Reaching the next generation in our church plant
CMS missionaries Colin & Catherine Puffett serve in France, where they are helping establish a church community which focusses on discipleship and relationship evangelism. Here, Catherine reflects on the joys and challenges of engaging children in their small church gatherings.
‘Kids themselves are an excellent source of questions. They often open our eyes to things we have taken for granted, or simply never noticed.’
Planting a church is great fun, most of the time. We get to imagine new ways of doing things, experiment with them, abandon some, and then try again. Here in France, we have been doing just that: trying, failing, and trying again.
At the start of our church plant, our two children were the only kids there. In God’s kindness, our church plant has grown to include nine regular kids!
Our church plant has a monthly celebration service, and the rest of the weeks we are in small groups. This means we need two types of children’s ministry: one for the big group celebration, and one adapted to small groups.
Including children in our monthly celebration
In our monthly celebration, the kids join us for worship with percussion instruments, and listen to the Bible with us. Sometimes we also share a kids’ talk. Then, they head to a program where they learn the same story as us in church. At the end of the service, we always get the kids to report in with the adults.
This mutual encouragement of reflecting and discussing what we have learnt is an extremely fruitful part of our kids’ ministry. It is part of our vision for parents to regularly engage with their kids around the powerful Word of God.
Engaging children in small groups
In the other weeks, we have had a harder time. In small groups, we can have no kids, one or two, or indeed more kids than adults. It isn’t the same kids every week either.
We use a Bible storytelling model, and delve into the same five questions every week. The kids usually excel at the first two questions: “What do you like about this story?” and “What questions can we ask about it?”
Kids themselves are an excellent source of questions. They often open our eyes to things we have been taking for granted, or simply never noticed. Since we tell the story out loud, we are all on the same footing–adults and kids–as we hear and reflect on the story together. But, during the hour-long discussion for adults, the kids tend to get a bit wriggly. As much as possible we want to live this time as the gathered people of God—including the kids.
We currently have an adult dedicated to including the kids, preparing and giving them related activities, or being ready to act as the creche-minder. This often takes form as the kids take over the dining room table for craft projects while listening to the discussion, or the toddlers having a collection of toys on a rug, in the middle of a circle of adults discussing around them.
As God grows this church, we will keep adapting, being challenged, and working to raise up the new generation to know and love the Lord.
PRAY
Give thanks for the many ways Catherine & Colin’s church helps children engage with the gospel and be equipped in God’s Word. Pray that they may grow to be faithful and mission-minded disciples.