Children and Worship

You’ve probably heard the problem yourself a time or two – there’s a young child in church, probably sitting right behind you who is not having a good morning at all, or perhaps it’s even your own child sitting right next to you. Midway through the sermon, the crying starts. Now which do you think is the better thing to do? Should small children be kept in the nursery? Should older children have their own children’s church, or should the children be kept in the church? How do we decide an issue like that? Do we decide it on the basis of adult comfort or on the children’s spiritual needs. And what are the spiritual needs that children have? This is Dr. John Oberdeck. Today I’m hosting and sitting in for Kay Meyer for the Family Shield program. Our guest is Dr. Shirley Morganthaler, Professor of Early Childhood at Concordia University, River Forest, IL, and director of the Kid’s Faith program.