“But Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, and do not stop them, for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.” (Matthew 19:14)

The problem with the red letters in Scripture that denote Jesus’s words is that we have put our own spin on them throughout human history. Take, for example, the words Jesus says to his disciples, his first followers, about letting the little children come to him. Over time, we have tried to downplay the power of Jesus’s words by thinking that children can, yes, come to him, but only if they act like adults. 

I recently had a conversation with someone who shared with me what they had witnessed at their church regarding children. A young mother was there with her three children, whom a fellow worshipper deemed to be misbehaving. So that worshipper took it upon themselves to go up and tell the mother to control her children and get it together—because this is a place of worship. 

When I heard that story, I was flooded with “what ifs.” What if that mother was doing the best she could that day? What if her children are neurodivergent or experience the stimuli of church differently than others around them? What if she never returns because her children were told to “get it together” and “be controlled” to be welcomed here? What if…?

Perhaps you have your own stories of children being told, not so subtle, that they should be seen and not heard in worship. How is this misaligned with the red letters where Jesus told the disciples to let the children come? 

Some churches are reclaiming the place and priority that Jesus places on children in the Scriptures in various ways. In the church I serve, we communicate that we have a nursery staffed for each of our worship services, but it is up to each family if they would like to use it. It can be a space that offers rest to weary adults, but we equally encourage kids to play, talk, and sing through worship. We are committed to being a place where children are not told to “shhhh” but are given the same grace as adults to show up entirely as they are on that particular day. We have toy boxes in our pews and cards saying that families are welcome in all of their vibrancy of life.

We also have created a worship service where kids can run around the sanctuary, play with parachutes, make as much noise as they desire, and spill their joy all over it. While this service was originally curated for families with neurodivergent children, we have found that it attracts children and families who simply need a space to let kids be kids—full of laughter and zeal.

Other churches have intergenerational services where meals, crafts, and Biblical stories are shared. Still, different churches have installed prayer grounds – where children are present in worship, often right up front, but aren’t expected to sit still and listen. They color, zoom, and create, all as an act of worship to God. There is no one plan for all churches to adopt to welcome children just as they are – but it does start in the same place, with an open posture in our hearts. 

Jesus’s teaching goes beyond simply saying to let the children come. In the Gospel of Mark, we also find him declaring, “Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it” (Mark 10:15).

Maybe as spaces and places of worship, we need to be less concerned about controlling kids and more concerned about whether we, as adults, have the hearts of children. Maybe we need to be less concerned about what is proper and make more allowances for kids to be kids, as God has created them to be. Maybe, if we think more about the red letters of Jesus and what they mean in our faith communities today, we can truly catch a glimpse of the Kingdom of God!