Now wait a minute, you’re thinking. The pastor is also there for the children. Yes. Indubitably. The pastor is called by God. He is given the keys to unleash the free gifts of Christ and His Kingdom on everyone, including kids. But is that what we see in the children’s message? I’ve mostly observed poor analogies that most of the kids don’t really understand.

I think many of us have seen, or still often see, the children’s message/children’s sermon during the Divine Service on a Sunday morning. The pastor (or a lay person) calls the kids to sit at the foot of the communion rail, and they’re given a few minutes of (ideally) simple theology. Often, it is a moral minute. We learn not to be mean. We learn to share. We learn that Jesus can be like a random object hidden in a box, to which the pastor has to make up similarities and connections to on the spot. Can this be of benefit to our children, or does it actually do them harm? Let’s consider the benefits first.

Why add a children’s message? There is some historical precedent for the practice, which has been derived from the Methodist and Congregational Churches over the last couple of centuries. The reason behind it stems from a desire to engage children in their faith. Not a bad thing, for sure! Don’t we want all ages to feel like they are part of the Divine Service of God to His people? It would be theologically backwards to answer no—Christ is for all. The desire for children to receive the focus of Christ’s Word is good and salutary. Children need the Word of God; they are sinnerlings who, through biblical instruction, learn to obey everything Christ has commanded in connection to their Baptism. I can see why many desire to bring children to Jesus in this way. So why the gripe? Doesn’t Jesus say, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these” (Matthew 19:4)?

Other reasons to support children’s messages might include the sense that children are often a distraction. Children’s messages give parents a chance to rest (except perhaps for the mom chasing the child who has just learned to walk) so that they can catch their breath for a moment. After all, kids can be loud and make it difficult to hear the sermon or focus on what is happening in the service. A break can be helpful. But is this a good reason?

My complaint is not the sentiment of the children’s message, but the practice. Practice reveals belief, and belief is lived out in practice. A tree by its fruit and all that. What are we telling our children when we call them out to the front? One, we separate them from their families. Yes, one parent may bring up the smaller ones, but once they’re able, they bring themselves apart from their parents. In many instances, the children’s message is a signal for all the children to leave the sanctuary and run off to “children’s church,” a further separation from their parents. In practical terms, we are teaching our kids that their parents’ faith is distinct from their own. We sever the connection to the saints at large who have handed us the Divine Service, and instead we make worship about the individual. How American. There may be a child-friendly attempt to distinguish Law and Gospel in children’s messages, but does a four-year-old really get it—and is a pastor really trained to teach these concepts to ages 2–12? More often, a “good” children’s sermon is designed for the adults, and when adults like it, it is considered “good.”

But it runs deeper. Often the message is a parental abdication and appeal to the authority of the pastor. Pastor knows. He’s the expert. Listen to him.

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