We believe the Bible clearly teaches parents are to be the primary disciple makers of their children. Deuteronomy 6:6-7 says, "And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise." This means the role of the church is not to offer lots of programs and events to disciple their children for them but rather to equip parents to disciple their own children. The church functions as a supportive role rather than a substitute role.
What Does This Mean Practically at VCC?
We want our children to learn the same songs we are learning. We want the kids of VCC to grow up knowing the great hymns of the faith, like "A Mighty Fortress is Our God," "Holy, Holy, Holy," and "In Christ Alone." We want them to learn to cherish singing the Psalms. To prepare to sing, we encourage our families to practice with their children at home the songs we plan to sing at church on Sunday.
We want to train our children to understand the priority of the preached Word. Even though comprehension may be limited at a young age, young children can sense and see that mom and dad revere the reading and preaching of Scripture. As our children grow older, they too will begin to comprehend more and more of the preached Word.
We want our children to witness and--Lord willing, when they are made new in Christ--to partake of the two ordinances of baptism and the Lord's Supper. We take the Lord's Supper every Sunday at VCC. This means every week our unconverted children get to ask questions about communion, which gives us yet one more opportunity to share the Gospel with our kids.
We believe God has given the church qualified elders to lead and teach God's people--which includes leading and teaching the children as well. Our children are the next generation of the church. Therefore, we want biblically-qualified teachers to teach our children on Sunday mornings.
We absolutely love having our children with us during the entire worship service, but that is only part of our vision for the children of VCC. We also want to equip and support the parents of our children. If you have never been a part of a family-equipping church or have never considered yourself as the primary disciple-maker of your children, we are here to help.
Our elders aim to give direct application in the preaching and teaching of God's Word to help equip dads and moms to understand practically what it looks like to disciple their children. We want to help you learn how to lead family worship, teach catechisms to your children, discipline and train them, and enjoy all of Christ for all of life.
RESOURCES ON CHILD DISCIPLESHIP:
We have a lot of godly and seasoned fathers and mothers at VCC. We encourage our members to reach out and develop relationships with those who have learned to disciple their children well. One very practical way to do this is through our Vine Groups.
Note: Though we keep our children with us during the entire worship service, we do recognize that some of our littlest ones can get a little restless and like to make a joyful noise. We want to be understanding of this, and so we offer a cry room, equipped with audio, so you can continue to listen to the worship service. This space is also available for nursing mothers. (Due to space restraints, the cry room is sometimes temporarily unavailable.)
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