Rev. Dr. Stanley Long
on
Welcoming Children
In this uplifting video, Co-Director of Welcoming Children Into Worship Rev. Dr. Stanley Long, pastor emeritus of South Bay Community Church in Fremont, CA, explains the rationale of SOBCC's intergenerational services. He challenges us to see young people not as spectators, but as vital participants with unique gifts to offer. From singing and dancing to scripture reading and media tech, he shares practical ways to involve children and teens in every aspect of the Sunday morning worship experience. Coaching children and rewarding their efforts with certificates and gifts are ways to encourage them to participate.
The Curriculum
Do children matter to the Lord? The answer is "Yes!" Children are the center of God's story beginning at the beginning. Envision how God engages and equips children with this blueprint, Children In The Pentateuch: A Theological Basis for Intergenerational Worship.
MasterClasses
Explore the "why" and "how" of practical spiritual formation strategies for intergenerational worship from seasoned educators and authors; then tailor these principles to your unique congregational setting.
In this interactive session, Professor Ahyuwani Akanet, PhD, Managing Director of Faith and Children, shared the "both-and" approach to intergenerational worship, which pairs both developmentally appropriate classes for children and children's participation in service during Sunday worship. How wonderful to keep both models! We were challenged and inspired to begin with small steps, and to begin now.
Dr. Lisa Allen-McLauren, Associate Dean and Professor of Worship, Music, and Spirituality at the Methodist Theological School in Ohio, shared suggestions from her book, The OneWord Worship Model, which encourages a central scriptural focus for praise/worship, dance, choir, and preaching. The goal is that worshipers capture a single theme from the service. This session is peppered with practical tips on how to weave children into congregational worship, which affirms some of the practices pastors are already implementing in their Sunday morning worship services.
For our project pastors, we conducted a survey of their communities to find out the family composition of those living within a 10-mile driving radius of their churches. The churchanswers.com "Know Your Community" assessment demonstrated that communities are changing from African American to majority Hispanic/Latino. Pastors and their congregants are welcoming their neighbors to church, inspired with a new perspective and practical suggestions from Dr. Montserrat Baños, Director of Children's Initiatives at the Mexican American Catholic College. She holds a PhD in Philosophy from the Universidad Panamericana, Mexico City, and has taught at several universities. She and her husband have six children. There was so much to learn, that her session is divided into two parts. Enjoy!
