This collection of checks is one that I never expected to use in all my years in children’s ministry, and yet, that is how we start children’s worship each week.

As we have slowly ventured back into the world of in-person meeting for both adults and children at my church, we have had to reimagine what ministry looks like – both for our families who feel comfortable being in person and for those who are still meeting with us virtually. And from a children’s ministry perspective, we have had some soaring successes, and we have also had some epic fails. Amidst all of that, we have also gotten really good at laughing when the moment is less-than-successful and then trying again, because this is what ministry looks like right now.

Foot check. The floor of our children’s worship room is covered in X’s made out of painter’s tape. They are spaced out to help our children visually see their spots in order to stay socially-distanced.

Nose check. Throughout children’s worship, we do periodic checks to see if masks are still covering both noses and mouths.

Smile check. This is the most important one. We ask the kids to give us a smile so big that we can even tell that they are smiling behind their masks, because God is smiling right there with us.

Then we praise God! We praise through song, through prayer, and through our meditation on Scripture, and each week looks a little different than the week before, because we are still figuring this out. And quite frankly, each week looks a lot different than it did more than a year before, but we are together. We are together and we are praising God, and there is a life-giving joy that emanates out of these heartfelt moments. And as the final blessing is spoken over the group at the end of worship, I am reminded of Ps 16:11a, “You show me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy.”

This is what our new normal looks like. And while our path toward God is the same, the way we are getting there is significantly different, and it isn’t always easy. It is asking us to stretch and grow and reimagine children’s ministry outside the box. As a result, one of the practices we have undertaken is asking ourselves to articulate the essentials. If we openly acknowledge that in this pandemic season there are physical and/or emotional constraints that limit our capacity, then we also become intentional about focusing our ministry around these essentials and doing so in whatever format works.

Our first priority is a logistical one. We are determined to create a children’s worship environment that is as safe as possible. With parents and guardians having varying levels of comfort with being together in person, as well as worship occurring inside versus outside, we decided that our first focus was the physical space. Thus, out came the painter’s tape, the tape measure, and the large bottles of germ gel amongst many other items. Also, out came a substantial amount of communication about expectations, adherences, and safety practices. By creating this plan that we can clearly articulate to the church, we can alleviate some of the anxiety that parents and volunteers are feeling, and we can keep everyone as safe as possible.

From there, we are able to focus on the spiritual nature of worship and consider our essentials for this time of communion with God. I will confess that pre-pandemic, there were times when I personally was guilty of just “going through the motions” in children’s worship and not intentionally seeking the presence of God. That was detrimental to my own worship experience as well as that of the kids. Therefore, our priority is to view all of our worship choices through this lens of actively seeking God. If an activity or element of worship does not do just that, then we set it aside. We want to help the kids understand what it means to pursue God through our song choices, our Bible lessons and subsequent illustrations, and our times of prayer.

Our third essential is that of spiritual transformation. In children’s worship, we have committed to begin slowly re-engaging our kids in different spiritual disciplines. Our current focus is that of stillness and prayer in an effort to feel the presence of God. Admittedly, because we have such a wide age range (older 3s through 2nd grade), it remains pretty guided at this time with me leading the kids through this exercise using different verbal prompts. Despite this systematic approach, though, it is still tremendously impactful. God is undoubtedly present.

And that is it. That is what my ministry team has the capacity for. That is what we focus on each week, and while there have been times in my ministry career that I would have been mired in feelings of inadequacy for what ministry currently looks like, the truth of the matter is that the new normal can be exponentially more difficult at times. The good news, however, is that even though we have had to reimagine ministry (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing), “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Heb. 13:8), and our team reminds the kids of this often.

Just this past Sunday, I laughed a little as we sang “If You’re Happy and You Know It,” and we got to the line, “then your face will surely show it,” and I realized that I couldn’t see a single face in the room amidst a sea of masks. But at that moment, I knew we were happy, because we were worshiping and God was present.

Foot check.
Nose check.
Smile check.
God … check.