I talked to Yancy briefly tonight about worship and the huge role it plays in what we do. We often talk about curriculum and what we teach as we should but I’m not sure if we discuss the importance of teaching our kids how to enter into worship. Here is what we do and why we do it.
1. Opening song – We always start with a high energy song that is usually just fun and doesn’t necessarily talk about God but gets kids moving and focused.
2. We take a few minutes to explain what are some of the ways we can praise God. What does the Bible says about what praise and worship is and why we do it.
3. 2-3 “Faster” worship songs – Our goal here is to help the kids have fun and still teach kids theology and prepare them to worship. We always try to pick songs that match songs that the Youth ministry does and Adult ministry does. I believe it’s important that even though our environments are different that the songs we sing are speaking the same thing.
4. 1-2 worship songs – Our goal here is to teach kids to connect to God themselves. Every song we sing leads to this point where kids can connect with Christ and learn the value of worship in their daily life. We want to lead kids to a transcendent moment where God can move on their hearts.
5. We close in either General Prayer for the service or specific prayer for what we feel God wanting us to pray for, healing, strength, courage ect… we try to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit.
We follow a similar format – from upbeat to slower and then sometimes a time of prayer after that. Can you expound more upon what your slower worship songs look like and how you lead the kids in those songs? I'm searching for ways to do better at "making space" for kids to connect with God during worship. Because the kids as so used to tons of noise and energy, I wonder if they're nearly falling asleep when we sing a slower song. How can we lead them in slower songs and at the same time teach them how to deeply connect with God in those moments? Just brainstorming ideas here.
Jesse thanks for your comment. We try to start worship by telling the kids what we are going to do then lead them into it then review with them what God did or what we feel God was speaking to us as leaders. The whole purpose of praise is to bring our kids to a place of worship where kids can connect. I personally believe that we need to create space and teach kids to wait on God. I know for us at least we can get so program driven and focused on time and lesson content that we can forget that what God wants to do in a service is what matters most. Have a plan if necessary modify the plan. Hopes that helps.
sam
thanks Sam
We only have 25-30 minutes in small group, so we often have to do only 1 song each time. But the important thing is always talking about what you're doing before doing it. Adds meaning, importance, and relevance to whatever we are doing!
We follow a similar format – from upbeat to slower and then sometimes a time of prayer after that. Can you expound more upon what your slower worship songs look like and how you lead the kids in those songs? I'm searching for ways to do better at "making space" for kids to connect with God during worship. Because the kids as so used to tons of noise and energy, I wonder if they're nearly falling asleep when we sing a slower song. How can we lead them in slower songs and at the same time teach them how to deeply connect with God in those moments? Just brainstorming ideas here.
Jesse thanks for your comment. We try to start worship by telling the kids what we are going to do then lead them into it then review with them what God did or what we feel God was speaking to us as leaders. The whole purpose of praise is to bring our kids to a place of worship where kids can connect. I personally believe that we need to create space and teach kids to wait on God. I know for us at least we can get so program driven and focused on time and lesson content that we can forget that what God wants to do in a service is what matters most. Have a plan if necessary modify the plan. Hopes that helps.
sam
thanks Sam
We only have 25-30 minutes in small group, so we often have to do only 1 song each time. But the important thing is always talking about what you're doing before doing it. Adds meaning, importance, and relevance to whatever we are doing!