There is nothing that can stop the Church.
In a season where large gatherings are limited, the Church has to be nimbly creative in the way we meet. By learning to worship in our homes with our families or roommates, we open the aperture for a sweet and authentic time of worship.
While family worship complements, but does not replace, the local gathering of the Church—in a season where meeting together is inadvisable—our homes can be a gospel refuge for our loved ones.
Here are some practical tips for hosting a home worship gathering (either as a family under Coronavirus, or as a small gathering under more normal circumstances):
- Think about who you can invite.
Think about who you could invite to your home gathering. Single people in your church, widows and widowers, kids’ friends, neighbors or families of teammates are a good place to start. - Give advance notice.
Plan your family worship time in advance. Give young kids a couple minutes’ notice about when you’re starting. It’s a tough transition for kids to go from playing videos or doing homework to gathering for worship as a family. A heads-up can help. - If Dad is present, he should lead.
If Dad is in the home, I’d encourage him to be the leader of this time. This is an opportunity for Dad to lead the family in their relationship with Jesus. - Set an appropriate amount of time, with a clear start and end time.
Have a clear start time and end time. Resist the urge to keep everyone together for too long. Set realistic expectations for the amount of attention, wiggles and focus that kids may have. Your children may not remember everything you say, but they’ll remember you loved them and talked about Jesus. - Remove distractions.
Ask everyone in the family to put away phones, tablets, laptops, turn off the TV and eliminate any other potential distractions. - Be mindful of the ages represented.
Family worship time should be for all ages. While it can be next to impossible to choose a movie that fits your whole family, family worship can connect at all levels. - Involve your children.
Allow your children to be participate in worship by asking them to prepare something to share during your time together. Most school-age kids could read Scripture, recite a passage of Scripture they have memorized, lead in a song, play a song on an instrument, pray, tell a story about God’s goodness or share their salvation story.
Find more resources on family worship and how to thrive in the midst of COVID-19 here.
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