Spiritual Formation in the Nursery

I just finished a paper for Bethel Seminary on spiritual formation for children and the role of the church nursery. To be honest, I had never really considered the importance the nursery – which is embarrassing considering I’ve sent two of my own kids through the nursery.

The Church’s nursery ministry is real ministry. It is multifaceted and has a tremendous impact on the entire church. Many parents and volunteers mistakenly approach the church nursery as nothing more than a “babysitting” service for parents in the church. In fact, the church nursery provides a first impression for many new families, respite and training for young parents, and the child’s first contact with the family of God.

The truth is that if parents are not comfortable with the care their children are receiving, they will not concentrate on the services or fully worship God. They might not even come back to the church.

Children form their image of God in the context of relating to their parents and other significant adults. This means that as a church we have the responsibility to not only teach our kids about God, but to exemplify His loving nature in our interactions with our children and with one another. We need to a family-based children’s ministry with adults discipling children one on one and in groups. This type of ministry involves not just individual families but the entire church family from singles through seniors.

Through my research it became clear that the biggest challenge at First Assembly is finding, recruiting, training, and inspiring nursery volunteers. This is something that needs to be addressed at the very highest levels of the church. We must begin to encourage everyone to participate in the discipling of children -- whether that means volunteering in the nursery, inviting children to participate in small group experiences, training and equipping young parents, or simply welcoming children into special cross-generational worship events -- We all have a role to play.

Comments

[Lori Eilers]

I'm sooo glad you feel this way. I believe God has brought me to First AG for this time and purpose and am excited to see what He has in store for us and our precious babies. I have had this philosophy for a long time and it is challenging to get others to catch the vision but I think the key is getting the whole church "on the same page." Thanks!