We know that many children go home after Sunday school because their parents do not attend with them. The situation is different in churches where there are special worship services for the boys and girls. Children usually stay for jun ior church whether their parents are with them or not. It is during this time that they may find Christ as their personal Saviour. Much can be learned about God’s Word in junior church. Relationship to the Pastor Every child in church should know his pastor. This is difficult in most adult churches. It is even more difficult for a child to know his pastor well enough to feel free to talk to him about his problems. However, a child has an opportu nity to know his junior church pas tor well. The relationship is inti mate and warm. The child gains confidence in his pastor and can talk freely with him concerning many things. This does not detract from the child’s relationship with the adult church pastor. Rather, through the junior church pastor, the child can come to love and trust the adult church pastor. And because of the close relation ship in the junior church the pas tor or one of his assistants can keep an accurate record of attendance. They follow through immediately with a get-well card or a home visit when the child is absent. This pro cedure keeps children coming to church and Sunday school. This is especially important inasmuch as a majority of children drop out of all Sunday school and church activ ities by the time they are 45. Educating the Child for Worship The junior church is, of course, an educating medium for the child. There he learns to appreciate the worship service. As children gain experience in junior church, they will grow to love worship services. There will be many struggles and even disappointments as you begin your junior church. Don’t be discouraged during the first ex perimental weeks. You will soon experience great blessing from it as you see the children come to a bet ter knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ through this service designed for them. END.
Shall We Have a Junior Church? by Clyde M. Narramore
w V V asn’t that a w o n d e r f u l service,” said Mrs. Thomas to a friend as she came out of the church. “ Yes, but I’m not sure about those plans the pastor mentioned for junior church.” And many Christians have a question mark in their minds about junior church. The few adults who had the privilege of attending jun ior church in their childhood are usually much in favor of it. But others are raising their eyebrows, and wondering just what to think. Junior Church is not a continu ation of Sunday school. Neither is it a daily vacation Bible school. It is a worship service geared in every respect to boys and girls. It is de signed to give children what the regular service offers grownups. Ability to Understand Junior churches are springing up all over America because their pro grams are geared to the child’s mental and physical development. Much of what takes place in a reg ular worship service is very unin teresting to immature minds. For example, a child may understand very little of the vocabulary that is used in adult church. Even hymns do not mean as much as they should unless they are explained. Take for example, Oh, Worship The King or Crown Him With Many Crowns. If the minister speaks so that the children can understand, the adults sometimes lose interest. However, the pastor in a junior church stays on the level of his audience. We must remember that children are not adults in miniature. They should not be expected to concen trate or sit still very long. The lack
of body coordination and the rapid growth of certain parts of their bodies du r i n g childhood makes them wiggle. The junior church can meet the need for physical ac tivity. There children have more op portunity to stand up and sit down. The periods of “ sitting” are shorter. And at the same time by provid ing a junior church there has been eliminated the unavoidable disturb ance that youngsters cause in adult church. A wiggly child can be an noying to both congregation and speaker. As we’ve noted, children just cannot be expected to sit still like grownups. The fault is neither the child’s nor the parents’. It’s just the way God made children. And the answer is the junior church where the service is fitted to the child’s interest span. It’s an unfortunate fact that thousands of children grow up to resent the adult church service. As children they were required to sit t h r o u gh the “ lecturing” which meant very little to them. They came to inwardly despise it. When t h e y b e c ame old enough, they stopped going to church. But with junior church which children like, they eagerly move right into adult church when they are old enough. The Child's Participation Most of us get out of a worship service just what we put into it. Yet, how actively can children take part in adult worship services? But children can take part in the junior worship service. One may play the piano or organ, some may be ushers and others may sing in the choir. Active participation in the service is much more valuable to young sters than merely sitting still for an hour.
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The King's Business/J anuary 1958
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