Bible Question: Is it more of a distraction or a blessing to have little children and babies in the sanctuary during church? How does your church handle little babies and young children during church? |
Bible Answer: For many adults it is more of a distraction than a blessing to have little children and babies in the sanctuary during church. Both prayon and charis have provided excellent observations and insight into this question. How does my church handle little babies during church? Very carefully. :-) How does my church handle children ages 0 through 18? By isolating them from the adults and providing a service or activity intended soley for youth and children at *every* service. I agree with the logic of and need for placing infants and toddlers in the church nursery to provide a break for both mothers and innocent bystanders during Sunday morning or other services. But I have a real problem when in every service people are segregated and isolated according to which age group they belong in. There are some good arguments for allowing, say, school age children to sit WITH THEIR FAMLIES during services. I have merely presented my thoughts on the subject. It is not my place to dictate to others how they ought to handle this problem or what their policy should be. That is up to the judgment of each individual congregation or, in an authoritarian church, it is up to the judgment of the pastor, who in many cases, is the sole governing authority in the local church. (Let's not get into that, shall we?) |