1) The usual service with a children’s talk
2) An hour of the lowest level of mental and spiritual input
3) All ages and levels of understanding worship together,
each person giving and receiving at his own level
4) A time to worship God with our whole selves through colour, light,
movement and symbols as much as listening and reading
5) An attempt to offer worship and teaching which is accessible to enquirers,
those on the fringe, as well as feeding and challenging the regular
and informed worshippers
6) Singing modern songs with the guitar instead of using the hymn books and organ
7) The children doing the ‘jobs’ normally done by adults
8) Informal – collect a few ideas on Saturday night and let it just happen
‘O God, grant us the serenity to accept what cannot
be changed, the courage to change what can be changed
and the wisdom to know the difference’ - Reinhold Niebuhr
Key elements:
Keep it simple
Most services contain too much material
Aim to reach all levels of
spirituality & understanding
Be sensual
Too much worship consists of listening and
reading. Don’t be frightened to try new things
Use people’s skills and talents
- Beginning!
All services need a beginning! Welcome everyone and explain this is an
opportunity for all ages, young and old, to worship God together.
Explain the theme of the service, invite everyone to stay afterwards for
refreshments and open in prayer…
- Songs/Hymns
- Reading from the Bible
- Short talk and teaching (inc: Activity/Drama)
- Liturgy: Confession & Absolution (Statement of Faith)
- Intercessions and Lord’s Prayer
- Ending (refreshments etc)
- General:
Loving Father, we thank you for this opportunity to worship you together.
Please help everyone here today to learn something new about you.
Thank you that you know and love each one of us and you want us to
belong to you. Amen
Read Psalm 139 v1-6 & 13-14
God, investigate my life; get all the facts firsthand.
I'm an open book to you - even from a distance, you know what I'm thinking.
You know when I leave and when I get back; I'm never out of your sight.
You know everything I'm going to say before I start the first sentence.
I look behind me and you're there, then up ahead and you're there, too;
your reassuring presence, coming and going.
This is too much, too wonderful…I can't take it all in!
You shaped me first inside, then out; you formed me in my mother's womb.
I thank you, High God - you're breathtaking! Body and soul, I am marvellously made!
- Response & Litanies:
Leader:
Come close to God, and he will come close to you. The Lord our God is worthy to
receive glory, honour and power and praise for he has created us and redeemed us…
All:
Heavenly Father, in our worship help us to sing your praises, confess our sins, hear
your word and bring our prayers to you, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
Leader:
God our Father, we have come to church this morning to meet with you.
We want to speak to you and listen to what you are saying to us
All:
Please quieten our minds and help us to think about what we are doing
Leader:
There are things that we are sorry we did, because they were wrong.
There are others things that we did not do, which we know we should have done
All:
Please forgive us for our mistakes, and help us not to make them again
Leader:
We thank you for life, and for sending Jesus into the world so that we can enjoy
it even more. We are grateful to you for taking care of us from day to day
All:
Please accept our thanks and help us never to take your love for granted. Amen
- Activity & Action
Leader: We have come together in the name of Christ
Encourage everyone to look around and nod or smile a greeting to all
in the congregation
Leader: To offer our praise and thanksgiving
Lift up hands high as an act of praise
Leader: To hear and receive God’s holy word
Arrange the upward facing palms of your hands in front of your body, shaped as
a ‘V’ formation like the open pages of a book
Leader: To pray for the needs of the world
Put hands together, palm to palm and fingers pointing upwards, as for prayer
Leader: And to seek the forgiveness of our sins
Hold out your hands in front of the body – palms up – ready to receive
Leader: That by the power of the Holy Spirit
Link thumbs and gently ‘flap’ the fingers imitating a dove – a symbol of the Holy Spirit
Leader: We may give ourselves to the service of God
Put both hands across your heart and move them outward in a gesture of self-giving
When choosing hymns or songs, look for…
- Tunes with distinctive melody lines
- A melody that is easy to learn
- Repetition of words
- Choruses
- Short lines and verses
- Christian words to well-known tunes
Scripture for an all-age service doesn’t always have to be read aloud from
the big Bible at the front of church! Why not experiment with scripture….
- Try a different translation (TNIV, The Message, The Street Bible)
- Why not read out of a children’s Bible?
The Storyteller’s Bible or The Children’s Bible in 365 stories
- Why not dramatise the reading?
The Dramatised Bible or help people visualise the Bible verses…
- Why not act out the story?
A little man who became big
in the Kingdom of God.
Featuring the Art of Henry Martin
Presented by
www.sermons4kids.com
One day, Jesus went to
visit the city of Jericho.
The people of Jericho were a very sad people.
Why were they sad? They were sad because they
had to pay taxes … and their taxes were very high.
The reason their taxes
were so high was that
there was a dishonest
tax collector in the city.
The tax collector’s name
was Zacchaeus.
Zacchaeus would always collect
more tax than people owed.
He would give part of the money
to the Roman government and
keep the rest for himself!
Zacchaeus heard that Jesus
was coming to Jericho. He
wanted to see Jesus, but he
was so short that he could
not see above the heads of
the people who crowded
around Jesus.
He saw a Sycamore tree
nearby and decided to
climb the tree so that he
could see Jesus.
He climbed…
And climbed…
And climbed…
And climbed…
And climbed…
And climbed…
And climbed…
And climbed…
Until finally, he was perched high in the top of the tree!
When Jesus passed
by, he looked up in the
Sycamore tree and
saw Zacchaeus.
“Zacchaeus, you
come down,” Jesus
said. “I am going to
your house today.”
Zacchaeus
climbed down
from the tree as
fast as he could.
Jesus went with
Zacchaeus to his
house and had
dinner with him.
Some of the people were very angry with Jesus
because he went to the home of Zacchaeus.
But once Jesus was in his
home, Zacchaeus changed.
He told Jesus that he would
give half of his money to
the poor - and if he had
cheated anyone - he would
pay them back.
He promised to repay them
four times the amount he
had stolen.
That day a lot of people in Jericho were much richer
-- and much, much happier.
Zacchaeus was happy too!
Jesus had changed his life!
© 2004 by Henry Martin and Sermons4Kids
All rights reserved
What is the one thing you want people to take away?
What is the one issue you want to challenge people about?
What is the one thing you want people to apply in their lives?
- Confessions:
> Keep it short and simple
> Use easy-to-understand language
> Explain why we do it…
Leader:
Let us confess our sins to God and ask for his forgiveness. For all the wrong things
we have done: in your mercy,
All:
Forgive us O God.
Leader:
For forgetting what we ought to have remembered, for failing to do as we promised,
for turning away when we should have listened, for being careless when we should
have been sensible: in your mercy,
All:
Forgive us O God
Leader:
For doing things we knew would annoy, for acting in ways we knew would hurt,
for behaving in ways we knew would disappoint: in your mercy,
All:
Forgive us O God
Leader:
O God, when we look back we can see how foolish and wrong we have been.
Help us not to do the same things again: through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
- Statements of faith:
Leader:
All:
We are not once a week friends
We are the family of God
Leader:
All:
We are not a cosy club
We are the body of Christ
Leader:
All:
We are not just strangers meeting
We are temples of the Holy Spirit
Leader:
All:
We are not here by accident
Our Father has called us to worship
Leader:
All:
We are not just filling up an hour
Jesus wants us to know him better
Leader:
All:
We are not just going through the motions
The Holy Spirit has some special words for us
Leader:
All:
So come; draw near to our God
And God will draw near to us
- Statements of faith:
Leader:
Do you believe in God?
All:
We believe in God the Father who made us and the world.
Leader:
Do you believe in Jesus Christ?
All:
We believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who came to
this earth to be our Saviour. He died for our sins on the
cross, rose from the dead, ascended to the Father in
heaven and will come again in his glory as the judge
of all people.
Leader:
Do you believe in the Holy Spirit?
All:
We believe in the Holy Spirit, whom God gives to all who
trust in Christ. He makes us more like Jesus, guides and
strengthens us in our daily life, and helps us serve God
in the family of the church
Leader:
May Almighty God strengthen this faith in us. Amen.
- Interactive prayers:
The Teaspoon Prayer…
T = ‘Thank you’ (saying thanks to God)
S = ‘Sorry’ (apologising for the things we have done)
P = ‘Please’ (asking for God’s help, healing etc)

Have a short time of chat and discussion focusing on what the
congregation might want to say to God using these three words.

Finally have a short time of open prayer weaving together all the topics
mentioned in a closing prayer.

Why not give younger children a plastic teaspoon to take home to remind
them of these three basic categories for prayer.
- Interactive prayers:
Hand Prayers…
The thumb : Thumbs up! Thank God for something – friends, pets etc
1
The fore finger: The ‘pointing’ finger - say sorry for getting angry etc
The Middle finger: The ‘Strong’ one - Pray for God’s help – bullying, home etc
Wedding finger: Give thanks for the people who you love and who love you
Little finger = Pray for the weak and poor etc
2
Give a piece of paper to everyone and ask them to draw around and cut out
the shape of their own hand. On the four fingers they should write:
- Something to praise God for
- Something to thank God for
- Something for which they would like to ask God’s help
- Something they would like to say sorry about
Children can fold down the fingers if they wish to keep their prayers secret.
This leaves the ‘thumbs up’– a reminder that God has heard our prayers. Conclude by
praying leaving pauses for children to bring their own prayers to God silently.
- Interactive prayers:
Prayer pauses…
Father God, we thank you for all the people in our church and we ask that
you will help us to grow closer to each other and closer to you.
Picture the person sitting on either side of you.
Ask that God will be especially close to them.
We also remember those people who are not with us today, perhaps through illness
or because they are on holiday. Let’s remember them in our own prayers now.
Father God, we thank you for the place where we live and we ask that you will help
us to spread your love to our friends and neighbours.
Let’s think of one or two particular friends and ask that God will help us
tell them the Good News.
Father God, we thank you for the time we have spent together and we ask that you
will be with us throughout this week. Let’s think of the things that we are going to
do lin the days ahead and bring them before God now.
Lord, thank you that you listen to all our prayers spoken and unspoken. Amen.
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your Kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins,
as we forgive those who sin
against us.
Lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil
For the kingdom, the power
and the glory are yours.
Now and for ever. Amen
- Creative prayers:
- Fun and engaging…
- Experience something different…
- Gets people moving about…
- Involves a variety of senses…
- Extremely powerful and moving!
One of the most effective ways of exciting and enthusing children and
teenagers about a church service is making sure that they are involved
– beyond being members of the congregation (especially those 11+)
as many all age services have a focus on primary-aged children.
Asking them or a young family to welcome people into church
Include children/young people in the collection etc
Ask one or more children/YP to read the Bible passages
Asking various children’s/YP’s groups to lead intercessory prayer
Asking a Sunday/youth group to prepare something before the
service that is shared and contributes to the services theme
- artwork, poem, special reading, drama sketch, quiz etc
Playing instruments/singing in the worship group
Worship is central to the Church. If the younger generation are
going to be at the heart of the Church, they need to be part of
planning, leading the worship. This sharing and dialogue can not
only improve the lot of young people but can challenge and
refresh the worship for the whole congregation
- Pete Ward: ‘Youth A-part’ CHP 1996
“There is a tendency to believe that young people know it
all, but this is untrue and young people say it’s untrue.
What young people say is that they have much to learn
but also adults have much to learn from them….
Young people do not want to destroy and rebuild,
neither are they intent on being given everything.
Rather their desire is to have an experience of the Church
which is meaningful to them and to walk a pilgrim
journey with their peers and other adults”
 Experiment with what you have got:
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Keep it simple. Most all age services contain too much material.
Be clear about your aims – What? Who? How?
Reach all levels of spirituality and understanding
Plan and prepare well and always go for good quality
Be creative! Use visual aids, lighting, movement, touch as well as listening!
Use other people’s skills and talents, not just the priest or worship leader’s
Keep it short and sweet! (45 minutes max!)
 Plan & publicise Special Festivals & Services
 Is it working? Try different times, days, formats…
Creating fun, friendly, interactive and loving environments allowing all to receive at their own level