Children - Who is responsible for their spiritual life? What will that look like at New City?
We believe that the primary responsibility for the spiritual well being of children lies with the parents, not the church. Following are a few of the passages we base this on...
Deut 4:9"Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children's children--"
Deut 6: 5"You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise."
Ephesians 6:
4"Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord."
Therefore, we see our role as a church, as a partner to parents in teaching the children that God entrusted to them. We will seek to involve parents in their children's activities and learning in church, and we will seek to equip parents with the tools they need for teaching their children.
This basic principle will guide us in the future as we structure the activities of our church. While we are not certain of exactly what this will look like in terms of structure and activity, some things we are certain of...
* We believe that children should worship with their parents at as early an age as possible. We realize that children mature at different rates and some children will be able to worship with their parents sooner than others. Therefore we will provide age appropriate opportunities on Sunday mornings during corporate worship gatherings for children to pray together, learn together and worship together. Our ultimate goal is not separate children's activities during worship gatherings, it is families worshipping together.
* We will never be a church of 7 day a week church activities for children. We want to urge parents to include their children in daily spiritual activities as well as missional opportunities.
* Our Life Groups (home groups) will include their children in the ministry and service projects that are taken on quarterly.
* Any future children's activities such as Kid Stuf will be designed to include the whole family and will be a tool by which as a community of believers, we partner with parents as they teach their children.
