CHILD DISCIPLESHIP THEOLOGY FAQs These questions were compiled over a season and the Session of Salem Pres took nearly a year to carefully think about and articulate these views. We hope you find it helpful, but of course the Session is available to discuss these things in person as well. ___________________________________________ ●
What are some resources that have been helpful in forming our vision for children in our congregation? Some things that could help families? Scripture : Some verses informing our view: http://tinyurl.com/nfpvk4s Reformed Tradition : Westminster Confession of Faith (WCF 25, 26, 28) White Horse Inn: Blog & Podcast This series of podcasts articulates reasons behind our theology of child discipleship and also offers alternative ways of thinking about child discipleship. The Gospel Coalition: A video on the role of parents in ministering to church kids Notre Dame Youth and Religion Study: http://youthandreligion.nd.edu/ This expansive study has been influential in the Christian landscape on identifying the ineffectiveness of youth ministries on developing committed Christians in adulthood. Children’s Bibles: Jesus Storybook Bible Gospel Storybook Bible Catechisms: Holly Dutton Catechism Songs on iTunes and Amazon Interactive Catechism App with commentary Songs for Saplings ●
What is our vision for the discipleship of children at Salem Presbyterian? Notice, that we intentionally use the word discipleship instead of ministry . We aren’t trying to create a vision for children’s ministry for the same reason we aren't trying to create a college ministry or medical ministry. The children of Christian parents, as revealed in scripture, are covenant members. In view of this reality, as a community that includes children in the covenant from a very early age, we believe that worship should be as intergenerational as possible. We encourage parents to include their children in our corporate worship as much as possible and as soon as possible. We take CHILD DISCIPLESHIP THEOLOGY FAQs ●
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seriously their need to worship with us. We believe that a young child’s participation in worship will make it easier for the child to learn the rhythm and lifestyle of worship in later years. How are we going to effectively communicate our vision? We try to communicate this vision for intergenerational worship at Discovering Salem, on our website, in our weekly update, during worship (community updates), and at periodic parenting forums. We believe this vision of intergenerational worship is based in scripture and we will continue to evaluate our application as Salem Presbyterian grows and changes. We want to emphasize what we value, not what we resist or disagree with. We welcome children in our worship service and we recognize that from certain church cultures this can be an adjustment for people. We are not interested in keeping kids OUT of childcare, but rather keeping kids IN worship. What kind of childcare is offered during the worship service? We understand the difficulty of keeping a young child in the worship service, and we offer a nursery for babies throughout the worship service. Parents are invited to take their children to the nursery at any point in the worship service. Preschoolers are also offered a special time of teaching during the sermon. Toddlers are encouraged to participate in worship up to the scripture reading. They return to the sanctuary during communion. We also offer Sunday­school at 4pm on Sundays for children K­8. What age should children integrate fully into worship? Probably Kindergarten, but each child is different. We hope that from an early age parents will expose their children to the worship service. When a child, in their parent’s judgment, is prepared for kindergarten, we feel this draws upon the same skill set that might enable them to sit through the whole worship service. Age divisions are flexible, please let us know how we can support you and accommodate your child if this structure does not work for them. What are some resources for helping parents who are struggling to understand the vision? Some families who have transitioned children or always included them in worship are the Milners, Cochranes, and Paytons They can be resources for those transitioning toddlers to worship participation. CHILD DISCIPLESHIP THEOLOGY FAQs ●
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Do we have plans to hire outside people for a childcare position during worship? Yes, our goal is to always have a childcare worker who is consistently present each week, knowing the needs of our children, building relationships and trust with parents, communicating specific children’s needs to members serving each week, and teaching the lessons for pre­schoolers. Otherwise, we have no plans to expand paid positions at Salem Pres. Where does the church get its curriculum? Ideally, the curriculum for pre­schoolers and our Sunday school would be prepared by Salem Pres members. The church would be willing to purchase materials if needed. ●
How can the church support parents who are overwhelmed with keeping kids in worship? The church should cultivate a culture of cooperation in the congregation, but if parents feel isolated or unhelped, they should speak with the elders about opportunities for improvement. ●
What is the purpose of their time apart from the service? The chief function is to enable parents to worship, pray, and listen. For pre­schoolers, we steward this time by offering a lesson during the sermon. ●
In what ways do we equip families to be the primary place for spiritual growth and development? The elders are always available to help families brainstorm for discipleship: using meal time to discuss scripture, integrating prayer into a family’s life, etc. In addition, we have resources on our website to help families use the Westminster Shorter Catechism to disciple their kids and recommendations on children’s Bibles. ●
How does the church help families integrate kindergartners to worship? First, the church welcomes children at any age to participate in the music, particularly the last song. This hopefully helps kids practice being a part of the worshipping community, though we appreciate this can be a struggle. In addition the elders: 1. Encourage parents to use resources on website to introduce the idea 2. Will meet with families one­on­one 3. Pose Q & As during community update CHILD DISCIPLESHIP THEOLOGY FAQs 4. Facilitate mentorships and collaboration amongst members ●
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Is there an ideal age for children to take communion? Do we have an age restriction? There is no age restriction. When a child expresses interest in communion, parents should let the elders know and the elders will interview the child in a similar way to new member interviews. It is not a test, but a process of ushering children into communing membership (taking the Lord’s supper). If it seems a child understands and accepts the vows of covenant membership, they will take their first communion and a huge celebration is encouraged! What are our plans for a youth group? At Salem Pres we see youth as an integral and active part of our worship service. As children mature they are encouraged to integrate into worship both on Sundays and in age appropriate small groups. We want to discourage cultural separation between our younger and older generations. We have no plans to hire a staff youth pastor. However, we fully expect that we will have age appropriate Bible studies and gatherings hosted by and initiated by our church members and elders. This desire is for middle­school and high­school students at Salem to be able to gather at lay­led, study and prayer centric, age appropriate gatherings. We hope that individuals might rise up in our congregation with a desire to lead such studies, meetings, and groups. For background information and data supporting our view, check out: White Horse Inn: Blog & Podcast This series of podcasts articulates reasons behind our theology of child discipleship and also offers alternative ways of thinking about child discipleship. Notre Dame Youth and Religion Study http://youthandreligion.nd.edu/ This expansive study has been influential in the Christian landscape on identifying the ineffectiveness of youth ministries on developing committed Christians in adulthood.