God Calls His Whole People to Gather - Series: Children in the Church #2

If we are to talk about the place and role of children in the church gathering, we first need to establish common ground on the goal of our Sunday gatherings. Many things happen on a Sunday morning: fellowship, teaching, preaching, community, singing, prayer, Bible reading, and more. But are these just scattered elements, or are they all components of something greater?

I would argue that the goal of our Sunday gatherings is worship. This is the big picture—this is what is (or should be) happening. All these elements are not isolated activities; they are components of our worship.

This matters because the big picture gives shape and meaning to the elements that compose it. For example, the goal of a library is learning through reading, so it makes sense that it provides space for quiet, individual study. A school also aims at learning, but through interaction with a teacher, so you would not expect the same level or type of quietness. The same is true in the church. Not every gathering is the same. Even though you might learn theology on Sunday and in a catechism class, they have different goals. The catechism class is not for worship in the same way as Sunday is.

In Scripture, we see God calling His people to worship—and this worship is corporate and inclusive of all His people.

Deuteronomy 31:12–13: “Assemble the people—men, women and children…”

Joshua 8:35: “There was not a word… that Joshua did not read to the whole assembly… including the women and children…”

Joel 2:16: “Gather the people… gather the children, those nursing at the breast…”

And in Ephesians 6:1, Paul directly addresses children in the gathered church: “Children, obey your parents in the Lord…”

So when we gather on Sundays, it is not merely for teaching like a catechism class, nor only for singing like a music night. Sunday is God calling all His people to gather before Him—to worship Him and to hear Him speak. This is why it may make sense to have age-specific instruction in certain settings, like catechism. But not for worship.

We also see this pattern in the account of Moses and Pharaoh. When God commands Pharaoh to let His people go to worship Him, Pharaoh responds, “Go, the men among you, and serve the Lord…” (Exodus 10:11). But that was not acceptable. God did not call only the men—He called His whole people. Men, women, and children were to come out to worship Him.

The pattern in Scripture is clear: not separation, but gathering as one people before God. God is pleased when whole families come together to worship Him. And we should be careful not to separate what God has joined for the sake of convenience or pragmatism.

Yes, children in the gathering can be distracting. Yes, their presence can, at times, make learning more difficult. But we must not forget that children are not incidental to worship—they are part of it. Worship is not primarily about how much we feel we benefit, but about what God has prescribed and what pleases Him.

Of course, our children need to learn proper behaviour. They must be trained in reverence and awe. But they are children—they are learning and developing. And removing them is not how we train them. We learn not only through instruction, but through observation and participation.

Our children need to see their parents worship. Reverence and awe must not be abstract ideas, but visible realities. When they hear the words "reverence and awe", they should picture their parents' submission before the Lord, in their singing, in their repentance, in their attentiveness to the Word, and in their prayers.

Brothers and sisters, if we were to remove those who lack reverence and awe from the church, we would be the first to go. Scripture shows us that God is more concerned with the empty worship of adults—who honour Him with their lips while their hearts are far from Him—than with children who, due to immaturity, are still learning to control themselves.

And more than that, children themselves serve as an example. Not because they are sinless, but because they are humble, dependent, and teachable. Not only can children learn from us, but we must also learn from them.

“At that time, the disciples came to Jesus, saying, ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, ‘Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven…’” - Matthew 18:1–4

May God give us eyes to see the blessing children are in our churches and families.

Nino Marques