Get fresh and simple ideas for family worship time with multiple ages of children!

Family.
Worship.
Time.
These three little words, when put together, suddenly become a huge to-do with rules and perfectionism attached.
I once thought Family Worship Time looked a certain way. I even went so far as to line all my children up in chairs in front of me. I gave them Bibles and hymnals to juggle and required they sit there, moving very little, and speaking even less.
It didn’t go well.
Yet, I held on to an ideal. I was just sure Family Worship Time was nothing less than Daddy reading Scripture, Mommy leading songs, children chiming in with brilliant, spiritually sound comments on it all. Everything we did seemed to fall miserably short.
Thankfully, God showed me I needed to separate those three little words and take them for what they truly meant and not force them into some unattainable expectation I had created.
FAMILY
Family = Whoever is present in the home at the time
Daddy works some rather odd hours, so he’s not always here when everyone is awake. Sometimes, one of the children is visiting Grandma. Often, baby is sleeping. We also have lots of guests in our home. Any one of these could cause me to think Family Worship Time can’t be had, but with that kind of thinking, we’d never connect as a family on a spiritual level.
So, rather than get caught up in needing to have the perfect family situation to have the perfect family worship time accept that family worship time is simply a consistent part of your everyday routine no matter who is there.
Bonus Tips:
*Choose a time of day when most everyone in the family is in the home. This may be at the breakfast table, right before dinner, or shortly before bedtime.
*Even when you have guests in your home, keep the consistency of family worship time. You are ministering and blessing your guests, and teaching your children the importance of worshipping God!
WORSHIP
Worship = A focus on God’s Word
If the central focus of your family worship time is God’s Word, then you are doing this thing right! Read Scripture, discuss it, sing songs together, and work on Scripture memory. It doesn’t have to be difficult – it just has to be steeped in God’s Word.
When we worship as a family, we are turning the hearts and minds of our entire family toward Christ. We are thanking Him for His sacrifice for us, praising Him for His love for us, and reveling in the blessings we receive because of Him. It’s a time of reflection and intercession for others, as well as a time for us to recognize that we are covered in the grace and mercy of an Almighty God!
When we focus on Christ, we cannot possibly focus on ourselves! There’s no “right way” to worship as long as Scripture is our central focus.
Bonus Tips:
*Family Worship Time should be like a buffet – something for everyone. If you only have little ones, don’t hesitate to add in some stuff that is over their heads (you can always try to explain big concepts in a simplified way, but it’s ok if they don’t always “get it.”)
*If you have a mix of bigs and littles, include songs that appeal to the littles, let them play “instruments” (think pots and pans and jingle bells!), and even give them a coloring page with a Bible verse on it to display on the wall for the week!
*Consider buying hymnals from eBay or Amazon to use in your home! You can also use YouTube to find songs with lyrics for you to follow along – this is especially helpful if your family isn’t particularly musical
*Get everyone the same translation of the Bible so they can follow along. As soon as our kids are reading well, we buy them a Bible!
TIME
Time = Whenever and wherever it works!
It isn’t a requirement that you have Family Worship Time around the breakfast table or in a straight line of folding chairs before bed. Family Worship Time has to fit YOUR family.
Perhaps one morning, Daddy is home a little longer than usual and calls everyone in to hear what he is reading in his Bible that morning. Perhaps Daddy is working late, and Mommy gathers the children around her at the piano to sing songs to pass the time. Maybe Family Worship Time tends to naturally happen during the school day or while everyone is cleaning up after supper. It doesn’t have to be the same time and the same place every single day to be worshipful!
The only caution I have when it comes to timing is that if you struggle with consistency, you should probably try to come up with a time of day that usually works and stick with it for a while until it becomes habit.
Bonus Tips:
*Set a reminder on your phone and gather everyone to whatever room works best for the family, and make it happen!
*Keep family worship time short if you have small children.
*Don’t skip family worship time if one or two members of the family are not present. It needs to be an important part of your family, and not something that is optional or only happens when it fits neatly into your schedule.
Ultimately, we have to stop making Family Worship Time a huge burden full of things we have to do in order for it to be perfect. Break it down into its individual components and realize that where two or three are gathered, Christ is there. You don’t need to be perfect because He already is!
Family.
Worship.
Time.
Click below to get your FREE Family Worship Guide & get started with a simple Family Worship Time for every age and stage in your family!
Family Worship Resources:
*Raising Arrows FREE Family Worship Guide
*Family Shepherds by Voddie Baucham
*Seeds Family Worship – Upbeat Scripture songs – available in mp3, CD, streaming included with an Amazon Prime membership!
*Scripture Lullabies – Calming lovely songs – available in CD.
Family Worship 101 from Ligonier Ministries
It Feels Like Chaos says
I so needed to hear this! We try to have a formalized family worship time once a week but sometimes because of all the reasons you mentioned, it does not happen and then I get discouraged. I think I need to let go of the “formal” aspect a bit more and take advantage more of all the informal moments!
corine says
In our home, we have a regular time set asside for study of the scriptures, but it isn’t always formal. Many of my favorite spiritual discussions with the family have been the spontaneous ones where a teaching moment was recognized and siezed while driving down the road or doing chores together for examples. I love them so much that I find myself praying for more of those moments! 😀
Kristy says
Thanks Amy, this is a great post, because like most of us, I do feel as if it must go just so. And it usually doesn’t. Then it is easy to get discouraged and feel like giving up. Thanks for sharing practical ways of what family worship can look like!
corine says
I did the same thing when my kids were little… and came to the same conclusions! I realized that living the spirit of the law is much more fulfilling than living the letter of the law. I was also surprised to learn that the kids learn really well with legos, bionicles, and drawing supplies in hand! Family worship time rocks! 😀
Celee says
So true! I’ve struggled with this. If someone is spending the night with Nana or my husband isn’t home, it usually doesn’t happen. I need to be more relaxed in my definition of family worship!
Andrea says
GREAT point! In my opinion, some churches need to latch onto this as well! Most of our family worship time happens in the car, driving to Wal-Mart, in Wal-Mart, on a nature hike, etc. It’s rare that we actually sit in our living room with structured worship. We love to “Jam” in the van as we go to and fro. Thing is the bible says we are to talk with our child as we’re raising up, laying dow, coming and going.
I am glad God spoke to your heart in this way.
sara says
It is hard finding the balance for family worship.My girls are very involved with church actitivtes which is great but we also speak about the wonder of our Lord in our days, we admire the sunshine and thank God for it.
I have given you an award on my blog. Thank you for a great blog for me to read.
Kate says
Our family worship time often occurs when we pray before meals (which usually includes prayers for more than just food) and sometimes at night when my older child brings me her children’s Bible and asks us to read it. Then we all sit together and read and learn. Simple. It’s all they can handle now (being 2.5 and 11 months!). Worship sometimes is us driving in the car, singing along to praise and worship songs too! I can’t wait until they sing along.
Tracy @ Hall of Fame Moms says
Sounds like wise advice. Good post! Thank you.
Heather C. says
THANK YOU for this post! If you wrote it for anyone, it must’ve been for me! We have a “blended” family with visitation schedules to juggle, so we aren’t all together every day/night! I tend to be the type A personality- where its all or nothing. Perfect or not at all. Thank you for the definitions of Family, Worship and Time! I will print this post out and put it where I can regularly put myself (and motives) in check!
Lauree says
WOW! Loved this post! I am always trying to figure out how to do family worship time during the day. And I have that same image of the children lined up listening, etc. You gave some wonderful advice today, just like always!
Julie says
I think you are 100% right in this post. It is so funny how we put so much emphasis on the “procedure” that we miss opportunities in everyday life to share a devotion time with our kids. A boo boo can be a great time to discuss what a GREAT PHYSICIAN the Lord is!
Mary says
Such wisdom. Thank you for sharing what you’ve learned with others.
Sounds like you’ve hit on the true meaning of worship:-)
Blessings,
Mary
Nikki says
What a wonderful reminder! Sometimes I forget that I can still enhance our relationship with the Savior by reading scriptures with the family members that are home at the time.
Anita says
Thank you for sharing this Amy… it has really encouraged me!
Two of our personal favourite ways to do this are
Colin Buchanan- Australian singer, does many CDs for kids, we love dancing to “Super saviour”-
“Who can save the day? Take our sins away? Who can rescue us with mighty power? Super saviour to the rescue! Super saviour, mighty to save! Look! Look! Here comes Jesus! Up, up, out of the grave! He’s the death-crusher, the sin-smasher! Who’s the mighty super saviour? JESUS!” Love it! 😀 We make a lot of “joyful noise” and have a lot of fun!!
Also reading “Read-aloud Bible stories” (two volumes available) by Ella K. Lindvall. They’re the best simple child’s bible stories I’ve found. Simple yet it doesn’t miss the point of the story. Excellent illustrations too 🙂
Janna @ Mommy's Piggy TALES - Record Your Youth says
Amy,
I’m so grateful for my parents setting such an example of this for me. Great reminder and post.
Thanks also for visiting my motherhood site. I hope you have fun designing your bubble wands. I see you around the blogosphere so it was pretty exciting when I saw your name and picture in my comments!!!
Stephanie Roberts says
We can and do worship here there and everywhere!! Worship does not have to be boring and rigid! I have found that the best times are random, unorganized, and spur of the moment!! Miss you guys. So glad I finally learned how to leave a comment!!!
Amy says
🙂 Good to “see” you! And you’re right! Some of the most memorable and wonderful worship times are the ones that just “happen.”
Sharon B says
In our church we are encouraged to hold “Family Home Evening” once a week, usually Monday night. In a perfect world that would be an opening song and prayer, a scripture or thought, a lesson, an activity and a treat. What it turns in to is “a fight that starts and ends with prayer”. It’s so hard to remember that it’s the being together as a family that’s most important. My 3 year old never stays in the same room with the rest of us for the whole time. Come to think of it, neither does my 8 year old.
Thanks for the reminder to review what we are doing and maybe change some things to make it work better for us.