By Laura
It is interesting to me that family is such a central part of the Church, and yet families often do not go to church together. Well, they go to church together, but once they get there the kids are put in the care of others to have their own time of age-appropriate biblical learning, while the adults attend the main service without ‘distractions.’ As I have grown up, I have seen both positive and negative aspects of this practice in the church. Personally, I went through children’s Sunday school as a child, and later participated in multiple youth groups as a teenager. These were all great places to grow in my faith in fun ways with people my age, while my parents were able to have more in-depth teaching with older adults. This was good.
But at the same time, I think much could have been gained from eliminating such a big separation of age (and often gender). Parents are the ultimate role model that kids look up to and learn from, and I believe that I could have learned a lot from attending church services with my parents, even as a child, and observing how they worshiped, learned, and interacted with fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. There are times when I am under the impression that parents send their kids to child-specific programs to learn about God, and they feel that their duty to raise their children in the faith for that week is complete.
I don’t think there is anything wrong with having programs formatted for kids and others for adults, but I agree with Hugh Halter when he says, “Discipleship of the whole family must begin by handing back the primary ‘teacher’ role to the parents. Church-based ministry should augment- not replace- what they receive at home.” I don’t know if this means including children more in the main ‘adult’ life of the church or finding a better way to merge the two groups to incorporate families more, but I do know that children are likely to mature in their faith as they see their parents growing and living out their faith not just on Sunday, but on everyday of the week.
I agree with Jannah and think that there is a lot of good stuff that happens when kids can have their own Sunday school or youth groups. I think that that Hugh Halter quote is right on though and I believe it is crucial for the parents to be setting a continual example at home and spend time in family devotions or discussing what the kids are learning in their Sunday school or youth group.
Laura, I appreciate some of the comments you made. In my own opinion, I really like the opportunities offered in having Sunday schools and the age divisions. I think it can become a problem when it is the only spiritual teaching given to children and is not reinforced in the home. I know for myself, I loved going to Sunday school and did vacation Bible school and other evening youth groups and Bible clubs. It was always reinforced at home though. My parents made sure to be teaching us throughout the week so I would say that my experience in this was healthy. However, I can see where you’re coming from and where this could be detracting from the valuable teaching that can come from parents.