What Does It Mean To Be A Family-Integrated Ministry?
by Robert Truelove

The Lord Jesus in praying to the Father for his people said, "Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one." The church throughout the Bible is spoken of as the body of Christ and is exhorted to unity. As our children are included in the body of Christ, we keep them with us during our worship service each Lord's Day as well as encourage and train them to participate.

Not only our older children, but from the first Lord's Day our infants attend church they are included in the worship service. We find this to be both biblical and practical.

Family-Integrated Ministry is Biblical

We know from the Epistle to the Ephesians that children were present in the worship services of the apostolic church and even addressed from Paul's epistles (Ephesians 6:1-3).

Christians commonly speak of that time of worship when the church all comes together as 'corporate' worship. The word is an appropriate one. 'Corporate' when used in this sense means, 'united or combined into one'. If we segregate our children from the worship service via programs like 'children's church', how are we truly having 'corporate' worship.

"There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all." (Ephesians 4:4-6)

Along with Christ's prayer already cited, this passage in Ephesians speaks of the unity of the church. Thus we believe that true 'corporate' worship is biblical.

Family Integrated Ministry is Practical

It may sound strange to the modern mind that keeping our children in the worship service is practical. How can this be true in case of the squirming four year old or crying baby?

When we say that family integrated ministry is practical, we do not mean that it is the easiest option for parents. Rather we are referring to how it is practical for the raising up of our children in the faith. Children born into a family integrated ministry, will never know a time of not being a part of the corporate worship of the church. Thus they learn to identify with Christ and his church as a whole versus their age segregated peers.

(Regarding practical matters for parents, at Christ Reformed Church, we have provided rocking chairs in the back of the sanctuary for nursing mothers. There is also a 'crying room' with a large one-way glass window into the sanctuary so that crying or 'wet' babies may be attended to by their parents as the need arises.)

Family Integrated Ministry Has Broad Reaching Implications

So far we have only spoken about family integration as it relates to children in the corporate worship services of the church. However, the principles involved in understanding the 'oneness' of Christ's body have far reaching implications if consistently applied. For instance, in a family integrated ministry, it would be unthinkable to divide the church into two separate services; one with contemporary worship for the younger members, and traditional worship for the older members. Furthermore, a consistently family integrated ministry is going to be deliberate when thinking through issues such as youth groups and Sunday school programs that divide the church along numerous demographical lines (age, marital status, etc.).

In conclusion, family integration goes way beyond keeping households together in corporate worship; it keeps the whole church family together by establishing biblical principles for unity and inculcates a culture within the church that resists disunity.