10 Teaching Moments at Church

When we think of church as a place to support us in spiritually training our children, we often think of the input from the pastor/teachers/leaders or musicians. What we don’t think about are those teaching moments that happen away from the platform or classroom.

Here are 10 teaching moments that don’t happen on the platform.

1. Looking forward to the service. From the moment we wake up on Sunday morning, we are teaching our children. What is our attitude toward church? Do we look forward to it or do we complain that we’d rather stay in bed/go hiking/watch television or do just about anything else. Our children notice. I still remember the middle school kid asking me, “How come my dad gets to go golfing on Sunday mornings but I have to go to church?”

2. Treating other church members with kindness. When someone is sick, do we offer to take a meal, mow the lawn or otherwise help? Or do we “let someone else do it?”

3. Welcoming visitors.  Do we welcome visitors to church? Do we introduce the visitors to our families? Do we suggest that the visitor’s fourth grader walk down to the kids’ classes with our own fourth grader? Or do we walk right by them because “we’re shy?”  Even a shy person can say a pleasant “hello.”

4. Reaching out to missionaries. When missionaries are on home assignment and visit our church, do we talk with them? Do we invite them over for dinner (or out to a local restaurant)? Do we encourage our kids to get to know them?

5. Interacting with others. Do we “escape” church as soon as the final “amen” is said or do we take time to chat with others and give our kids opportunity to get to know the other church kids?

6. Showing up for special events. Is our church schedule Sunday morning (or maybe one Sunday morning a month) and do we ignore anything special going on? We missed the missions’ dinner, the Christmas concert and the special family life meetings … because we don’t want to take the time.

7. Helping when needed. When an email goes out or there’s an emergency need for child care workers in the nursery or to mow Mr. Smith’s lawn while he’s in the hospital, do we take the opportunity (if at all possible) to help? Or do we “let someone else do it.” After all the big game is on.

8. Serving. In addition, do we consistently serve? Do our kids see us as “part” of the church or simply a family who occasionally attends like we would a theater or concert? A high school junior gave up a summer of fun at the beach with her friends to work with kids in the inner city. When asked what motivated her to spend her days, in excruciatingly hot weather, teaching wiggly kids instead of having fun, she answered simply, “I watch my dad.” Her dad wasn’t a pastor, a board member or teacher. What her dad did was voluntarily show up for a few hours each week to fix the toilets, or clean the furnace or weed the front flower bed. Not glamorous, and his faithfulness made a difference in his daughter’s life.

9. Caring about what our kids learn. Do our children know that we’re interested in knowing what they learned in their classes? Do we ask them questions about the teacher’s lesson or the pastor’s message? Do we discuss what we’ve learned or is church a duty that we forget about as soon as we hit the parking lot?

10. Being kind. What’s the conversation like in the car on the way home? Do our kids hear things like “Pastors’ message was great this morning. I never thought about what that verse was saying” or “That was the most boring 45 minutes of my life.” Do our kids hear us say, “I need to send a card of encouragement to Mrs. Smith this week,” or do they hear us say, “Well, Velma Smith has still another problem. What a drama queen. I avoid her at all costs.”

We can have the greatest pastor, the best teachers, the most engaging music … but our children can quickly get disillusioned if they see us treat church as a place to go only if we have the time.  And they quickly pick up the negativity when we cruelly dissect everyone and everything on the way home.

Remember Colossians 3:17 – that whatever we do, we are to do in the name of the Lord Jesus … and be thankful in the process?

That includes attending church.