This week, we started something brand-new at our church.
We started a “Family Worship Service.”
While our families often worship together on Sundays, we crafted this service to be especially for families with kids amidst the restrictions and regulations the COVID-19 pandemic has brought our way.
With limited seating in our Sunday gatherings, and a large number of young families connected to our church, we wanted to create a mid-week service just for them!
Here are a few of the goals we had for our Family Service:
- It will be one hour in length to accommodate young children.
- Families will connect with each other about spiritual things.
- Families will hear a variation of the sermon from Sunday to keep our church family on the same page.
- Kids will have fun, but also learn something meaningful.
I have to be honest with you, the idea of doing a Family Service was exciting and intimidating! I love family ministry and seeing families worship and connect in meaningful ways, but I was also nervous – with so many COVID restrictions, and just returning from a 10-month break, I was (and still am!) feeling a little overwhelmed and rusty.
With all that being said, I was so happy with the way our first family service went, and I’m excited to share an outline with you that you can feel free to use in our own ministry.
Our service was themed around the idea of “Goals” – based around my husband, Andrew’s, sermon on Sunday – taken from Philippians 3:14-20. He shared five goals that we should have in this season as we enter into fall and back into “church life”, but in our family service we focused on just one goal – to know Jesus!
What supplies will you need?
- Ziploc bags/containers (1 per family)
- Poster board (1 sheet per family)
- Circle shape cut out of foam, cardstock or felt (1 per child)
- String (1 length per child)
- Markers & stickers (we used 5 markers & 3 sheets of stickers/family)
- Printable “A Guide to Abide” (you can download it for FREE!)
- Plastic cup
- Ping-pong Balls (3-5)
How should you prepare in advance?
- Prepare 1 ziploc bag or container for each family that will be attending. Place markers, stickers, circle shapes & string inside and place it on the family’s seat (or distribute at registration). Place a piece of poster board in front of each family’s seating area.
- Print your teaching script & copy of “A Family Guide to Abide” for each family attending.
- Ensure that all tech elements (ex. worship videos, Powerpoint games, slides) are working correctly!
- We found it easier to assign seats for families before they came – and you may as well! This kept traffic flowing smoothly & ensured all physical distancing protocol were followed.
- Ensure you have enough volunteers to run things smoothly. You’ll need a minimum of a tech person, registration person, and a main leader – but ideally a team of 5-7 to help with traffic flow, greeting and sanitizing is ideal, multiplying of course, for the size of your event.
What order will the service follow?
Based on a one-hour service (6:30-7:30), here is an outline:
6:15-6:30: Check-In & Registration/Pre-Service Activities
6:30-6:40: Welcome & Opening Game
6:40-6:50: Upbeat Worship
6:50-7:00: Family Activity
7:00-7:10: Bible Teaching
7:10-7:15: Worship & Reflection
7:15-7:25: Family Discussion & Activity
7:25-7:30: Prayer & Dismissal
Pre-Service Activities
While we encouraged families to arrive at 6:15 or following, we did have some pre-service activities available for early arrivals! We gave younger kids this “Design Your Own Medal” Coloring Sheet and this “Reaching for the Goal” Crossword to older kids.
We also had a “Pre-Service Reel” playing featuring some DudePerfect Trick Shots videos (our kids love these!) and a couple pre-service games from KidzMatter.
The Night’s Theme & Opening
I knew we were going to be talking about “Goals”, based out of Philippians 3:14, so we decided to play off a “Sports” theme throughout the night. We didn’t do any decorating for this night, but if you wanted to use some sports-themed items to set your stage or fill your space, you certainly could!
At 6:30 PM, we opened our night with a Welcome & Ground Rules. Following the Welcome, we introduced the Sports Theme by asking – “Have any of you ever participated in a sports competition? What type? Did you win? Tonight, we will be looking at the Bible and a time that Paul talks a litle bit about sports – but first, let’s play a game.”
Game
Because of physical distancing regulations and mandatory masks, we wanted to find some fun games for families to participate in that could be played from their seats! To match our theme, we played this fun “Bring into Focus” Game we found on KidzMatter. It was simple enough that younger kids engaged but competitive enough that our upper elementary students (and parents!) still participated.
Worship
We chose to use videos for worship, as that is what we typically use in our midweek kids program. The songs we chose were ones that our kids were familiar with, or that were used in our Sunday service, but you could choose whatever songs you want!
We used “This is Amazing Grace” by Phil Wickham, “Jump” by Go!Kids & “No Longer Slaves” by Bethel. No matter how you use your music, be sure that you are doing it legally – by downloading videos from sites like WorshipHouse Kids, or playing it live!
Family Activity
Before we moved into our Bible time, we had a family activity. Here’s a sample script:
“In front of your seat, you’ll find a sheet of poster board and some markers/crayons in your baggie. If you were going to compete in a sports contest like the Olympics, you’d hold the flag from your country when you marched in! Today, I want you to design a flag for YOUR FAMILY. You should draw and write things that are important to your family, or things you’d want people to know about your family.”
We gave families about 10 minutes to complete this activity – and it went so well! Younger and older kids alike participated, and my son Levi is still talking about it. It was fun, but also meaningful – I overheard some great conversations amongst families about the things they valued.
Bible Time
The goal of our Bible time was to be short, but focused and intentional.
I wanted families to remember one powerful point, but still teach from the Bible.
In all honesty, I felt that I fell a little short in our Bible teaching time this week – I was rusty from 10 months away! I typically memorize what I’m going to say, and this week I missed a chunk of my talk (Mom brain!?). All that to say, if this doesn’t go perfectly – don’t stress! You’re not alone! Here’s the script:
“Did you know that the Bible actually talks about sports and competitions?!
In the New Testament, the second part of the Bible, one man called Paul uses words and pictures from sports to describe following Jesus.
In one chapter, in the book of Philippians, he says this:
“My AIM (GOAL) is to KNOW Him (Jesus)” – Philippians 3:10 (CSB).
I bet Paul was thinking about a sport that involved a target. Have you ever tried to get something at a target before? Darts, a bow & arrow, a ball? (Allow responses)
I figured tonight I’d do some target practice to see how good my aim is.
(Pick a volunteer from the audience, already chosen, to hold up a target (eg. magnetic dart board, apple, bucket) and shoot/throw (toy bow & arrow, magnetic darts, ball). Do this several times! We used ping pong balls and a cup, and it worked perfectly).
Hitting the target isn’t always easy! It takes practice, time & training to be able to do it well! People who shoot at targets in big sports competitions at the Olympics, score goals in hockey, or get lots of baskets in basketball spend lots of time practicing to hit their target or meet their goal!
Paul, who wrote this part of the Bible, had one very important goal – to know Jesus! He wanted to know Jesus, love Him & follow Him.
Paul knew this didn’t happen by accident – it took time and effort to get to know Jesus better.
Paul had decided to follow Jesus after living a life where he did a lot of bad things, and was far away from God.
Paul loved Jesus, and knew that Jesus loved Him enough to change His life!
Because He loved Jesus, Paul wanted to get to know Jesus better!
He wanted to know His plans for His life, more about Him, and how to follow Him.
Paul’s GOAL was to know Jesus!
Our goal should be to know Jesus better too!
Jesus loves us so much, and wants to be in charge of our life!
He wants You to follow Him and know Him better.
That doesn’t happen by accident though.
It happens by taking some time to get to know Him!
What are some ways you could get to know Jesus better? Take some time to think about it as we sing this song!”
After the talk, we did one slower worship song for reflection before we moved to our Family Activity.
Family Activity
After our final worship song, we had families “huddle up” and discuss one thing they could do know Jesus better this week.
As they talked, we instructed parents to get the circle shapes, string, and markers out of their Ziploc bags, and to create a “medal” for each child. Kids could write or draw something on their medal to remind them of the way they would know Jesus better this week!
I loved watching families have intentional conversation around this topic! It was a great moment.
Take-Home Challenge
We dismissed families with a prayer and with “A Family Guide to Abide.” This practical guide was filled with ways families could get to know Jesus better this week. WE encouraged parents to look through it, and pick one way they could “abide” in God’s presence this week. As families left, we put a pre-packaged, individually wrapped treat in the hands of each kid.
Overall, I loved our first family service!
I’m excited for next week’s service, and for the rest of October-November as we embark on a themed series in our family services – which I’ll be sharing with YOU in the Equip Family Shop later this month.
If you’d like to download this outline as a PDF, just enter your email below and you’ll get instant access.
And, if you’re looking for more Family Worship Resources, check out this list of resources, and this Family Guide to Worship.