Let the children
For the past week or so I have been learning a couple of new songs. To sing with the children in church as part of a new initiative to give the kids the same sort of worship experience that the adults get. I go to a Vineyard church where the kids go into their own activities right from the start and dont join the adults at all........ which I find quite odd and not at all what Im used to. But the kids enjoy their activities and I suppose it means the adults can enjoy their experience too without the noise and distraction and general chaos that loads of kids bring with them. Of course they dont HAVE to be separate from their parents. My kids have always sat in church with us - mostly because they didnt want to go into the kids rooms. Tiny ones stay on a parents knee or crawl around on the floor.
Anyhow. I was asked to head up a kids worship team and given a couple of songs to learn. And I thought Id do a bit of research into what is current and cool in worship songs for pre-teens by doing an internet trawl. I was a little bit sad to discover that, whilst there are loads of great songs for little kids, songs with actions and memory verse songs and fun ' moral' lesson songs to promote self esteem and combat bullying etc , there's not much around which is what I would consider 'grown up worship for kids'.
This is one of the songs we sang yesterday. A really good example of what I think the church is lacking at the moment. It has simple words. It is super easy to play because it is basically four chords. It is written in a key whch makes it easy for piano and guitar. And the melody is written on a very simple five note scheme. All of this means that not only can kids worship to it, but they can also play it in either a worship band or at home on whatever insturment they are learning.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgSOXxOyoLg&list=RDxmVLHIHdWq4&index=2
( for all my Scottish friends - did you spot that its the first line to Oh Flower of Scotland?! 😀 )
I know that in many churches children are just joining the adults in whatever they are singing. And that's great. But I do think there is a place for songs which make it easy for children ( and adults) who perhaps can't read terribly well, dont understand all those long theological words and struggle with the more complicated musical gymnastics some tunes demand.
Grace Vineyard have written some really great songs for ( and I hope with) children. Listening to them this week I have been inspired to sit down with some of our young people and write some of our own. Simple, clear and heartfelt is what God likes I think. Kids are great at that. Its only us adults who like to make things complicated.😀
Anyhow. I was asked to head up a kids worship team and given a couple of songs to learn. And I thought Id do a bit of research into what is current and cool in worship songs for pre-teens by doing an internet trawl. I was a little bit sad to discover that, whilst there are loads of great songs for little kids, songs with actions and memory verse songs and fun ' moral' lesson songs to promote self esteem and combat bullying etc , there's not much around which is what I would consider 'grown up worship for kids'.
This is one of the songs we sang yesterday. A really good example of what I think the church is lacking at the moment. It has simple words. It is super easy to play because it is basically four chords. It is written in a key whch makes it easy for piano and guitar. And the melody is written on a very simple five note scheme. All of this means that not only can kids worship to it, but they can also play it in either a worship band or at home on whatever insturment they are learning. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgSOXxOyoLg&list=RDxmVLHIHdWq4&index=2
( for all my Scottish friends - did you spot that its the first line to Oh Flower of Scotland?! 😀 )
I know that in many churches children are just joining the adults in whatever they are singing. And that's great. But I do think there is a place for songs which make it easy for children ( and adults) who perhaps can't read terribly well, dont understand all those long theological words and struggle with the more complicated musical gymnastics some tunes demand.
Grace Vineyard have written some really great songs for ( and I hope with) children. Listening to them this week I have been inspired to sit down with some of our young people and write some of our own. Simple, clear and heartfelt is what God likes I think. Kids are great at that. Its only us adults who like to make things complicated.😀
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