Tom Ascol answers a question I answered multiple times as leader of New Covenant.
Do you have children’s church?
You can read his funny reply in his article. But his rational for keeping the children in worship is summed up:
The Bible recognizes that believers occupy a wide range of life stages and that there are particular needs worth emphasizing for particular age groups. We should note the ways the Bible specifically instructs these groups. Adults, both married (Eph. 5:22–33; 1 Peter 3:1–7) and single (1 Cor. 7:25–38; 1 Tim. 5:3-8), youth and young adults (Eccl. 12:1; 2 Tim. 2:22), and children (Eph. 6:1; Col. 3:20) are addressed with respect to their ages.
A church that is given to an expositional ministry cannot ignore these and other age-sensitive passages in Scripture. The real challenge arises at the point of application. How can a church effectively minister to the needs of all its members who span a wide range of ages?
While I would never pretend that there is only one set way—or even one best way—to answer that question, there are certain biblical principles that must be observed as a church considers how to structure its energies for ministering to all ages.
He draws three principles:
1.The fact that the Bible recognizes and addresses believers at different stages of life [at the same time] should be considered as a church plans its ministries.
2. A church should guard against establishing specific age-sensitive ministries that unintentionally undermine the church as family.
3. The gospel alone must be the foundation of church life and unity.
Though this practice is not at the center of The Apollos Project, I have written a booklet, Delighting in the Lord Together, on why families should worship together and how they can pull it off.
Other posts on this topic are: here, Singing Old Songs and 10 Tips.
