In many a church, we hear, it is the custom that the younger children leave the auditorium of the church when the sermon begins. It is also told that in many churches the children first come to the front to listen to a few words from the minister, a "sermonette" specifically for them, but then they go to the basement. There they have their own Bible story followed by some crafts or games.

Of course, there are a number of arguments that favor such a custom. These arguments regard the parents, others attending the service, and, above all, the children themselves. Let us discuss these arguments. They seem to have validity in the eyes of many. Why would, otherwise, this custom be so widespread?

Parents⤒🔗

Parents can have young children who are restless, always busy, always running around. For such children it is very hard to sit still for half an hour or more. That is, for them, a long, long time. So, after a short while these children start moving their arms and legs; they begin doing things to occupy themselves, because they have become bored. The consequence is that also the parents of such a child or children become restless. There is the constant effort to keep their child or children calm and quiet.

These efforts can become more aggressive when the restlessness of the children causes the parents to feel ashamed. Parents can easily get the feeling that those in the pew behind them think that it is their fault that their children do not behave better. The result is that not only the children, but also the parents no longer have any attention for the sermon.

Does this not warrant the conclusion that it is much better for the parents of young children to have their youngsters go to the basement? It is so much easier for them. And then they can pay attention to what the minister says.

Others Who Attend←⤒🔗

Restless children can be annoying for those who sit behind them. Such children draw the attention to themselves. And their behavior can sometimes irritate. The result is the same as with the parents. Concentration on the message of the Word of God is gone.

Again we ask: must our conclusion not be that it is much better that the little children go to the basement when the sermon begins? Then they cannot distract the attention of others who came to church to worship and listen to the Word of the LORD.

The Children Themselves←⤒🔗

Children are not able to follow a sermon. They do not have the knowledge and the experience which are needed to understand the explanation and the application of the Word of God. Moreover, their attention span is only very short. This most often makes their attendance at the service a boring experience. They do not like going to church. Going to church becomes like a punishment. By continuing to force their children to go to church parents may cause the psychological effect that the children develop an aversion to the church and its worship services. And the result is that the church looses these youths when they reach the age of sixteen or seventeen.

On the other hand, when the minister calls them to the front and speaks a short understandable message to them, and when, after this, they go to the basement to have their own "Sunday School" half hour, their own "service," with a Bible story that is adapted to their understanding, and, further, with some activities that keep them occupied, the children will like going to "church." They will not develop an aversion, and the church will keep these youths. Thus goes the argument.

Once again, the conclusion appears to be simple: let the children go to the basement to have their own "church." That seems so much better in every respect.

Some Counterarguments←⤒🔗

I like to begin with the argument that regards other people. In most cases people who sit behind a restless child do not get irritated. They understand that one child is more restless than the other. They also know that children are children. And they compel and train themselves not to let children distract their attention, anyway not for long. Grownup members of the church have a forbearing, patient, understanding, and loving attitude. If it is too difficult to sit behind a child that has problems with sitting still the solution for them is to sit somewhere else so that they are not bothered anymore. This opinion of the loving and forbearing attitude of adults in the church is not too high, is it?

It is also possible that the child is, indeed, too young or not ready yet to come with the parents to the worship service. Here there are factors that must be considered. All children are not the same. The one child has a quiet and calm nature, the other has not. In one case parental efforts to teach the children to sit quietly in church during the sermon have more effect than in another case. Such factors must be reckoned with when the decision is to be made whether a child can go along to the worship service or not yet.

The second argument was the need of the parents for a quiet surrounding so that they can concentrate on the sermon. That need is certainly there. Also for this reason parents must consider whether a child is ready to come along to church. Besides, a good and fair upbringing and discipline at home is of the greatest significance in this respect.

The Aspect of Compulsion←⤒🔗

Important is the argument that compelling young children to go to church and to sit still, for what is in their eyes such a long time, results in an aversion to the church and will drive them away. This is a psychological argument, and I shall not deny that there are young people who use this argument when admonished to attend the worship services faithfully. They do not want to be compelled anymore. They want to be free to make their own decisions.

But is this argument valid? No, it is not. Those who use this argument misuse it to cover their refusal to obey the LORD. Obedience must be taught to, and learned by a child when he is young. This obedience includes worshipping faithfully with the congregation when the LORD calls through the office bearers. This does not deny that we should teach our children that obedience to the will of the LORD is a matter of thankfulness and joy of faith, and not a matter of a law that compels us. If parents feel that going twice to church is a law of the consistory, which they had better obey because otherwise there will be trouble they must not expect that worshipping the Lord with His congregation will be a good thing in the eyes of their children.

Besides, one can place a different psychological argument over against it. When young children are taken out of the worship service of the congregation to have their own much more understandable Bible story and afterwards some activity that keeps them pleasantly busy, what do we teach those children? We teach the children of the church that going to church must be something that is pleasant for them, something that is entertaining. Then, when these children reach an age that they are supposed to attend the worship service of the congregation (which moment easily can be postponed) they like it even less, because in the basement they were pleasantly kept busy and entertained, which does not happen in the adult service. Now they still have to sit still and listen. Going to church is no fun anymore. It is not so pleasant and casual and nice anymore as it was in the basement. The consequence is that the consistory has to come up with new entertaining things like special youth services in which youths can participate, or special sing song services. Sending the children to the basement, on their own, with their own adapted pleasant fun things, creates a psychological condition in their minds through which they will even more be inclined to refuse to go to church, because it is no longer any fun.

We must have attention for the children in the church and their special needs, there is no doubt about that. But we must not let our modern world with its craving for pleasant entertainments tell us what those special needs are. We must listen to God's Word and let that Word instruct us as to what our own and also what our children's needs are. And the basic needs are taught to us by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in the covenant prayer, also called the Lord's prayer. Those basic needs are: Father, hallowed be Thy Name, Thy sovereign Kingship be acknowledged, Thy will be done. We can also formulate these same basic needs with the words of the first three commandments: serve the LORD only, according to His will as expressed in His Word, in order to honor His Name. I want to underline this: our need and the need of our children is not that we are pleasantly entertained, but that we serve the LORD in thankful love, according to His will.

We Worship as Congregation←⤒🔗

My main argument against the custom of sending the young children out of the worship service to the basement is not psychological but doctrinal. Downstairs, on their own, the children have no worship service. They have some entertainment. However, they are children of the church. They belong to God's covenant people. And when God's people worship the Lord their God, the children should be included as soon as possible. They have to learn when they are still young that they belong to the worshipping congregation. We are aware, I hope, that we go to church not in order to be entertained, but to worship the Lord; not in order to be pleasantly kept busy but to serve our covenant God in meeting with Him. When we approach the worship of the LORD in this way it will be a good and joyful thing because it is always a good thing for us to obey the LORD. That attitude we shall, then, also convey to our children.

Going to church, and this generally means twice a Sunday, at least when school age is reached, must be so self-evident, so normal for Christian parents, that it becomes, is, and remains one of the undisputed matters in our families. It must become a matter of course for the children. Of course, when the LORD meets with His people and grants them His blessing, His grace and peace, when He speaks to them and teaches them, when He leads and guides them, in the way of His Word, when He so continues to sanctify them, God's people want to be present, including the children. That is our principle. It should remain our principle.

Can it be hard on children to attend the worship services? Can it be hard on them when they have to learn to sit still for such a long time? Who will deny that? But there are more hard things that children have to learn to do. Let us not forget the main thing that adults and children have to learn, namely, Christians serve the Lord. God's covenant people exist for the LORD and His service, not for their own entertainment. This serving the LORD requires humble submission to His Word in the obedience of faith. Let us hold on to this truth of God's Word as well: in general, what children learn when they are young, they will learn for life. This is not only a truth, it is also a promise.