Preteen Worship

Underground Worship for Third- through Sixth-Graders

The Underground Worship service was started in the Fall of 2007 to meet the needs of children who are too old for Children’s Chapel but do not participate in our choral program. The Underground Worship service meets every Sunday during the 9 am service, downstairs in a room that is next door to the Gathering Room for Children’s Chapel. There are four adult volunteers who rotate leading this worship service. Underground kids gather for a few minutes at a long table to work on a craft together or separately. The craft reflects the story of the day. For example, on the Sunday that Jesus is baptized by John the Baptist, the Underground Worship children might draw pictures of the Jordan River using oil pastel crayons.

After 15 minutes of informal discussion and this icebreaker craft, the kids have a service that includes a reading of the Gospel story from the Bible and a discussion about that story and how it pertains to their lives. These children rejoin their parents upstairs after the Peace at the same time that the Children’s Chapel children do. This intimate service usually draws four to six children each Sunday. Kids often speak openly about their lives and raise many questions about the Gospel stories and their relevance.