God Made Me for Worship: Helping Children Understand Church

God Made Me for Worship (a part of the God Made Me series) by Jared Kennedy helps children understand the complexity of a Christian worship gathering by using the vision of Isaiah 6. This beautifully illustrated children's book celebrates how God reveals himself to his people in the movements of worship.

Sitting in a worship service for any young child can be a difficult experience. One minute everyone is singing loudly, the next everyone is sitting and listening quietly (without talking!). Sometimes the adults know something that should be said out loud, like, "Thanks be to God!" How did they know what to say? How do people know when to talk to one another and shake hands?

God Made Me for Worship focuses on teaching kids about the key liturgical movements in 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.

Kennedy 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, but to invite kids to respond to God along with the whole church body.

Part of the God Made Me Series

32 pages

Age Level: 5-8 years old

View excerpt here.

“Parents and grandparents who want to help children understand and enjoy corporate worship will be very grateful to Jared Kennedy for producing this book. In a delightfully simple and engaging way it answers hard questions about what we do when we gather together as God’s people. You could read and discuss this book together many times to unpack the biblical and pastoral wisdom it contains.” 

David G. Peterson, Moore College, Sydney, Australia; author of Engaging with God and Encountering God Together 

“The weekly habit of taking our children to church is one of the greatest blessings we can offer them. Church invites our children to a larger family of faith and provides a home away from home—a place to belong wherever they may go. Most importantly, the church teaches our children who and how to worship. God Made Me for Worship is a wonderful way to help children understand how all the elements of worship share the gospel story.” 

Melissa Kruger, Director of Women’s Initiatives for The Gospel Coalition; author of Walking with God in the Season of Motherhood 

“Jared Kennedy walks us through the gospel narrative that is enshrined in the different parts of the worship service, helping children—and adults as well—not only understand what worship is but what the gospel is. I’m thankful for this very helpful primer.”

Iain  M. Duguid, Professor of Old Testament; dean of Online Learning, Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, PA 

“Parents shouldn’t assume their kids understand what is going on during their Sunday worship service. Through God Made Me for Worship, Jared Kennedy provides parents with an excellent tool they can use to help their kids understand church. It explains the components of a Sunday liturgy and connects them to the gospel story. Every Christian parent should add God Made Me for Worship to their family bookshelf.” 

Marty Machowski, Pastor; author of The Ology, God Made Boys and Girls, Long Story Short, and other gospel-centered resources for church and home 

“Jared Kennedy gets kids, and he has a firm grip on how to connect families to church life and liturgy. He brings keen pastoral and practitioner instincts as well as a distinctive writing style that sparks with clarity. My recommendation remains simple: If Jared is writing for kids and families, then it’s worth the time of any parent to read it.” 

Dave Harvey, President of the Great Commission Collective; author of When Sinners Say I Do and I Still Do: Growing Closer and Stronger Through Life’s Defining Moments 

“In the car when our kids were little, they’d ask, ‘What’s that sign say?’ And sometimes, the answer would eventually lead our car where the sign had pointed—for ice cream or pizza. In God Made Me for Worship, Jared Kennedy explains what worship services are all about and how they’re actually signs pointing to the gospel. With pictures and a story that children will love, Kennedy looks at church and answers the question: ‘What does that sign say?’ And points all of us to the feast the Lord has spread.” 

Champ Thornton, Associate Pastor at Ogletown Baptist Church in Newark, DE; author of The Radical Book for Kids