Teaching Kids To Worship God

In the summer of 1996, I was the guest speaker at a Kids Camp in Fergus Falls, MN. During worship, I sat behind the puppet stage with my ice-breaker puppet, waiting for the local Kids Pastor to introduce me.

I couldn’t see anything except the curtains of the puppet stage, but I suddenly sensed the presence of the Holy Spirit in a powerful way. It dawned on me that something was happening out there. I felt kind of left out, so I peeked my head out from behind the stage and saw a sight I will never forget.

Every child, teenager, and counselor was passionately worshipping Jesus. Kids were on their knees, and some were at the front weeping before the Lord. Tears began to stream down my face as I watched these children.

I had never seen children worship like this. I might have a few who worship passionately, but there always were some kids messing around during worship or just sitting there doing nothing.

I thought, “How did these kids learn to worship like this?”

One thing I knew for sure was that this was not an accident. Somebody has been working with these kids.

Do you want to see the kids in your class worship like this? You can, but it takes effort and time.

Here are five things I have learned about teaching kids to worship God.

• Live Worship is more anointed than video worship. Today, most churches use videos to lead kids in worship.  This needs to change if we want our kids to experience God’s presence.

• You need some boys or young men on the platform. I have found that the boys will not enter in if no boys are on the worship team.

• Have some leaders on the floor. Encourage your volunteers and peer leaders to participate in worship. Remind them that the kids are watching what they do.

• Families need to worship together sometimes. Kids learn to worship by watching their parents. Many churches have gotten away from this, but we need to bring it back. Families must have opportunities to worship together.
  
  In Matthew 21:12-16, we read about Jesus’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Then Jesus went into the temple and turned the tables of money changers. After this, he brought the blind and lame into the temple and healed them. The children began to worship him and say, “Hosanna to the son of David.”
  
  That doesn’t sound like ‘kid talk’ to me. Where did these kids learn how to worship? Verse 9 tells that their parents were saying the same thing: “Hosanna to the son of David” just a few minutes earlier. These kids were copying their parents, and it was powerful. So powerful that it made the Pharisees angry.
  
• Teach your kids how to worship. Kids don’t know how to worship automatically. If I want the kids in my class to do something, I must teach them how. Kids are like little sponges. If you teach them what the Bible says, they will do it.

As you teach your kids about worship, I’m confident you will see positive results. Don’t give up. Keep running your race, and keep teaching kids about God.

I have some good news. In a few short weeks, we will launch a new curriculum entitled The Life of David.

The Life of David is a six-week curriculum focusing on David’s love for God. I recently taught these lessons to the kids in my class, and they made a world of difference in their participation in the worship part of our service.

For more info about Life of David, CLICK HERE.

New Monday With Mark, click the image below to watch on YouTube now!