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WORSHIP ENGAGEMENT, PART 1

Some thoughts about engaging and equipping children to sit through a full worship service.

Our first response is to give these children something to keep them busy and entertained. A phone or tablet with a movie or video game will certainly distract a child - to the point that he or she is no longer a participant in the worship service. So what about “busy bags” as a solution?

I am troubled by the idea of "busy bags" or even "activity bags" as I think those words imply that we need to keep children busy during a worship service because they cannot worship. Instead, let’s consider ways to engage children in worship, in a developmentally appropriate way.

The Bible doesn’t say we have to pray sitting still, with our hands folded and our eyes closed. Scripture reading doesn’t have to be boring. If we want kids to connect with God and His Word in a meaningful way, we must help them.

The first step in engaging children in worship is:

  1. For parents to let children know what is expected of them during worship. Expectations will vary with the age of the child and the situation.
    • Perhaps children should stand during the hymns, even if they can’t read the words (over time they will learn the words by hearing them repeatedly in worship, or you can pick a few favorites and play them in the car or at home).
    • Or maybe your child can dance in place or play a quiet rhythm instrument along with the music (egg shakers are relatively quiet and cheap).
    • Children can understand from a young age that times of prayer are times for quiet stillness and can be taught that those times are not when they should ask whispered questions.
    • Children can memorize the Lord’s Prayer and pray it with the congregation.
  2. However, sitting perfectly still is not an expectation that makes sense for young children in worship. Research shows that physical activity — even a little foot-tapping or gum chewing — increases levels of the neurotransmitters in the brain that control focus and attention.
    • A subtle fidget may help block out distractions and fight boredom.
    • An effective fidget doesn’t distract from the primary task (worship) because it is something the child doesn’t have to think about. abbyDoodleTime
    • For example, doodling while sitting in a meeting or listening to a sermon enables you to better absorb what’s being said. Experiment with a variety of strategies; encourage your child to try different fidgets such as swinging her feet in her too big chair or squeezing his soft toy or fiddling with her ring or making shapes with pipe cleaners or coloring a Bible story picture.
  3. Being attentive during the sermon seems like a particularly daunting task. But a little planning and preparation can help your children not only be quiet, but also help them engage in the Word being preached.
    • Before worship, read the sermon Scripture with your children (if this is not normally provided in advance, ask your pastor for help with this).
    • Take a few moments before the service starts to review the student worship guide with your prereaders to give them instruction on what they will be hearing and what they can work on or think about during the sermon.
    • Hearing and thinking about the scripture in advance will help children engage in the scripture/sermon using Lego or Play Doh or pipe cleaners or Scripture Doodling to create something that reminds them of what they are hearing.
  4. Then, after worship, take time to process with your children what they heard and how they responded.
    • Have them tell you about their creations.
    • Ask them to retell the story using Lego.
    • Help them finish the puzzle in the worship guide.
    • Talk about the sermon points over lunch.
    • Share how you plan to apply what you heard in the coming week.
    • These actions will make worship a part of everyday life during the week, not just a weekly interruption.

For more suggestions of activities that encourage active listening, see this blog post by Christie Thomas.

By the way, are you wondering WHY we are working so hard to include children in worship? Jesus himself welcomed children and told us to be like them. We were all (from birth) created to worship and glorify God. The experience of being in a worship service immersed in practices that have been formational for generations and being with the people who make up the body of Christ is important to share as a family. Children will feel a sense of belonging and will know they have a place in our community. Here is a good article by Christina Embree summarizing recent findings on the importance of intergenerational worship.

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WORSHIP ENGAGEMENT, PART 2

Ideas for Worship Activity Bags

Regarding what to call these kits, I would encourage you to call them Worship Activity Bags rather than Busy Bags. We’re not trying to keep children busy; our hope is to engage them in worship.

Now that your children understand your expectations and you have agreed on some strategies to help them participate in the worship service (see Worship Engagement, Part 1, above), what exactly should be in your worship engagement toolkit?

I encourage you to gather the things that meet your children’s wants and needs. You know them best. Here are some suggestions to get you started, gathered from a number of Christian educators:

  • Children’s Bible and/or storybook Bible.
  • A pencil case with pencils, colored pencils, eraser, crayons, or markers.
  • Clipboard (for a hard writing surface for coloring sheets, puzzles, etc.
    OR laminate cardstock and use a binder clip to make cheap clipboards
  • A notebook for note taking and Scripture Doodling.
  • Dry erase board, Magna Doodle, or other erasable drawing board (these don't create waste like paper does).
  • Lacing cards for younger children.
  • Pipe cleaners (chenille stems) – to make objects that help retell the Scripture or to make figures to act out life application points. (A number of  people commented, including "Believe it or not, the pipe cleaners are a great fidget toy and one of the most popular items in the bag. I used to keep a bag of pipe cleaners in my boys' stuff when they were kids - best quiet toys ever!!!!")
  • A Bible figure for posing and fidgeting.
  • Books of the Bible or memory verse flash cards.
  • Worship bingo cards with worship activities and objects to watch for and key “church” words to listen for (laminate and include a dry erase marker for reuse each week).
  • Individually wrapped hand wipes or hand sanitizer.

For more suggestions of activities and supplies that encourage active listening, see this blog post by Christie Thomas.

Children's Bulletin or Activity/Coloring Sheets

If your church does not provide a children’s bulletin or student worship guide, you can easily make one up yourself. In advance, ask your pastor what the Scripture or sermon theme is for this week’s worship. Your favorite search engine will help you find coloring sheets and puzzles. Here are a few of my favorite sites:

Storage Containers

Find a sturdy bag or plastic tub to store and keep your supplies in.

Suggestions for containers to use for your Worship Activity Kits:
  • paper gift bags or lunch bags - families keep or dispose
  • ziplock bags (gallon or smaller) - can be kept, disposed of, or wiped clean
  • cloth bags (Oriental trading has them at reasonable prices)
  • plastic shoe boxes labelled for each family (filled with things they can wipe off. That way each family’s items are only used by them and they wipe them off. Keep the boxes at a check-in station so that no one else touches the other ones. Then they return them to a cart.)

There seem to be three schools of thought:

  1. worship kits in disposable bags (where the families keep the contents or they are thrown away after use),
  2. kits that are given to the families and they are responsible for bringing them back (and adding to them based on their kids' needs),
  3. and kits that need to be cleaned after use and are reused.

The best choice is different for each church based on size of church, budget, space, staffing,

Activity Sheets

Your favorite search engine will help you find coloring sheets and puzzles. Here are a few of my favorite sites:

This is the word search generator that I like to use.  I also usually include a generic sermon note page, such as these by Path Through the Narrow Gate (you may have to give your email to access this site, but you will receive lots of nice free coloring pages and things).

Teacher/Parents

Remember to talk with your children after the worship service about what they created as well as any application of the sermon in their lives. That will reinforce that the worship guide and activities are not busy work, but are something that relate to what the children are hearing, learning, and experiencing in worship.



  What else do you include in your worship kits?

Last edited by Luanne Payne

Over the years, I've run hot and cold on "worship bags." I've seen them become a distraction to both kids, parents, and others seated nearby. Yet I've heard parents say how helpful they were. Interestingly, in churches where we did not have them, I don't recall anybody asking for them.

If I had to pick just a few things, I'd only pick ONE actually:  the Magna doodle. They keep the kids' attention, don't create waste, ...and the "pencil" is attached with a string    Various websites sell a bunch of different brands/types/price points. Buy one to test it as some aren't made very well.

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Scripture Doodling

Is a quiet way to interact with God’s Word during worship. Doodling can help a child -- or adult -- engage with God’s Word at a pace that allows one to pause, reflect, and respond to the wisdom received. The whole time spent doodling a passage is spent thinking about the passage. In a way, Scripture Doodling is a form of meditation that helps the student engage the Bible more deeply. Doodling helps improve concentration as it prevents an individual from daydreaming.

What to doodle? Read the Scripture passage or prayer prompts and respond on paper with colored pencils or pens to these questions:

  • Is there a word or phrase the jumps out?
  • What visual comes to mind? (It might be a color, a shape or squiggle, a word, or a stick figure, a name.)
  • If I were going to explain this passage or prayer to someone else, what picture would help him understand?

Doodles should be spontaneous, self-paced, repetitive, and meaningless. Do not expect great art; it is just doodling. Celebrate this as an opportunity to help yourself or your kids connect with the Word on a deeper level and have fun!

(For early readers, this activity will be more fruitful if you read the passage together before worship begins.)

AbbyCropperLPdoodle

See the Scripture Doodling article for more information as well as a sample guided activity.

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