If you’ve ever flown on an airplane, you will have heard a flight attendant say that in case of an emergency the oxygen masks will drop down and that you should first put on your own mask before assisting your child. For parents coming to worship on Sunday mornings, dropping their baby off in the church nursery so that they can sit in the worship service can feel like they’re putting on their oxygen mask, taking a deep breath, and then heading into a new week prepared to continue raising their children in the knowledge of the Lord.
From the day they are born, children are a valuable part of our community. Psalm 127.3 (NIV) says, “Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from Him.” Jesus told His disciples in Mark 10 to let the children come to Him and not to hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to them. When a child is baptized at CPC, the pastor asks the congregation to assist the parents in the Christian upbringing of the child. A few weeks ago, Pastor Travis preached on storing up riches in heaven, saying that one way to do this is to give of your time. When you serve in our church nursery, you are fulfilling both the baptismal vows you assented to as well as adding jewels to your heavenly crown.
Maybe you’re thinking, “But if I'm in the nursery, I can’t be in worship.” While it is true that nursery volunteers sacrifice being in the sanctuary worship service, they are still participating in the corporate aspect of Worship by serving alongside other members of our church body. In the nursery, you can sing hymns with the kids, read Bible stories, and remind them how much Jesus loves them. You can also take the time to pray for each child and for their families.
If you still need convincing, when you put it into perspective, you aren’t spending that much total time in the nursery. Currently, I have enough volunteers that I schedule everyone on a 6-8week rotation (or six times a year). On average, you will spend approximately an hour and fifteen minutes in the nursery when it’s your turn to help. This only adds up to seven and a half hours in an entire year.
If you aren’t already serving in the CPC nursery, I would ask you to prayerfully consider doing so. Please contact me (
) if you have any questions, and I hope to see you in our beautiful nursery rooms soon!
Bekah Gernhard, Nursery Coordinator
