Children and Worship

The first Sunday of every month is set aside for Corporate Worship together with the entire family of God at Beulah. The Knowing Place isn’t part of the routine on these Sundays. Instead, the children and parents are invited to experience worship and communion together. We believe that children are an integral and important part of the Body of Christ therefore we want to recognize their place in our family by including them in worship once each month.

We always welcome parents in the Knowing Place. You are invited to come back with your child any Sunday and worship with us.

Upon the fourth birthday of children, they are invited to participate in the Knowing Place. Parents are strongly encouraged to bring their children to the Knowing Place and to stay with them while they adjust to this routine. This process usually takes 1-6 months depending upon the child. Consistency is the key to making this transition. Sticking with this process will allow your child to learn the expected behavior, routine and group participation. Everyone has a time of adjustment. It is expected and an important part of maturing. Your child will make the transition and enjoy being in a place where they worship at their own developmental level.

The Knowing Place time includes
Gathering Time – greeting, overview of our routine
Worship Music together – sing praise to God using sign language
Hearing God’s Stories – see a multi-sensory, age-appropriate Bible story presented
Responding to God’s Word – use story, art materials, puzzles or books to respond to the story
Reading the Story from the Bible – hear the story from the Bible
Blessing Benediction – receive a whispered blessing from the storyteller as a benediction

Philosophy
Young Children in Worship, our model for the Knowing Place, was designed by Jerome Berryman and Dr. Sonja Stewart and presents a joyful way to worship God. It invites both children and adults to experience the wonder and mystery of God through a unique storytelling format and multi-sensory materials.
Young children need a special environment where they can meet and worship God. They should have their own experiences where their faith can be nurtured, and they can be prepared to join in the full life of the congregation. Here they are in a special place, a place where they can meet and interact with God. They are allowed to experience God with all of their senses and to respond to Him in their own artistic expression. Through wondering questions, we encourage development of thinking Christians. We want our children to grow up and interact with God’s Word, not just absorb it.
Young Children in Worship uses a sensory-motor style of storytelling as a primary means for encountering God, so God is experienced, not just learned about. It gives appropriate freedom, so young children can respond to stories of God through continued work with the story figures and art materials. It enables young children to bring their lived experiences into dialogue with God in the biblical stories. And, remarkably, it provides a way for young children to tell the stories of God to others.