It gives them an opportunity to see adults worshipping God, it seems like the kids who sit with their peers end up being less comfortable singing or even lifting up holy hands to the Lord, I don't want my children inhibited in this way.

3. It gives them an opportunity to grow in knowledge. Instead of a short 5 minute Bible story and then a
half hour of talking veggies, my children have the opportunity to hear whole chapters of the Bible read and explained.

Although I don't think it is erroneous for parents to put their children in class, especially homeschool parents who are theoretically spending plenty of time parenting their own children, it was good for me to reiterate to myself why I was going through the extra effort of teaching these children to sit still in big church when it might be an easier option to send them to class. Amazingly, at the end of today's service, my four year old, who seemed to be quite distracted during the service, turned to me and said, "I love God". Can you imagine what the big people sermon was about? The love of God.

Church, it is not just for adults.