Widening the Circle of Worship to Include All Ages

This page lists many resources to help us think about being more inclusive of all ages in our worship.                           

From Scripture:

• Nehemiah 8
• Passover: the inclusion of children as questioners to pass on the faith
• Jesus in the temple: the younger teaching the older
• The child with the loaves and the fishes…the gift of a child enriching the church
• Jesus embracing children
• Paul writing to Timothy “Let no one despise your youth, but set the believers an example in speech and conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.” (1 Timothy 4:12)

Articles

• Theme Issue: RW 76, June 2005 (Reformed Worship)
• Ideas for Planning Intergenerational Worship (Reformed Worship)
• RW back issues: search “Intergenerational Worship” (Reformed Worship)
• Nine Tips for Designing Intergenerational Worship (Calvin Institute of Christian Worship)
• The Church Sticking Together (Sticky Faith)

Other Resources

• Intergenerational Ministry (Evangelical Covenant Church)
• Faith Formation Learning Exchange (Vibrant Faith)
• Intergenerational Ministry (The Network)

Resources for Age Specific Inclusiveness

Articles

• Worship in Senior Facilities (Seniors, Reformed Worship)
• The Psalms as Spiritual Calculus (Youth, Reformed Worship)
• From Wiggles to Worship (Children, Reformed Worship)
• Let the Children Come: Resources for Including Children in Worship (Children, Reformed Worship)
• Will All the Children Come Forward: Uses and Abuses of the Children’s Sermon (Children, Reformed Worship)
• Beyond the "Children’s Message": Welcoming Children in Worship (Children, Reformed Worship)
• It Takes a Congregation...to Nurture the Children (Children, Reformed Worship)
• Building a Children’s Choir (Children, Reformed Worship)

Other Resources

• Youth, Worship, and Faith Formation (Youth, The Network)
• Children & Worship (Children, The Network)
• Welcoming Children to the Lord’s Table: Tool Kit (Children, Faith Formation)

Print Resources

• Parenting in the Pew: Guiding Your Children into the Joy of Worship, Robbie Castleman, InterVarsity Press
• The Church of All Ages: Generations Worshiping Together, Howard Vanderwell, (ed.) Rowman & Littlefield/Alban Books