What is a Children’s Worship Bulletin?

A Children’s Worship Bulletin (CWB) is similar to the regular church bulletin, but it is designed for the children of the congregation. Usually it is the four to 10 year olds who take the CWB’s, but older children often use them as well. In my own congregation, I recently discovered that a group of teenage boys have been taking them on a regular basis! My 17-year-old nephew commented that a recent children’s bulletin was rather difficult; he actually had to open the Bible to complete a crossword puzzle. And we thought those boys in the balcony were just dozing away! While a children’s bulletin may not be the deepest spiritual challenge to these guys, at least they are opening the Bible.

Some churches give out CWB’s with the regular bulletins, or they are given out in Sunday School. Children work on them before or during the worship service, but some parents prefer to have the children do them at home.

Ideally, the CWB’s can be developed and copied new every week to correspond with the sermon. This, however, has a few problems. If your pastor hasn’t completed the sermon until Saturday afternoon, it’s difficult to design and produce the children’s bulletin in time for Sunday morning. Also, in many churches, the children are not in the sanctuary to hear the sermon anyway. They may be in Sunday School or Children & Worship.

Monthly CWB’s allow for a little more time to create each one anew, and children who do not attend regularly still get to see each bulletin. This is especially nice for them if the bulletin includes things about the children, like their birthdays or contributed drawings. Each bulletin editor learns what works best for a specific congregation.

Why Have a Children’s Worship Bul-letin?

The purpose of CWB’s is summed up in an elementary school chant: "A-E-I-O-U-and sometimes Y!"

A—Association

Much of the worship service is geared toward adults. Younger children have difficulty with complex theological concepts (as do some adults!); they may feel left out and bored. If a small part of the service is theirs alone, it may increase their sense of belonging. Watch a child’s eyes light up when he or she is offered a CWB, with its youthful designs and activities, for the first time.

E—Education

Children are like sponges when it comes to learning and absorbing new facts and ideas. They may wonder why church members consume bread and wine at Communion, what "Advent" means, who was Jochebed and what did she do, , and so on. There is nothing trivial about trivia! The more a child knows about a Bible story, a Sacrament, or a holy day, the more he or she can understand it. The CWB is aimed at a child’s level of understanding, and it can make learning fun, too.

I—Inspiration

This is the most important reason. Anything that can make a child think about a story, remember a Bible verse, or mull over a concept while he or she is lying in bed—anything that inspires a child in his or her faith—is an important tool for the church. Faith doesn’t just grow overnight like a fairytale beanstalk. It is more like a real bean plant: invisible daily growth that doesn’t become obvious until you step back after a considerable length of time. Just as one nutrient isn’t enough to make a child grow physically, neither is one tool—CWB—going to inspire a child’s faith to grow on its own. But it will contribute to that growth by supplementing what is already being taught at home and in Sunday School.

O—Outreach

A CWB can help the adults in the congregation reach out to its young members and affirm their importance as part of the body of Christ. By giving children their own bulletin, the adults are saying, "We value the children of our congregation, so we provide this for them." CWB’s are also tools of outreach to visitors who are looking for a church family. No one is going to join your church because you gave their child a CWB. But by offering children’s bulletins (just like having a clean nursery, a quality Sunday School program, and an active youth group), your church sends the message to visitors that this is a place where children are important. And their children are often the primary reason that many people seek out a new church.

U—Understanding

This is similar to education, except that education teaches the children what the facts are, while understanding teaches them what the facts mean. For example, we can educate children as to the names of the twelve sons of Jacob. Then we can help them to understand that these twelve sons headed the twelve tribes of Israel, which fulfilled God’s promise to Abraham that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars. We can show children how one of these tribes led to the birth of Jesus, which fulfilled another one of God’s promises. Of course, these truths are taught in Sunday School, but it’s a great advantage to have them reinforced elswhere.

And sometimes Y—You keep ‘em busy!

For some parents, this may be their primary reason for getting a CWB for their child, and that’s okay too. We all know of a few children who fuss and squirm their way through everything. If a CWB keeps them busy and quiet, then so be it. If nothing else, other children and adults won’t be distracted from their worship. But chances are, even with the most fidgety child, some of the message will be heard.

Where Do We Get Children’s Worship Bulletins?

There are several solutions to this problem:

The Reformed Church in America sends out a packet of resource materials to every Reformed church in North America: one packet for Advent, sent in late October; and one packet for Lent, sent in mid-winter. These resource packets have many wonderful materials and ideas, including a set of Children’s Worship Bulletins, which are ready to be photo-copied. The Advent packet has a CWB for each Sunday of Advent, one for Christmas, and one for Epiphany, for a total of six. The Lent packet has a CWB for each Sunday of Lent, one for Easter, and one for Pentecost, for a total of eight. If your church is not using these bulletins, which are provided free, speak to your pastor. If your church is not receiving these packets, call the Reformed Church head office at 1-800-963-3943 and ask for the children’s services coordinator.

You could design and produce your own bulletin, which many churches already do. Use reproducible clip-art and Bible puzzle books to help you get started. You could have weekly, monthly, or special occasion bulletins. Making you own allows you to personalize them to your own congregation or community. If you would like more information about how to design children’s bulletins, you can send me a stamped, self-addressed envelope, and I will send you some "how-to" information. My address is R. R. #3, Moorfield, Ontario N0G 2K0.

Apparently, there are books out there with dozens of pre-made children’s bulletins in them. All you do is tear out and photocopy. I am not aware of any specifically, so check with your local Christian bookstore.

Children’s Worship Bulletins are a wonderful and inspirational way to reach out to the children of your congregation and make them feel like important members of your church. Give them a try; you may be surprised by how many adults enjoy them too!

Marlene Ottens works with children in the Drayton Reformed Church. She has been designing Children’s Worship Bulletins for nine years.