Our Children Worship & Wonder (CW&W) Program is an exciting way for children age 3-8 can experience God while learning about God. It involves helping children worship in a special place apart from the worshipping congregation so they become able to worship meaningfully with the congregation when they are older.
Like most congregations, we dismiss the children from the worship service after the minister has given them the children’s sermon. Like many parents, you may be wondering or concerned about what happens during that precious time.
Our work in worship and the church year, spiritual formation, and the church’s ministry with children has led us to a unique way in which children can grow in love for God and for one another. CW&W uses a sensorimotor 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 working 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!
Children do love and worship God, and in CW&W they are introduced to the meaning and actions of corporate worship in a way that they can understand and relate to. We hope you will introduce your children to this unique experience!
