The children at Eastminster Church are busy with crafts during their summer program. Crafts take a little longer than usual because each child makes two projects--one to take home and one to send to Mexico later with the mission team of youth and adults from their church. In this way the children share in the border ministry with which the church is related.

This story illustrates children involved in the ministry of the church. But what does it mean for a congregation to take seriously the involvement of children in its ministry? How does a church do that? Here are seven significant ways children can be involved in a local church, no matter what its size.

1. Children, from an early age, can be brought to church.
Being physically present as an important part of the faith community is the first way young children become involved in the church. They come with their parents, who are concerned for their safety and well-being when left in the church's care. It is incumbent on us to provide the best nursery facilities possible, staffed with responsible adult workers.

Consistency of adult workers is important since young children have a difficult time adjusting to different caregivers each week. And those who care for children should be carefully selected and carefully trained.

2. Children can study.
Nothing we do in the church is more important than providing Christian nurture for the children in our midst. Children need to hear the stories of the Bible and to learn about the Christian faith at church. For many it will be the only Christian nurture they receive. The nurture should take seriously the developmental abilities of the children and should be age-appropriate.

We should enlist the best people possible to teach our children--men and women who have a passion for sharing their faith. Teachers should be trained well and supported in their task.

We should choose curriculum resources carefully. These should take seriously the ways children learn and should reflect our Biblical and theological heritage.

3. Children can worship.
It is important that children worship with the congregation from an early age. Children learn to worship by worshiping, just like they learn to ride a bicycle by riding it. From an early age children should be welcomed into the congregation's worship at least for part of the service. It is important that worship leaders plan for the presence of children and that children be taught well so they can participate fully.

Children and young people can also be leaders of worship, by serving as acolytes, by ushering, by reading Scripture, by leading a prayer or part of the liturgy, or by singing with a choir or playing an instrument. Congregations should seek out ways to involve children in worship leadership and help prepare them for such leadership.

4. Children can serve others in mission
and ministry.
Children too are people of faith, and the church must provide appropriate ways for them to express their faith. Children and young people have an amazing capacity to reach out to others with love and compassion when given the opportunity to do so. They will gather food for the hungry, make cards for nursing home residents, collect blankets for the homeless, visit elderly and shut-in persons, and serve in soup kitchens.

Often children set the example for adults in the congregation. Children should be given many opportunities to reach out to others.

5. Children can receive the sacraments.
Infant baptism provides a great entry point for children into the life and ministry of the church. It is a "teachable moment" for parents and a wonderful opportunity for pastor and elders to be involved in significant instruction about how parents can fulfill vows made on behalf of their child. A baptism is a significant part of worship.

Admission to the Lord's Table is a privilege afforded all baptized children in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Our Book of Order suggests that the session provide education about the meaning and significance of the sacrament for the children.

6. Children can receive pastoral care.
"A Vision for Children and the Church," adopted by the 1993 General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), says: "We hope for a church where we take seriously our baptismal vow to nurture all children committed to our care; where we bring good news to all those places where children are in need."

Many children in our churches are hurting physically or emotionally. Most children get sick sometimes; some have to be admitted to the hospital for surgery; others break an arm or a leg playing sports or riding a bike. Many children experience the death of a parent, a grandparent or a friend. Many live with divorce. At all such times the church should be there in the person of pastors and adult leaders who care for the children and offer comfort, hope or simply a visit.

7. Children can practice stewardship of
their money, time and talents.
Practicing good stewardship begins as children see their parents giving money and time to the church and encouraging them to do the same. Children should be given money to place in the offering plate. As soon as they are old enough to understand, they should complete a pledge card and receive their own offering envelopes to use. The small amount they give may seem insignificant, but what they are learning will have long-lasting benefits.

Instruction about stewardship should be provided in church school and other educational programs. Children should also be encouraged to use their abilities and talents in and through the church.

When a group from Fountain Inn Presbyterian Church in Fountain Inn, South Carolina, served a meal and provided child care for a basic education program sponsored by a local helping agency, the group included youth and children as well as adults. The children helped pack up and load food to take that had been prepared by church members. At the site, 6-year-old Wes helped two men put ice in glasses. Elementary-age Meredith, Olivia and Rebecca helped in the nursery, where they built instant rapport with the children and made them feel especially welcome.

The adults could have served the meal and provided the child care, but the whole experience was enriched for the participants and for the volunteers because they had "children in their midst."

So it can be for all of our churches if we welcome the children and call on their gifts for ministry.

Tom Malone is associate pastor for Christian education at Fountain
Inn Presbyterian Church in Fountain Inn, S.C., and associate for the Children's Ministry Network in the Congregational Ministries Division
in Louisville, Ky.