RELEVANT CHILDREN'S MINISTRY

I was recently sitting in a church service.  In front of me in the other section of seats, I noticed the teenagers of the church were sitting together on about the 3rd row.

The fact that they were sitting up front together was a good thing.

But one thing that stood out to me was this.  Not one of them was singing.  Zero.  Nada.  They were simply not engaging with the service.

It caused me to ponder why they were not engaging with the worship time.  Why were they just standing there with no emotion? Lips closed or yawning.

Perhaps it's because the music style is much different than what they listen to during the week?  Most of the songs they are being asked to sing to were written decades and in some cases even hundreds of years ago.

I believe it is important to have songs that are current and relevant for today's young people.  Not songs that were written for a group of people that lived a long time ago.

Why is it we are asking kids to sing songs that were written for a previous generation?  I believe that God gives each new generation new songs that express worship in their time in history.  When this happens kids will connect and be able to say...

"He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God.  Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD."  Psalm 40:3

Perhaps another reason why they are not singing is because they have not been asked to help lead worship?  Stats show that kids who get involved in serving will stick with their faith and not walk away.  Yes, the kids in our churches are the church of tomorrow.  But they are also the church of today.  They can help lead and make a big difference in the church today.

If you want row 3 to start worshiping, then give them the opportunity to help lead worship.

Perhaps another reason they are not singing is because they can't relate to the person leading the worship?  It's difficult to get teens excited about worshiping when the leaders are the age of their great grandparents.

Does this mean the entire worship team needs to be young?  Is that what I am saying?  Not all of the worship team has to be young, but if you want to engage today's students, then they should be able connect with and relate to the people who are leading them.  A good percentage of the worship team should be from a younger generation.

Those are the 3 big reasons why I believe row 3 is not singing.  What do you think?  Why do you think teenagers don't sing in church?  Love to hear your thoughts in the comment section below.

Or if you are part of a church where teenagers are singing, what are some of the keys to seeing teens worship in church?  How are you engaging them in worship?  Share your thoughts with us in the comment section below.