The Grace Space
The Grace Space is an area in one of the front corners of our sanctuary specifically, set aside for young children during worship. It consists of a rug, small tables with child-sized chairs and stools, coloring sheets, crayons, blocks, books, and soft toys.
Grace Space FAQs:
Who is the Grace Space intended for? And what other options do parents have for their kids during worship, especially if they don't want to sit in the front?
Grace Space was created with families with children under 8, but honestly, anyone is
welcome. All children are welcomed to the front for The Time with Young Disciples then
have the option of returning to their seats with parents or taking a breather in the
nursery/family room located in our lower level. There are age-appropriate toys and
spaces, and a live stream of the worship so parents can participate in the service. In the
Worship Resource Center, kids can find bins with fidget toys and books that they can
take to their seats to use during worship
How did you come up with the name?
We didn’t! We initially thought we would call it the Prayground like many churches do, but then the Worship Team decided Grace Space fit the space better and it stuck.
Why is our Grace Space at the front of the Sanctuary?
Because kids pay more attention when they can see what’s going on, and they’re short! Lots of churches have similar areas for kids in the back, or in the middle, or off to the side. We recognize that kids will play and color for much of the time, but they also pay attention to what’s happening in worship.
Occasionally, kids will imitate the pastors’ movements. Sometimes they play air handbells or pretend to direct the choir. When they can see what’s going on, they absorb things in a different way.
Isn't it noisy?
Not really, and certainly not any noisier than it would be if those same kids were sitting in the pews! We took great care in selecting play items that would keep the noise to a minimum: the blocks are made of foam, the books are all made of fabric (and we made sure they didn’t have any of the squeakers or crinklepaper that is so popular now in fabric books!), the toys are all plush (we have play food and a play farm, for example, all from Ikea), and even the baskets where we keep the crayons are made of fabric. The only items that could really be used to make noise would be if a child were to bang a crayon over and over on the plastic tables, but if/when this happens, a parent
generally steps in quickly. Same for dumping the entire basket of crayons out, which may
happen occasionally. We get over it! On occasions when there are a lot of visiting children (Christmas Eve, for example, or Easter morning, or when we have a baptism with visiting family), things may be a little louder, but if it means that children who aren’t generally in church are in church, we give thanks and move on!
How did you get the Congregation on board with this idea?
Some of our members were really skeptical at first, across age groups and regardless of whether they had kids! But our pastors, staff, and church leadership were clearly in favor of it. We talked about the potential benefits with lots of different groups for several months before-hand. And we also recognized that everything about it was moveable, which I think helped our members to understand that if it didn’t work out, it wouldn’t take much to remove it.
Aren't the kids distracting to the preacher?
Not any more than they are when they’re in the pews! Pastors are professionals and can handle a baby crying or a toddler screeching here and there. Just like in most churches, our parents take their kids out when they get really disruptive, but we trust them to make those decisions, and would never ask them to do so.
But how can you expect the congregation to pay attention to the sermon when there are kids playing up front?
It’s probably due to the fact that we have an excellent preacher!
There are actually quite a number of places in the sanctuary where you can sit and not see the Grace Space at all. Some people may change where they *usually* sit because they think they’d be distracted by the kids. Others may change where they sit in order to see them better! In general, though, people seem to have no trouble with this, and many people have commented on how surprised they are about that, given how skeptical they were at the beginning.
How do you keep the kids from wandering up to the chancel area?
Reminding each child that they need to set a good example for the other kids (ex: that if they came
up one step, their friend might think it was okay to go up the second step, etc.) will be helpful. It is up to parents to supervise their children while worshipping in the Grace Space.
Why bother with the rugs when your sanctuary is carpeted already?
Because it makes it so much easier for the kids to understand their boundaries!
Do you keep the Grace Space up for all your services? Or do you offer a service without it?
The Grace Space is up and available for all services. It is now a fixed piece in our Sanctuary.
Where did you get the tables and chairs? The rugs? The toys and baby seats? How do you keep it all clean?
The rugs, the tables, the chairs, and a lot of the plush toys are from our classrooms.
How do we keep it all clean? It’s actually pretty easy – almost everything can either go in the washing machine (the foam blocks, even if you put them in a sweater bag) or can be sprayed and wiped down.