Let me assure you that what follows is not written by an expert in child-rearing! All of us who have trained children in worship have faced great challenges along the way. This article is written possibly to give principles from both Scripture and experience that might help us train our young children in worship.

It seems obvious to me that the Lord wants us to have our children present in public worship. How can we "bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord" (Eph. 6:4), if we do not include them in such a vital part of Christian living as worship? Just as Jesus taught the disciples, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them" (Mk 10:14), we ought to see that each of us do our best to bring our children to Christ. Is that not THE major goal of a Christian parent? If so, the following 12 principles ought to be considered…

One... Planning Principle. The success of so many things depends on the amount of planning that goes into them. Such is true about training children in worship. We must plan for success and then work our plan. If we do not plan the training of our children in worship then it most likely will not happen!

Two... Preparation Principle. Equal to planning is the value of preparation. it is highly suggested that this principle be taken seriously. Preparing our children for worship will include such things as making sure they get enough sleep and nutrition to be able to pay attention in worship. Also, bathroom breaks and drinks of water should be taken before worship begins. In addition, any obstacles that will get in our way of training them, or any obstacles that will get in their way of learning, should be removed.

Three... Practice Principle. Most things that are new take practice. Such is beneficial in training our children in worship. I do not know how many children I have seen who hold their own "services" at home during the week by singing, praying, preaching, etc. This type of "practice" surely helps!

Four... Prayer Principle. If we are concerned about training our children for worship we ought to be praying about it. In addition, it seems like it would be very beneficial to pray WITH our children about it. Let them hear you pray for them and their training in worship!

Five... Purpose Principle. We ought regularly to tell our children WHY we worship. They need to know the purpose of our assembly and the acts of worship. This is one "WHY" that we ought to answer!

Six... Procedure Principle. We adults follow worship procedure found in the New Testament. Should we not teach our children this same procedure? Should they not only know the WHY, but also know the HOW? In addition, our pattern in life is Christ. If we are following him then they can follow Him by following us. What a grave responsibility!

Seven... Participation Principle. We ought to encourage our young ones to participate. At times I have heard some of our youngest members sing with joy in their hearts not fearing what others might think when they are off key. We should encourage them to participate in every act of worship. Help them find the songs in the book and point to the words they are to sing. Help them bow to pray. Help them pay attention to the sermon and look up passages that are used.

Eight... Priority Principle. One thing our children ought to know when we worship is that worship takes priority over other activities. it should not be viewed as a leisure time of playing, eating, or crawling under the bench; rather, it should be seen as a time of reverence to God!

Nine... Persistence Principle. Only when children are trained on a regular basis will they really be taught how to worship. As in all discipline, our failure to do it on a regular, continual basis will prove to be fatal. We actually promote misbehavior when we use such inconsistency in training. We are looking for persistence, not perfection!

Ten... Patience Principle. If we ever need patience in anything we need it in training our children for worship. They will not begin worshiping like adults, and we should not be crushed when they do not. We must have patience along with persistence in this area.

Eleven... Praise Principle. All the statistics I have read show that all of us, including our children, perform much better when we are praised for our efforts. This will go a very long way in training our children in worship. On occasion, when they absolutely will not cooperate, take them out. Use the "crying room" if needed. But, by all means don't take them out to play. If you do they will associate playing with being taken out!

Twelve... Pleasure Principle. Does worship give you pleasure? Are you happy to come? Do you worship because we "have to," because we are "expected to." Just as well, they will notice if we worship because we want to. They will see our joy! They will share our excitement and enthusiasm!