God Made Me for Worship: Helping Children Understand Church (Jared Kennedy)

God Made Me for Worship

Helping Children Understand Church

Understanding the different parts of a worship service can be confusing for any young child. One minute everyone is singing loudly, the next everyone is sitting and listening quietly. Sometimes the adults know something that should be said out loud, like, “Thanks be to God!” How did they know what to say? What is communion all about? And why does the pastor raise his hands and pray at the end of the service?  

Using the vision of Isaiah 6, God Made Me for Worship by Jared Kennedy focuses on teaching kids about the elements of a worship gathering, including the call to worship, praise and adoration, confession, assurance and passing the peace, ministry of the Word and sacraments, and benediction and sending. 

This bright and colorful children’s book illustrated by Trish Mahoney celebrates how God reveals himself to his people in the movements of worship. All the parts of worship tell the story of the gospel, and since Jesus is the object of our worship, his story of redemption gives shape to our worship. 

The author guides parents to help their kids understand why we’re intentional about worship, encouraging them to engage—not just to manage behavior during a worship gathering, and invites children to respond to God along with the whole church body. 

God Made Me for Worship is part of the God Made Me series which equips parents to have important, impactful conversations with their children, helping them to grow in understanding of God, themselves, and others. Each book in the series contains a special section just for parents and caregivers that provides biblical guidance and offers additional information and resources for talking about the topic addressed in the story.  

About the Author

Jared Kennedy, MDiv, ThM, leads the children’s ministry creative team as Pastor of Families at Sojourn Community Church in Louisville, KY, and is the children’s ministry strategist for Harbor Network. He is the author of The Beginner’s Gospel Story Bible and Are You Close to God?; the coauthor of The Leadership Mosiac; and has developed two VBS programs, Proof Pirates and Clap Your Hands, Stomp Your Feet. He and his wife, Megan, have three girls, Rachael, Lucy, and Elisabeth.