Singing has been a part of worship since Old Testament times. God has given music to the church to help us participate, to let us have some activity, and to learn. Also music gives us the sense of joy that is part of all praise and worship.
To be suitable for children’s worship services, songs should:
1. have a singable tune,
2. have a specific purpose,
3. be thematic, and
4. be varied.
Dos and Don’ts of Children’s Worship
Don’t use music as a time killer (it cheapens the worship experience).
Do use visuals, such as PowerPoint® slides. If you don’t have PowerPoint® but do have a DVD player, use action DVDs that coordinate with your music. This is a great way to teach kids the motions to songs. Check out these action DVDs to get you started.
Do use songs with words and concepts that children will easily understand. If you do not have talented musicians to assist, you can make a band out of no band. You will need:
• a CD player
• music CDs
• visuals (PowerPoint® or DVDs)
The CDs are cued and ready for each service. This allows you to flow without dead spots, as if you had actual musicians in your service. You should know your music very well so you can lead with the CD as accompaniment rather than letting the CD lead you.
The Flow
Generally the flow of children’s worship should be fast, lively, action songs first. Follow with medium-paced songs and conclude with slow worship songs.
The Focus
To emphasize the focus or theme for the day, your selection of music needs to be thematic and inspirational. Ask God to guide you to the songs that will minister to the kids in your service and also make the point you are trying to get across.
The Function
Children sing action and medium-paced songs standing up. However, it has been my experience that children worship better sitting down. We usually ask them to close their eyes while worshipping. A worshipful atmosphere can be destroyed by someone losing his or her balance. If possible, dim the lights a little. This gives a quieter feeling. Enlist several children as worship backup singers, and they can encourage others to be expressive in worship.
Questions to consider—
1. How does your children’s ministry team use music—as a source of entertainment or as a learning/worship tool?
2. How would you rate your children’s ministry music library? What improvements can be made?
3. What can you do to assist your children’s ministry team in using music more effectively?
By Chris Daniel
Children’s Pastor, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
©2009 by Gospel Publishing House. Used by permission. Permission to reproduce for local church use.
1 comment:
I am concerned that this article implies that the only worshipful songs are the slow ones and that closing our eyes improves our worship.
The Bible teaches that we are to worship God every minute of our life. Worship is doing things in a way that brings glory and honor to God and is determined by our motivation not necessarily by what we are doing.
When children are saturated with this connotation of the word worship they may grow well into adulthood before they understand the true meaning of worship. And, some will never understand it and be spiritually impaired for their entire life.
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