Our congregation cleans the auditorium through the volunteer efforts of individual families. It fell our lot to clean the auditorium for the month of March. I was running the sweeper last Friday and noticed how many diaper bags, book bags, toy bags, etc. were scattered throughout the room.
What a great blessing it is to have diaper bags in the auditorium! Children are a blessing from the Lord, a blessing to their families, and a blessing to the church. Babies are beautiful; their cooing and – yes – even crying are beautiful. The warmth of their smile, the glow in their eyes. Their skin is soft and smooth and smells good. They are as innocent as they can be – as innocent as we adults long to be.
Children are our life and our future. Moms and Dads bring children into the world as an act of love. They love one another and the result of that love is a product of love. They share in our personalities, our likes, dislikes, habits, mannerisms and weaknesses. Children are our future. Where will the church be when we lay down to rest until the resurrection?
It will be in the hands of our children. They will pick up the torch when we lay it down. They will be the church’s Bible class teachers. They will be the cooks and will make little gifts for others. They will be the counselors and the deacons. Our children will be the church’s elders and preachers in the future. That’s what diaper bags in the auditorium mean. It means the church has a future. It means the church does not have to die at the end of this generation.
What a great blessing it is to have diaper bags in the auditorium. How can you/we get more diaper bags in the auditorium? Our teenagers and early-20 age group need to be taught the value, the need, and the beauty of families. They need to be encouraged to marry Christians and have children. The number of children each couple has, obviously, is a personal decision. But the “non-children” couples should be the exception, not the rule. When a preacher looks out over the audience on a given Sunday morning, he prays that – in thirty years – he will see those same babies, grown up, married, and beginning families of their own.
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Therefore, Bible class and worship need to be children-friendly. Put your kindest, gentlest, loving, smiling women in charge of the nursery and pre-school classes (as well as other children’s classes). Their friendliness and patience with the little ones will be a great encouragement to the parents and will implicitly invite them to return.
In worship, don’t scold children and young parents for their children’s noise. Talk privately to young parents about their children if they are a major distraction to those around them but be gentle. They need to be in worship. Offer to allow some of the children to sit with you and bring them coloring books, reading/picture books, silent toys, sketch pads to occupy them.
Teach little children how to whisper in worship. Some of them do not know how to whisper, even at home! Whisper that during prayer, we are talking to God. Whisper that during the sermon, we are listening to the preacher explain what God has written in His book. Whisper that the Lord’s Supper is a time to remember and be thankful for Jesus dying for our sins. Pass along a quarter or a dollar so they can participate in the contribution.
Diaper bags in the auditorium is a great blessing. Let us all be thankful for them and build a great church. “Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 19:14).
