I discussed division by age and “life stage,” but there is another division that occurs within the church: the fragmentation of the family.
Let me start by stating what should be the obvious: the body of Christ is our family. It is certainly helpful when churches provide childcare and Biblical education. It is also important that children grow as individuals where developmentally appropriate, in order to become adults who have the ability to follow God on their own. I appreciate youth groups and my own children enjoy Sunday School and youth events. I also have volunteered in these capacities myself.
It is also important to acknowledge that many people do not have family that follow God- or even any family at all. So a church that overemphasizes our physical families to the point that people without these blessings would be pushed out of the body would be a sin! However the fact that our spiritual family is valuable does not mean our “earthly” families have no value.
God has assigned specific responsibilities to parents, and other responsibilities to the body of Christ. When parents relinquish all responsibility for teaching their children about the Creator to the church, then the balance is not correct. If parents use church as just another “drop off” activity or a form of “babysitting”, then the balance is not correct. Children need their parents, and in a culture that shamelessly says otherwise, the church can unintentionally become another stop on the American family’s taxi schedule.
Creation Journaling can be a ministry where children participate in worship alongside their parents or grandparents. In fact, it can be the best of both worlds: worship alongside the earthly family and the spiritual family. It is an opportunity for the family to slow down and acknowledge the Creator together.
