Helping children and young people grow as disciples means helping them develop a real and personal prayer life. Across CCCNZ churches, leaders are intentionally creating spaces where children and young people can explore and practise prayer and participate in the prayer life of the church.
The children’s ministry team at Northcross Church has been building a prayer focus into the small-group time of their Sunday morning programme this year.
Annelli Morla, Children’s Ministry Coordinator, describe how each month, children explore a different style or tool for prayer:
“So far they have created a prayer wall, experienced sensory prayer (using touch, taste, smell and sound), used a prayer cube, and participated in call-and-response prayer. Alongside this, the children have been memorising the Lord's Prayer during large-group teaching.
“Prayer can feel vulnerable, especially in front of others. By introducing a variety of simple, accessible ways to pray, our hope is that children will gain confidence, whether they actively participate or simply observe others praying. We pray these experiences will inspire them to keep talking with God throughout the week.”
Similarly, the team at Massey Community Church has been intentional about making prayer a natural part of children's and young people's faith journeys and including them in the prayer life of the whole church.
Hannah Plews, Children and Families Pastor, shares how this has taken shape in their context:
“Our intermediate-aged children and youth have been using the 24-7 Prayer Origins resources to explore the P.R.A.Y. model (Pause, Rejoice, Ask, Yield) and discover practical ways to engage with prayer. Several young people have told us how much they appreciated the experience.
“As Tyler Staton observes in A Familiar Stranger, many young people today are ‘more open to experience than explanation.’ We've found that to be true as they have been invited to practise prayer for themselves.
“It has been wonderful to see confidence grow. Recently, during an impromptu ‘popcorn prayer’ time in our main service, more children prayed aloud than adults.
“We are seeing children and young people increasingly turn to prayer naturally, discovering that talking with God is simply becoming part of everyday life with Him.”
It is encouraging to see churches intentionally creating spaces where children and young people can explore prayer, grow in confidence, and discover the joy of talking with God.
