Worship Weblog

Oakland Book Group – Third Meeting

Posted by cicw

Monday, November 30th, 2009

Book Groups

We invited 34 book groups across the U.S. and Canada to meet and discuss The Church of All Ages and its implications for their worship, and to share their notes here.
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What are some of our “best practices” and “best motivations” when it comes to including children and youth in corporate worship?

Kara reaffirmed: Sunday worship is the one time we are all together as one body. It’s a shared experience that builds a collective history that should include kids. It’s the one place where the Gospel is regularly proclaimed in a setting that pictures the Kingdom. If we don’t include kids we’re missing a part of the Kingdom.

Cathy shared about their small group: Our Friday night meetings were fully kid-inclusive. We’d eat dinner and then sing all together. An adults would share a “Children’s Nugget” lesson (usually a simple version of the adult lesson). The kids would then leave for 45 min. of play while the adults had their lesson and discussion. The kids then returned for Communion.

Bill recalled: It was great sharing around the circle, just something simple like “What are you thankful for?” And often it was the kids who shared the most amazing things.

Lara cautioned: The one down side was that the kids’ presence sometimes limited what the adults felt comfortable sharing. The adults did need some kid-free time.

Lara recalled: Kids can participate in breakout groups after the lesson. Sometimes we used a simple set of “Five Questions”: What did you like, what did you not like or were confused by; what did you learn about people; what did you learn about God; how does this apply to you?

Thea asserted: So much depends on actual, ongoing relationships between adults and kids. Without those relationships, nothing else will really get very far.

Serate [a high school student] added: People my age just want something relevant, something they can relate to.

Cathy noted: What really communicates is stories. There are whole movements dedicated to an orality-based, storytelling approach to Scripture, e.g., www.storyrunners.com. We need to get our people to tell their stories more, and to relate them to stories from the Bible.

Shauna observed: Adults have lots to gain from kids in worship. I’ve had many experiences of my worship being enriched by kids. Also, some of my sweetest times in Scripture have been when I was a storyteller in Children’s Ministry. There is something really profound about entering the gospel stories literally as a child. Kara’s Sunday Scripture readings there on the floor with the kids have been superb. There’s definitely something for everyone in a clear, simple message that engages with mystery and wonder.

Jeremy added: The guitar class kids have been great and we hope to get them up front–but it’s tricky when some are ready and others are not.

Cat reminisced: When I was growing up I played piano for the adult choir. Seeing adults worshipping and them seeing me up front did a lot for my sense of belonging, even though the service made no particular effort to be youth-friendly.

Dan noted: The main challenge with different generations worshipping together is that they differ in their abilities and capabilities.

Tags: bgoakland, Book Groups 2009, intergenerational