Cobe & Scarlett with their seven children
Welcome back for Part 2 of our interview with Scarlett on including your children in ministry and missions!
For Part 1, visit here.
4. Do you have any resource recommendations along these lines?
Several resources that I recommend are:
From Akebu to Zapotec – A Book of Bibleless Peoples by June Hathersmith
YWAM books -Christian Heroes: Then & Now by Janet & Geoff Benge
Parenting from the Heart by Marilyn Boyer
HomeEducating with Babies and Toddlers… and loving it! by Marilyn Boyer
Getting it All Done by Marilyn Boyer
Fun Projects For Hands On Character Building by Rick and Marilyn Boyer
Don’t Make Me Count to Three by Ginger Plowman
Reading and praying through “Window on the World” by Daphne Spraggett with Jill Johnstone
The Voice of the Martyrs Kids of Courage magazine
5. How have you worked to train your children to sit quietly during the Sunday service?
We have the littlest ones sit on our laps and make them sit still, we don’t let them get away or get distracted by their stuff. Normally, we don’t let them have food or toys, only on occasion (although sometimes for the 1 1/2 year old I’ll bring krispy almonds). We let the older children do sermon art but with only 1 colored pencil and they can’t switch colors. Sometimes, we let the older girls knit or crochet but they can loose that privilege if it gets out of control or yarn or needles keep dropping. We don’t want it to become a distraction, but some children listen better with some handwork. We discourage them from talking to each other. We have them sit up not lounge around on the pews/chairs. We have them stand at the appropriate times- singing, reading of God’s Word.
We try to take our time with them during the service to make it special by more physical affection – we put our arms around them, hug them, stroke their hair. We want them to feel loved during our time together learning about God. We don’t want it to be a stressful, angry time or a time of frustration. If discipline is needed, one of us will take the child out, go to a quiet, private place and discipline the child and then bring them back to the service. Sometimes, it has to be done several times. Thats OK, this is also a training time. Try not to let it steal your joy, we want our children worshiping with us! I love that they see their Dad raising his hands to God worshiping Him! I love when then see us cry in repentance. This is beautiful and not to be missed!
We teach them to be quiet, sometimes that requires constant correction. My husband has done most of the training with the little ones at church. I usually hold the nursing babies, but he deals with the young toddlers. He holds them on his lap and they sit still for Daddy. I do best with the babies who I nurse and the older children who just need some reminders. The ones that are young and that require more attention, my husband takes care of. This has made Sunday more peaceful and also reinforces that Daddy requires obedience. Even during shared meal or visiting time for the afternoon, my husband takes care of the young toddlers. This again is time for training and time with Daddy. It also helps me to be more peaceful and enjoy the day even more.
Training at home: Obedience game and Training sessions from the Boyers book “Fun Projects For Hands On Character Building.”
Also, there are two great missionary articles and 1 book list about instilling a heart for missions in your children in “Above Rubies” Magazines # 64 called, “World Missions at my Table” and #65 “Raising Missionaries” and “Fill Your Home with Inspiring Missionary Stories”. The “Raising Missionaries” really influenced me!
God bless you! Love, Scarlett
Wow, I’m impressed that your children sit so well at 1 1/2 years old. I didn’t think that was possible. My husband does not go to church with me. I take 4 kids ( 11 months-9 Yrs. old) to church by myself every Sunday. I have always struggled with my children because they are so wiggly or loud. How do you train them to be still?I use books, stickers,coloring things and pens but they still are too loud. When I ask them to whisper or to be quiet, they don’t listen =( . I get discouraged and to be honest, Church isn’t a very spiritual experience for me or for my kids because of it.
Thanks for your wonderful article. I am taking in all of this information and plan to apply it to our little guy and future littles God chooses to bless us with. I do have a training question. My son is 16 months old and doing the tantrum thing as well as smacking mommy in the face at times. I tend to place him in time out but am wondering if you have a better suggestion for addressing this in a loving yet firm and Godly way.
Thanks and God Bless you!
Tiffany
This was a blessing to read. I’d been praying about ways to better raise up my daughter in the faith (I’m a single mom) I’ll teach her God’s word but it’s been more topical conversations and I wanted to get into more concrete methods, so that she’s well equip when she’s older.
I also enjoyed the interview with Scarlet! Does it make me really old if seeing Scarlett referred to as an older mother made me snort my tea? I know you are meaning older as experienced, but it gave me the giggles. That said, I always enjoy seeing Scarlett’s littles at church
Dana
Thanks for sharing that Lindsay. It’s neat to see how other churches do their services. We all have different visions, but as my husband says we are all one family. (the body of Christ of course)
I didn’t get a chance to listen to a sermon (but I will
)…I know in our church the sermons can sometimes get very deep and involved, how do the children absorbed and comprehend the sermons?
Thanks Lindsay and Scarlett. We’ve chosen to keep our child(ren) in service with us. Our little guy is 9 months old and it at a frustrating age as he can’t understand that he must sit and be quiet but he does realize that he can move etc., so your post was encouraging to me.
Thanks Scarlett for taking the time from your busy day to share your insights. You have beautiful, well loved children! Loved the book list. That’s such a practical way to help others.
Don’t the children go to their own Sunday school classes? Our services run from 11 am til 130 sometimes 2 pm. thankfully they have classes to go to have fun.
I should have clarified. We are an age-integrated church, and do not have Sunday school programs, as we want the children to be included in the service and walk with the wise. You can read more about our vision here. Also, a sermon by Voddie Baucham, Jr. hits home with the reasons behind the importance of incorporating children. Follow the link from this post on the topic.
Thanks so much for sharing all these thoughts from Scarlett! Looking forward to more “older mom” interviews!