We have been bringing our three year old into church with us for nine months. It has been a wonderful experience, but we have heard some arguments against it from other Christians. The arguments that we hear most often from people who are opposed to bringing children to church are 1) children will distract their parents during service AND 2) children need to learn how to worship in a child-friendly (age-appropriate) environment.  I will try to discuss these two arguments over the next few posts, and give some practical advice on how to transition your children from nursery or children’s church to “big” church

When we first started bringing our three year old into church, it was difficult and distracting. There were a few Sundays when I didn’t hear the preacher at all because I was so focused on training my child to sit still and listen. There were even a few Sundays when my husband and I had to take our child out of church to discipline him, thus missing whatever the preacher said in those five minutes.

So, can children in church be a distraction? Yes. But, which is more important – listening to an entire sermon or diligently training our children the way the Lord has commanded us? In Deuteronomy 6 God tells the Israelites, "These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”

Does God want us to stop training our children for the one hour period when we are involved in corporate worship? NO. It is clear that God wants us to be training our children ALL the time.  During those moments when I wasn’t able to listen to the preacher, I was hearing from God. As I watched my son, and focused on his behavior, I was in continual communication with God. I was praying and seeking wisdom. Sometimes I was pleading with Him to show me how to deal with certain issues. He always supplied the answer. So, maybe I didn’t hear the Word from my pastor, but I did hear the Word.

After a few weeks of being distracted, I began to reap the benefits. I can now easily take my three year into church and expect him to behave well.  This Sunday, we began the process of transitioning our two year old into big church. I had a great experience that showed me clearly how these arguments against children in church are ridiculous.

During service, we sang my all-time favorite worship song, Knees to the Earth, which always brings out the charismatic in me (we go to a Baptist church) :) At the beginning of the song, my dad was holding the little guy, so I completely gave in to the moment of worship. My eyes closed and my arms lifted up, and I felt the spirit sweep over me. I also felt sneaky little two year old hands brush behind me. Without opening my eyes, I reached down and grabbed the little booger, and continued to worship.

I could have easily been frustrated that my parental duties interrupted my worship (my favorite song, no less), but the Lord showed me that taking care of my child was my act of worship.  How selfish it would be to expect that my worship must be sacred, perfect, and interruption-free. How shallow to believe that the only way I can grow as a Christian is to have my weekly fill of religious "me" time.  If our spiritual growth is dependant on moments like that, then we, as mothers, are in for a big surprise.

God was the one who made us mothers, and He understands that our worship of Him includes little children gathering at our feet, sometimes noisy, sometimes messy.  He doesn’t expect perfection from us, so why should we? All God requires of us is an open heart. He doesn’t care whether we have a baby on our hip.

Some of you are reading this and are thinking "You're asking us to put our children before our walk with God." That's not what I'm saying at all. As mothers, it is essential that our walk with the Lord be first priority. Otherwise, we suffer and our children suffer. But, our spiritual walk is more than just the one hour that we spend in corporate worship each week. In fact, that twenty minute sermon that we hear on Sunday is probably the smallest part of our spiritual life. Why should we put it before the raising of our children?

Our spiritual walk encompasses every part of our daily life; including how we accept the role He has divinely given us. As mothers we must realize that one of our most important acts of worship is to raise up Godly children. How can we do this if we use selfish excuses to push our children out of our lives?

Yes, it is easier for us to usher our children to the nursery or children's church and let someone else do the teaching. Yes, it is easier to never worry about training our children to sit still during church. Yes, it is easier to have no distractions during weekly worship.....but is it beneficial? Hopefully, I'll answer that question in part two of this post. Comment and tell me how you feel about children being in church.