On Sabbath, May 4, kids and their families arrived at the Holden Convention Center to host the second annual PDX Children’s Church in partnership with the Oregon Conference Children & Families Ministries department. “This was our second annual Portland area Children’s Church,” shared Pastor Jana Lee, director of Children & Families Ministries. It’s a full worship service that’s led by kids and for kids. This year’s theme was Bugs! Big lessons from God’s smallest creatures. Pastor Evan Davies and his team do a monthly children’s church at Meadow Glade Church in Battle Ground, Wash., and they came down to put on the program portion of this for us. They’ve worked really hard to get kids highly involved in leadership at Meadow Glade, so they come down and put that program on here so that more kids in the Portland area can come and experience it.”

Rather than being an event where families drop off their kids and leave, Children’s Church incorporates everyone – from the children themselves to parents, grandparents, and the rest of the family! “We do it alongside kids and their families, which has helped us a lot as far as staffing,” said Pastor Jana. “PDX Children’s Church isn’t just an activity – it’s more like church for children. We have a full children’s praise band of about 20 kids playing everything from guitar and drums, to leading out in hand motions and singing along with that. You have children leading out in the activities and even doing the speaking!”

This year’s bugs theme received mixed reviews from the children themselves – ranging from wide-eyed fascination to a few “EWWWW”s, but the lessons children learned from God’s smallest creatures at Children’s Church this year are sure to be taken with them for a long time. “One of things we focused on this year was crickets – how they use their voices to praise God. We explored all the different ways we praise God – some kids even pointed out they could praise God through play. There are so many ways we can do that with our voices, bodies, and minds, and when a bunch of crickets sing together they create a beautiful evening symphony,” shared Pastor Jana.

For those who didn’t get the chance to attend this year’s event or found out too late that it was happening, there’s good news! Pastor Jana shared that they plan to keep doing children’s church each year. And though they haven’t decided on a date for next year yet, they’re planning on a spring event. PDX Children’s Church is just one of the many ways Pastor Jana and the OC Children & Families team plans to engage our youngest leaders. “We try to host events all over the conference,” she said, “so if a church wants to have a bigger gathering we just need to partner with a couple of churches together. I would love to come and work with churches in each area because I think there’s something special about that kind of group energy. The best way to start planning something like that is to contact me directly. You can also stay up to date through our Oregon Children and Families newsletter, Facebook page, Instagram, website, or the Oregon Conference newsletter!”

You can find more information about upcoming events, existing services, and the OC Children & Families team by visiting their website at www.oregonchildrenandfamilies.org!