Friends in Christ:
I have been involved in children's worship in terms of music and song for a number of years in a couple of different churches, and I have a struggle at the beginning of every season: What songs do we teach these children? Do we teach them what is current? What is catchy? Or what is compelling in these beginning stages of their Christian walk?
So I began to wonder if there is some sort of "Top 10" list out there. Without seeming trite, I was thinking: "what are the top 10, or even top 20 children's songs that are of utmost importance to teach our children that will be formative in their Christian lives?" Many of us have songs in our heads that pop up from our childhood years that creep into our lives and we remember biblical truths because of these simple songs. And the correlation between music and memorization of text is so critical, especially in early childhood.
So, what do we teach these children? Do we focus on the best contemporary worship songs? Do we dig deep into our own years of Sunday School worship to find some of our own favorites? Or do we stick to songs that are straight biblical text, given the music-memorization correlation? I often feel so limited in how much time we have to teach these children in a few minutes on a Sunday morning, and so I want to pick the best songs for Christian formation in their little lives.
Friends, what would your "Top 10" be? Top 20? Does it include both "My God Is So Great" AND "Lord, I Lift Your Name on High"? What do you see as the most critical songs to be teaching our children in worship today?
Many thanks in advance for any response or input. It is already August, and September always comes so quickly...
