How to Make Church Meaningful with Young Kids: Lessons Learned and Encouragement for Moms
- melissalacount
- Jul 1, 2024
- 6 min read
To the mom chasing after her littles, God sees you.
To the mom sitting in the nursery instead of the sanctuary, God sees you.
As a devoted follower of Christ, being in church every week, attending conferences, and joining prayer meetings are important. We are meant to be in community, to be equipped to grow God’s Kingdom. It gives us an opportunity to learn more about God’s character and to sharpen other believers around us. However, being present in church and prayer meetings can be challenging when you have young children. But that doesn’t diminish the importance of being there.
Trust me, I know that sometimes it would be so much easier just to stay home, to avoid dealing with the kids running around, or the distractions that come with having little ones in church.
But what if we shift our focus a bit? What if instead of thinking about all the ways our kids will distract us from hearing the message, we focus on how we can show the love and grace of Jesus to our children? What if instead of feeling isolated because we have to sit in the back or in the nursery, we use that time to sit in the presence of the Lord and invite Him into those moments?
Momma, I want to encourage you not to be discouraged or frustrated. Instead, focus on Jesus. Ask Him what He wants to teach you in this season. Invite Him into those moments and allow His love and grace to overflow from us to our children.
A couple of weeks ago, we were at church with our four kids (7, 4, 2, and a newborn). Our rambunctious two-year-old doesn’t like to sit still, so we spent most of the service walking around with her, moving from nursery to sanctuary. Our church building is small, so there weren’t many places she could go. I was getting frustrated and started questioning if we should just pack up and head home early. When our daughter would get up and walk around, our four and seven-year-olds wanted to “help” and followed us around.
I stopped and asked God for peace, patience, and help to show more grace towards my children. I grabbed some coloring books and crayons we brought, and with my newborn in hand, I invited our two-year-old to sit with me on the floor at the back of the church.
Now it may sound silly, but while I was sitting on the floor, coloring with my daughter and listening to the message, I started to tear up. “Thank You, Jesus, for this moment.” It was a beautiful and humbling experience. I thought to myself, if I have to sit on the floor at the back of the church every single week, that’s okay. It is the season we are in right now, and I know that God will provide and bless us in this season.
While this season is challenging, I wouldn’t trade it for the world. There will come a day when all four kids are sitting quietly next to us in service, and I will miss those tiny feet running around and the sweet snuggles when they get tired in the middle of service and need to be held.
In this season, God has been teaching us so much. We are learning to be patient. We are learning to humble ourselves before the Lord and allow His strength to guide us. He is showing us what His love and grace look like and how we can show that love and grace to our children.
In the process, we are showing our kids what is truly important. For us, church is not an option; it’s a way of life. It’s a community that we belong to, and therefore, our children see the importance and power of a God-fearing and Christ-centered community.
As parents, we cannot force our children to love and serve the Lord, and we cannot control if they will be saved or not. But what we can do is model the Christ-follower lifestyle in our home. We can share the love and grace of Jesus with them and make our relationship with Christ the most important thing. We all know that kids learn more from what they see than what they hear.
I want to live in a way that honors God and points my children to the One who created them. One way I can do that is to continue to attend church, even when it’s inconvenient.
Let me also say this - I understand that every week is different. There are some weeks when we feel like God is saying it’s okay to stay home and connect as a family at home. That’s okay too. Every family is different, and every week is different. For us, it’s important to be obedient to Christ. There have been days when it seems impossible to get the kids ready and in the car without a fight, when I am frustrated and fall short of showing my family grace. I believe those moments are used as an attack from the enemy, keeping us from being obedient and going to church. It’s those weeks that once we are in church, I feel such peace and know that we need to be there.
Have you ever experienced that? You know, those moments in worship and the messages that, when you hear them, you feel like the preacher is speaking directly to you? I believe that is a blessing and a touch from God. It’s a reminder that you are where you are supposed to be. He blesses our obedience.
Last summer, our family attended a camp meeting here in Northern NY. If you aren’t familiar with camp meetings, they are weekends filled with prayer, worship, teachings, and fellowship. At the time, we had three kids (6, 3, and 1), and as you can probably imagine, we had our hands full. We only went for the day on that Saturday instead of camping and attending the entire weekend, but it still brought challenges. Our one-year-old had just learned to walk and, as you all probably know, she did not like to sit still. Bryant and I took turns chasing after the kids and calming our active and strong-willed girl.
During a time of prayer and worship, the overwhelm of running after the kids and the frustration of not being able to be fully present in the message and worship brought me to tears. I held our daughter in one hand, lifted my other hand toward Jesus, and worshiped Him. I asked Him for peace. I contemplated leaving early because that would have been way easier than staying.
At that moment, one of the women attending the camp meeting, who was sitting across the tent from us, walked over and asked if she could pray for me. As she spoke, she told me that God sees my heart and sees me in these difficult moments. He sees the sacrifices I make as a mom and that He will meet me in these moments. She encouraged me not to worry about my kids distracting the people around me and reminded me that this is just a season.
There will be a time when the kids are grown, and I will miss these moments. It was such a sweet reminder, and I thanked God for sending this woman to speak to me and encourage me when I was so overwhelmed.
Isn’t God just so faithful to show us His glory and goodness even in the moments we least expect it?
In the moments when I feel like I’m not strong enough to handle the tantrums, the running around, and the chaos that sometimes comes when we try to go anywhere with four kids, I am reminded of what Paul says in 2 Corinthians, “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” - 2 Corinthians 12:9-10.
I want to encourage you today, to give your weakness, your frustrations, and your worries to the Lord. He is faithful to provide what we need in these seasons of motherhood.
God, I lift the person reading this up to You right now. I pray that You meet them in those moments when they feel overwhelmed with the weight of parenting. I pray that they will experience Your love and grace in a mighty way today. Lord, I thank You for the person reading this, I thank You for their life and the influence they have in their families. Give us the strength to keep going on those hard days. Remind us, Lord, to rely on You and You alone to carry us through. Thank you Jesus for Your love. We love You, we honor You. In Jesus' mighty name, Amen ❤️
Until next time,
Melissa
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