Worship is our response to the greatness of God. As parents, we need to help our children understand that worship involves much more than singing or attending a weekend service. That's why we've created the Worship milestone.

Worship is both an action and an attitude. Scripture says that true worship begins in the heart of the believer (John 4:23). Worship involves taking the focus off of ourselves and directing our attention toward God, who He is, and what He has done. Real worship only occurs when we give God our complete and sole attention.

To help your child learn to direct their attention toward who God is and what He’s done, you can start by explaining to them the importance of both personal and corporate worship.

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Personal Worship

Children don’t need to be taught how to worship, but whom to worship. Many kids already idolize heroes from the world of sports, music, the internet, and television.  They memorize every statistic and detail about this or that celebrity. In other words, they “worship” in the purest form by focusing their complete attention on someone they admire rather than on themselves. It is our job to help them see the wonder of our awesome God. The best way to teach your child how to worship God on a personal level is by doing it yourself, modeling a life of worship with your words and actions. Allow your child to experience the “wow” of who God is. Intentionally point out the amazing things that God has done and is doing in your life.

Corporate Worship

It is also important to spend time worshipping together at home and at church. Create family worship experiences using songs, prayer, and scripture. Make public worship a priority by gathering with other believers to focus on God through the same elements.

Make it a priority to help your child discover real worship. Use any of the following ideas to get started:

• Spend a few minutes around the table or in the car as a family taking turns saying something about who God is and what He has done. Try to avoid mentioning yourselves; focus completely on Him.
• Make worshipping as a family a priority by talking about God and committing to regularly attend a church service where you praise Him and study His Word together. Allow your children the opportunity to experience worshipping alongside the entire church rather than only experiencing Kids Ministry environments.
• Play songs of worship or make music together using instruments to create a fun time of family worship in song. Psalm 100:20 says to “Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.”
• Declare specific days like “Worship Wednesdays” to make a point of worshipping together. This could be as simple as taking time on the way to or from school or before bed to each say one thing about God you observed during the day.
• Ask your child questions about God’s character or His creation. Help him or her focus on how amazing God is.
• If you need a prompt for worship, have everyone in your family complete the statement, God You Are...