Introduction
What if we saw worship through the eyes of a child?
You’re here because you sense that children experience God in unique and powerful ways—and that their encounter with the divine can teach the whole church about worship. If you want to explore how children connect with God, how their wonder and curiosity shape their relationship with the sacred, and how they can inspire the faith community through their presence, this toolkit is for you.
Inside, you’ll find resources to guide your reflection and practice as you consider three central questions:
- What is a child’s place in the worshipping community?
- How can children connect with worship?
- How can children contribute to worship?
Let's imagine what worship might look like for children!
Exploring Questions About Children in Worship
Resources to help guide the conversation for you and your church.
These blogs invite us to reflect on key questions from the toolkit:
- What is a child’s place in the worshiping community?
- How can children connect with worship?
- How can children contribute to worship?
Think about it!
As you engage these questions, what ideas spark your imagination? What makes you pause?
Biblical/Theory Discussion Blogs
Practical Suggestion Blogs
Get Equipped
These resources will inspire and guide you as you take the next step in welcoming children more fully into worship.
Here’s a curated playlist of podcast episodes that open up fresh conversations about children and worship—offering insights, stories, and practical wisdom for the journey.
Children & Worship Playlist
Ministry Resources: Trusted tools to help children engage in worship
Building a library of age-appropriate, theologically rich worship resources takes time. Thankfully, these creators and organizations have done the work. Here you’ll find downloadable tools you can use in your ministry or share with families—practical helps for questions like, “How can children participate meaningfully in worship?”
Kids in Worship Pew Cards
This downloadable PDF provides you with ready-to-print cards designed to be placed in pews or seatbacks. Each card serves as a gentle yet powerful reminder of the vital role children play in your church community and offers simple, actionable tips for everyone to help them feel welcome, engaged, and nurtured in their faith journey.
Worship Notepad
Make worship an adventure for kids! This downloadable PDF notepad features 50 unique pages, each with a different fun prompt, picture, or activity to keep them engaged and learning. From drawing and coloring to simple questions and prayer starters, every page is a new way to connect with the service. Print as many copies as you would like.
Learn More
What else could a playful attitude reinvigorate in your ministry? Explore recommended reading, research, and other blogs to get inspired and discover new ideas.
Dive Deeper
Books
Discover reading that inspires—from books and articles for adults to playful and meaningful resources children can enjoy as they explore worship.
Let Children Worship
In Let the Children Worship, Jason Helopoulos highlights the vital role children play in the life of the church and the lasting blessings their presence brings to worship. He compassionately addresses the challenges of including children while showing that the joy and spiritual richness they offer far outweigh any temporary struggles.
Parenting in the Pew
Parenting in the Pew by Robbie Castleman is a classic book and an essential guide for helping children engage meaningfully in worship, showing parents that Sunday morning is about more than keeping kids quiet—it’s about introducing them to God. Filled with practical advice, humor, and a biblically grounded vision, this revised edition equips parents, pastors, and church leaders to foster joyful, intergenerational worship experiences.
Children in the Worshiping Community
Children in the Worshiping Community invites churches to fully include children in the life and worship of the congregation, offering both inspiration and practical guidance. Blending humor, developmental insight, and hands-on strategies, this book helps leaders and parents create worship experiences where children truly belong and participate.
The Child in God’s Church
The Child in God’s Church by Tim Beilharz offers a compelling biblical and theological vision for welcoming children as full members of the body of Christ. Combining deep insight with practical guidance, this book equips churches to move beyond siloed ministries and build communities where every generation worships, learns, and grows together.
Children’s books regarding worship
En la mesa de Dios / At God’s Table
En la mesa de Dios / At God’s Table invites children and families to experience the wonder and meaning of the Lord’s Supper as a celebration of God’s grace at work in our lives and in the world. Through vivid illustrations and bilingual text (Spanish and English), this beautifully crafted book connects the story of Communion to Jesus’ ministry, inspiring faith, imagination, and conversation across generations. There is also a Korean-English version available.
God Made Me for Worship
God Made Me for Worship helps children understand the different parts of a worship service, from singing and prayer to Communion and benediction, showing how each moment points to Jesus and the story of redemption. With bright illustrations and a parent guide, this book encourages kids to engage fully in worship and equips families to have meaningful conversations about faith together.
This Is the Church
This Is the Church reimagines the beloved classic rhyme for today’s world, celebrating the many ways God’s people gather, serve, and share love in community. With lyrical text by Sarah Raymond Cunningham and vibrant illustrations by Ariel Landy, this joyful picture book reminds children that the church isn’t a building—it’s the people.
The Church
The Church from the Big Theology for Little Hearts series helps young children discover the joy of gathering, worshiping, and belonging to God’s family. With bright illustrations and simple, faith-filled language, this engaging board book introduces key truths about what the church is and why it matters.
What is Worship?
What is Worship? introduces young children to worship and the many ways they can honor and praise God beyond singing, from acts of kindness to prayer and sharing with others. With vibrant illustrations, playful rhymes, and inclusive depictions, this picture book helps kids explore daily worship and grow closer to God in everyday life.
Research
Study can draw us closer to the subject of our focus. It teaches us what kinds of questions need asking and helps us draw connections to our own contexts. The sources in this section invite us to ask new questions, re-evaluate old assumptions, and engage with scholars who share our goal of nurturing children’s spiritual lives.
Engaging Children in Worship: Perspectives for Churches to Consider
This paper, originally written by Dr. Mimi Larson for Thrive Ministries, explores how churches can shift from seeing children as passive attendees to welcoming them as full, meaningful participants in worship—drawing on theological, developmental, and contextual insights. It offers concrete suggestions for cultivating environments where children make faith, ask questions, and belong in the life of the gathered congregation.
The Importance of Worship in a Child’s Faith Formation
This article by Jessica Wolstenholm, M.Ed., the Vice-President of Education and Publishing at Minno, explores how worship shapes a child’s spiritual growth and understanding of God. It highlights the ways children experience, respond to, and participate in worship, and offers insights for adults seeking to nurture meaningful faith formation. By valuing children as active participants in worship, churches can help them develop a lifelong connection to God.
External Resources
Explore these external resources for fresh insights, research, and ideas on how children experience and engage in worship.
Worshiping With Children
Worshiping With Children is a treasure trove for children’s ministry leaders looking to make worship meaningful for all ages. Rooted in the lectionary, it offers creative, ready-to-use ideas for including children in every part of worship—scripture, prayer, sermons, and more—so kids don’t just attend worship, they engage with it and grow in faith right alongside adults. Whether you’re planning Sunday services or special seasons, this blog helps you create worship that truly welcomes and forms young hearts.
ReFocus Ministry
ReFocus Ministry (led by Christina Embree) is all about helping churches build stronger faith communities by breaking down barriers between generations—children, youth, adults—and encouraging discipleship that spans home and church. They provide coaching, workshops, assessments, and resources so that congregations can move from just having age-segregated programs to becoming places where people of all ages worship, learn, and grow together.
Shaping Young Worshipers through Transformative Music Ministry
The Shaping Young Worshipers through Transformative Music Ministry project (a partnership between Baylor’s Dunn Center for Christian Music Studies and Lilly Endowment) explores how children’s spiritual formation intersects with church music and worship. It aims to connect scholars and practitioners, produce both academic and practical resources, and train church leaders and students to integrate children meaningfully into liturgical life through worship and prayer.
Young Children and Worship
Young Children and Worship by Sonja Stewart and Jerome Berryman offers a creative and engaging approach to helping three- to seven-year-olds experience the wonder and mystery of worship. Blending religious education with worship practices, this trusted resource equips teachers and leaders to nurture children’s spiritual formation in meaningful, developmentally appropriate ways.
Disclaimer
CFC provides recommendations for children's ministry tools based on our team’s direct engagement and assessment of their relevance and effectiveness. While we endorse these specific resources, this does not extend to an endorsement of all views or materials from the respective individuals or organizations. Users are advised to interact with all external resources at their sole discretion.