enemies have to be silent. When the Shekinah Kids group went to minister in children’s church, the Shekinah Kids taught the song and motions to the other children. This is a chorus that we sing often at our church. I was on the platform one night and had the privilege of seeing kids doing the motions they had been taught in big church. On a night that the choir sang this song, before service started I told the kids that the choir was singing that song and if they did the motions I would also do them on the platform. Not only did the kids take me up on that challenge but other people in the choir caught on and did them. Also the people in charge of our multimedia caught some kids in the act of worship and put them on the big screen.

Opportunity to Demonstrate & Lead
   Our music director walked into the beginning of a Shekinah Kids class and noticed that we were doing worship and asked if the kids could do a special song on the fifth Sunday service. The kids agreed and were very excited about it. It was decided that we would do the song “Lord You are Good.” We included the kids from Monday night prayer and opened it up for any former Shekinah Kid. On the fifth Sunday we had 22 kids ages 7-15 helping lead in worship. There were technical difficulties with the DVD, but I believe that was only because the enemy did not want the kids to worship and the adults to understand why it was so important for them to worship. The musicians came in and sang the song live behind us and the whole church began to worship with the kids.

Examples of Impact
   On our last kids prayer night that focused on praise we did 5 songs. Some slow, some fast. The thing that amazed me was the kids said their favorite songs were the slow ones and the kids stopped focusing so much on the motions and entered into pure worship straight from their hearts. The following Sunday night I noticed one of the boys on the front row doing motions to a song that we had never done in prayer before. But the song had phrases and words that were a part other songs and he was using those motions. I must say that made me smile and I am pretty sure that God was smiling too. Then the service slowed down and this same kid kept worshipping. Now maybe I was being sentimental but I started to cry and examine myself ….. was I giving myself over to worship freely like I keep telling the kids to? This child who was on the other side of the auditorium ministered to me. There is no way to describe that feeling; you have to experience that for yourself.

Give it Your Best Shot
   And you can experience it! Kids love the fact that they can seal the Devils mouth. It may take some encouragement, but there are two things that help kids feel comfortable in worship. The first is to consistently practice worship. Every time you worship, use the song and the same motions until it is second nature to do the motions when you hear the song. Second is just to provide an environment where they feel safe to worship. That may mean you have to find a new spot to sit in church so that the kids can sit with you, but if that is what it will take for our kids to worship then it is worth it. Take it from someone who has been ministered to because of a child’s praise, any step out of my comfort zone has been worth it.

Submitted by: Lyn St. John (c) 2004