A World Cup summer is upon us. And whether or not you enjoy soccer, it is worth watching a match just to observe the fans.
The teams competing represent their nations, and the fans are unlike anything else in sports. Parents drape babies in their country’s colors and hold them high as reminders that the future is bright. Young children wear the jerseys of their favorite players and cheer with unbridled enthusiasm. Men and women of every age sing, shout, laugh, cry, and celebrate together. Even the most reserved cultures seem to lose all inhibition during the World Cup. There is no holding back because these teams represent more than a match—they represent identity and belonging.
As adults wave their hands, yell at officials, and leap to their feet, their children do the same. Young fans keep one eye on the pitch and another on the adults around them. Through observation and imitation, they are learning what it means to belong to this community. At the same time, older generations watch the passion and energy of younger fans. It is a reminder that this story will continue long after they are gone.
As I observe the beauty of fans from nations across the globe, I find myself wondering: Is this what our corporate worship looks like on Sundays?
Expect Something Great at Sunday Worship
Don’t misunderstand me. I am not suggesting that we come to worship with our faces painted and shouting. But do we come into worship with joy and expectancy because the God of the universe has called us into his presence? In his book What Happens When We Worship, Jonathan Landry Cruse writes, “…something is happening when we worship. Something happens to us, something happens between us and the people we worship with, and, most importantly, something happens between us and God.”1 Our worship together on Sundays is far greater than any worldwide sporting event because we gather to rejoice in the God who has redeemed us and called us his people.
We may not enter the sanctuary cheering and chanting, but as we do lift our voices in song, pray together, hear the Word preached, and recite the creeds and confessions passed down through generations, exuberant joy should fill our hearts, shine on our faces, and be heard in our voices. Jesus has given his very life so that we may gather in the presence of God. We have much to celebrate!
And as I watch soccer fans celebrate intergenerationally, I find myself asking another question: Do God’s people worship intergenerationally with the same intentionality and enthusiasm?
Embodied Worship Fuels Learning
World Cup fans can spend extraordinary amounts of money to bring children who may not fully understand the game. Why? Because they want their children to experience what they are experiencing. They want them to experience the sound of the arena, the smell of all the people, the sight of their team, and the taste of the food. This embodied experience helps them understand: This is who we are.
Children and teenagers, like adults, are embodied learners. They learn through participation, repetition, and imitation. When children are present in worship, they hear songs and prayers that become familiar over time. Children and teenagers learn to sing hymns and pray the Lord’s Prayer long before they fully grasp every word. They watch the faces of their church family as they worship and begin to imitate what they see. And they witness baptisms and the Lord’s Supper and sense that these moments are holy and important because they experience the collective reverence of God’s people. Our worship together on Sundays reminds us: this is who we are—we are children of the King.
Why We Should Welcome Children into Worship
And this reality can also relieve some of the pressure parents often feel in worship. Unlike a soccer match, where we expect noise and movement, we often expect children in church to sit quietly and behave like little adults. But when we recognize that Jesus has called all his people—including the littlest children—to gather and worship him together, the church begins to see children differently. Parents experience the beauty of adults coming alongside them, loving their children, extending grace, and helping them learn what it means to belong to the family of God.
Intergenerational worship reminds us that we are not merely individuals who happen to gather in the same room each Sunday. In Christ, we are united to one another. We walk alongside each other, bear one another’s burdens, and worship together as one body. And only through Jesus can we truly live that way.
Children and teenagers also remind the church of God’s faithfulness across generations. Just as they bring joy and exuberance to a soccer match, they remind us that the covenant promises of God continue from one generation to the next.
When children squirm in their seats, we are reminded of our own wandering hearts and short attention spans before the Lord. When we hear young voices reciting the Lord’s Prayer, we witness the beauty of faith being passed down. It reminds older adults of the privilege and responsibility of discipling the next generation as they worship alongside the children of the church.
In her book Beyond the Back Row, Katie Polski writes, “It’s quite a different thing to say that your church is ‘multi-generational’ than it is to say that it’s ‘intergenerational.’ Multi-generational merely means that differing generations are present. Intergenerational implies that they are interacting in some way.”2
That distinction matters. And only by being united to Jesus can we truly live that way.
Intergenerational worship is not a distraction from worship; it is a picture of the kingdom of God. As the psalmist says, “Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand” (Ps. 95:6-7).
May we continue to discover the joy, beauty, and privilege of worshiping our Savior together—young and old, side by side, generation after generation.
