This weekend was my second time back with my church for in-person worship!
It happened to be the week we take up a “noisy offering.” This is a monthly time our Kelsey Kids (elementary and younger) take up change from the congregation. I like doing it because it’s one way our children can encounter the rest of the congregation.
This Sunday, when it was time to receive the offering, I invited all the Kelsey Kids to come forward.
No one did.
There were no Kelsey Kids in church.
The saint who works with our children told me we’d let the youth take up the offering instead. I decided not to do that. Instead, we prayed for the families of our children. We prayed for those little ones we love and for the ones in our community who aren’t a part of our church. YET!
Later in the day, Gloria told me that was kind of harsh. It felt awkward and uncomfortable.
Good!
I wanted it to be. I wanted us to feel the pain of not having children with us. I didn’t want to gloss over it like it was no big deal.
By and large, it doesn’t seem like our churches are doing a great job of reaching younger generations. I want that to hurt a little. Not to make us feel guilty. Unless we’ve purposefully sabotaged the church’s outreach.
But when our body is in pain, we know something is wrong. And we do something about it.
So, did I mess up?
Stay blessed…john
