Many American Churches have a practice that is commonly known as “Children’s Church”. During the sermon (or sometimes the whole service), the younger children of the church are taken to another room where they have their own “church”, and where the instruction is geared more toward their age level.
This practice is relatively new in the grand scheme of things. Throughout most of church history, this practice did not exist. There is a reason for that. It used to be that when Christians wanted to know how to do things, they would read a particular old book that gave them instruction in every area of life. In more modern times, Christians tend to get their ideas from the traditions of men, rather than that old book. That book, of course, is the Bible.
Does the Bible teach that children should have their own separate “church”, while the adults go to big people’s church?
In the Bible, when God’s people assembled, God wanted them to bring their children with them. Here are some verses that show us this:
“All of you stand today before the LORD your God…all the men of Israel, your little ones and your wives…” (Deut. 29:10-11, all quotes are from the NKJV)
“…you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing. Gather the people together, men and women and little ones…that they may hear and…learn to fear the LORD…” (Deut. 31:11-12)
“There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded which Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel, with the women, the little ones…” (Josh. 8:35)
“Now all Judah, with their little ones, their wives, and their children, stood before the LORD. (2 Chron. 20:13)
“Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children and the nursing babies…” (Joel 2:16)
These passages also speak to the reasons that most churches make use of the Children’s Church. One common reason is that children make noise and therefore are a distraction for the rest of the congregation. Did God not know that children sometimes make noise? Surely He did, and yet He still wanted children (even “nursing babies”) to be present in the gatherings of His people. Sometimes adults make noise in church (especially during cold & flu season), but we don’t kick them out of the service. If a baby or child is being particularly distracting, the simple solution is to take them into the foyer until they calm down.
Another reason given for removing the children from the worship service is that children simply can’t understand the sermon and therefore need their own simplified instruction. While there certainly is a need for children to be taught at their level, I would argue that this should be done by their parents (Deut. 6:7, etc.). But again, did God not know what a child can understand and what they can’t? God does know that a “little one” won’t grasp everything that is said in the sermon, and yet, God wanted those little ones there anyway. Furthermore, when God called His people together (including the “little ones”), it was for the reading of “all the words of the law” (Deut. 31:11-12; Josh. 8:34-35). I’m sure there was a toddler or two in that assembly that didn’t fully understand the whole book of Numbers or Leviticus! But God wanted them to be present anyway.
Children do, however, pick up more than you might think. There is a story from Scotland, in the 1600s, about a preacher named John Brown who was charged by his own church with sorcery. His crime? He taught his son to read and write in English and Greek. His son was four years old at the time. People couldn’t believe that a child that young could be literate in two languages at that early of an age; sorcery had to be involved. Fortunately, Brown was found innocent, and the charges were dropped.
The idea of having children present during the whole worship service is not just an Old Testament idea (though we should assume it carries over into the New Testament, unless the NT shows us otherwise, and it does not). Over in the New Testament, if we look carefully, we can see the same idea.
The New Testament epistles (written by Paul, Peter, John, etc.) were letters that were often written to a particular church and were read to the congregation of that church (compare Rev. 1:3 with 2:1, 2:8, 2:12, 2:18, 3:1, 3:7, 3:14). These epistles were also passed around to other churches to be read during the weekly gathering of the church (Col. 4:16). In the book of Colossians, Paul gives commands to various family members (3:18-21). First, he says “Wives, submit to your own husbands…”, then he says “Husbands, love your wives…”, and “Fathers, do not provoke your children…”. Paul doesn’t say “Pastors, tell the husbands/fathers and wives to do such and such…”, but rather he address the husbands and wives directly. This assumes that both husbands and wives would be present in the meeting to hear the instruction being given as Paul’s letter was being read to the congregation. But Paul doesn’t just address spouses and parents, he also says “Children, obey your parents…” (see also Eph. 6:1). This assumes that children would be present in the meeting of the church even when Paul’s letters (that are full of difficult doctrine, 2 Pet. 3:15-16) were being read to the congregation.
There is no command, pattern, or example in Scripture of anything like Children’s Church. It is an invention of man. The Bible is clear: when God’s people gather to worship, the children need to be present there as well.