Last week we talked about what family worship is, why it’s important and provided some resources to help get your family started. Family worship is very important and should be one of the highest priorities in daily life. Starting family worship can be tricky, and staying consistent can be even trickier. Today, I want to give you some 8 Tips to help your family with Family Worship.

8 Tips for Family Worship

1. Start with the Bible

There is a time and a place to use a devotional, but for family worship, the best thing to do is to read the scriptures. There is so much meat in the scriptures themselves to read and discuss as a family. God has given us HIS word, not a devotional. Instill in your family that HIS word is supreme and is the more important thing to be read. 

2. Chose a Book of the Bible YOU enjoy and Read Verse By Verse

What books of the Bible to read during family worship can be a controversial subject. Do you read through whole books or just pick and choose verses? What about certain books of the Bible that include long lists of genealogies, or hard-to-pronounce names? Well here’s our stance: no skipping books or jumping around (no skipping passages) from book to book based on a topic. Instead choose your favorite book, or a smaller book and read verse by verse chapter by chapter. This is the best way we have found to read God's word. Please don't start with Leviticus if you are just beginning family worship. 😉 Some of our favorites to start with are Genesis, Luke, Proverbs, Esther, John, Ruth, and Romans. 

3. Read During Meal Times

We have found that reading during mealtime might seem odd but it is a perfect time when you have small kids. If you have younger children, they are contained and occupied and will be more likely to sit quietly and listen. If your children are older, I suggest reading right after you eat or right before you eat. This is a somewhat natural time when Families are together and sitting. Anchoring family worship to a current family routine is a great way to make sure that family worship happens daily. Our kids sometimes even remind us or ask in anticipation when we will be reading together from God’s word!

4. Allow Kids to Ask Questions and Answer to the Best of Your Ability

Let your kids ask questions! Teach them to wait until you pause and have a spot for questions but let them ask. It’s OK if you don’t know the correct answer. Work with them to find out the answer in the Bible. Very often we say “Let’s keep reading to find out” if a question will be answered. If you can’t find an answer go with your child to leadership in your church! A simple email, text, or conversation beginning with “we were reading [such and such passage] and had a question” is a great way to start a conversation. This will help you grow in faith, love, and appreciation for the leaders the Lord has provided your church. It is a tremendous blessing to encourage your kids to ask questions about scripture. Those are great teaching moments. The complaint that is all too rampant today, that some discourage questions, will be overcome as we raise a generation of people who are used to asking questions and finding answers in God’s word.

5.  Read at Your Own Pace

Following a suggested worship guide or reading plan is a great way to get into the habit of family worship, but not every guide is best for every family. If you have children with lots of questions or lots of wiggles you might not be able to read an entire passage in one day. Maybe you only read 5 verses that day. That’s OK! Read what you can, and take some time to discuss what you read and move on. The more your children become used to listening to scripture the longer they will sit to listen and the more they will want to listen. Keep the long view of things in mind. Raising children in the Lord is not a sprint.

6. Chose Kid Appropriate Songs 

Children should be taught to sing and taught hymns and family worship is a great time to let your kids choose. If they have a favorite hymn or psalm, let them choose the song for that day. If they don’t have one, then expose them to some hymns that you enjoy. Some of our family's favorites are Power in the Blood, Washed in the Blood, They’ll Know We Are Christians, My Hope is Built on Nothing Less, Doxology, and Wee Sing Bible songs. Sometimes we teach tunes to songs by doing “call back” style singing, where we as parents will sing a part of a verse, and the children repeat the verse after the parents. This is especially helpful for our children who do not yet read.

7. Encourage Participation

Family worship is a great time to teach your children how to worship and one of those ways is to encourage their participation. As your children get older, allow them to take turns reading the scripture passage. Allow your older boys to read the passage ahead of time and come up with some discussion questions for your family. A tip to parents leading family worship, consider reading the passage ahead of time (maybe in the morning or the day before) that you’ll be reading together as a family. This can allow you time to think about the passage and ask your own questions, many of which may be the same questions your children have! Allow your younger children to choose songs and to have a turn to speak. By encouraging your children to participate, you make family worship a group event of excitement and spiritual nourishment for your entire family. 

8. Be Consistent

This is one that we struggle with the most. With ever-changing schedules and activities, it is hard to be consistent. For our family, we try to worship before bed every night, but during soccer season that is often not possible. Instead, we will worship in the early afternoon or morning when the whole family is home. Family worship is so important and once you get into the routine of daily family worship you will miss its absence. Use the tips above about anchoring to another family activity, reading at your own pace, and giving children a role to help keep family worship consistent. 

Family worship should be a time that your family looks forward to. A time of connection with each other in our daily world. A memory that will stay with your children, no matter their age. Leave us a comment below on some of your favorite tips or aspects of Family Worship.