Kids Serving in the Church

Courtney’s parents started taking her to church and checking her into the nursery when she was just a baby. They rarely missed a week of service over the next ten years. And as soon as Courtney could (at 10 years old), she started volunteering in the children’s ministry. 

Today, Courtney is one of our leaders in Calvary Kids. She’s been serving for over 23 years! Courtney was recently asked to share her thoughts on why she remained serving in the church and never walked away from her faith. What she said may surprise you:

“I think my family being very involved definitely played a big role in it! But also, owning up to my relationship with God—it’s not about my parents’ faith, but mine! I’ve always loved serving and getting to be a part of kids’ lives so I can hopefully help them learn to love Jesus as much as I do.”  

Courtney added that she grew up with her whole family serving—her mom always served in the bookstore, her older sister served in the children’s ministry and then later moved to the youth ministry and served there with her brother, and her other sister still serves with her today in the children’s ministry.

Unlike Courtney; however, an alarming percentage of kids who are raised in the church walk away from their faith when they go off to college. Multiple studies conclude that 40–50% or more of teenagers who are part of a church youth group will abandon their faith after they graduate from high school.

The biggest factor in trying to prevent this from happening falls on us as parents. We need to fervently pray for our kids that God has entrusted to us. We need to pray for wisdom as we raise them! Prayer is critical.

Another key factor in helping young people not to walk away from their faith is the influence we as parents have on our children—how we live and what we model. One of the most important things we can do to help our kids have a lasting relationship with God is to model a lifestyle of serving! 

One study found that when parents were active in the church, 93% of children remained faithful. In instances where neither parent served and only attended church occasionally, the percentage dropped to a mere 6%!

All of us hope and pray our kids will have an authentic relationship with the Lord and that they will never deny their faith. One reason why volunteering in the church is so important is that it helps kids own their faith. Once they serve, they realize they’re at church because they want to be. They begin to take ownership and responsibility as a contributor as opposed to just being a recipient.

Serving also provides kids with community and friendships with like-minded kids. They’re able to find the sense of belonging they need and crave by being a part of a volunteer group.

Like Courtney’s family did, make serving a part of the rhythm of your house!

Few things in life have a more positive, long-term impact on the spiritual development of your kids than serving!