Milestone 5: The Lord's Supper

The elementary years could be a wonderful time for a child to start learning about communion. Knowing that the timing could differ from child to child, we have decided to put this Milestone on video so you can access it whenever your child is ready. The 30-minute video is designed to be watched with your child and includes several interactive elements. To prepare for teaching your child about this rich faith tradition and sacrament, read through the following steps. Then when you and your child are ready, we hope you have a wonderful time feasting at the Lord’s table together!

Prepare Before you Watch

Decide the Appropriate Age

There are many views about communion, ranging from believing that it is something that a child can participate in at a young age, to waiting until they make their own profession of faith and are baptized. Highrock leaves the decision up to parents. What we do hope is that parents avoid letting communion be treated like snack time or to offer it to appease their kids' wishes to join in the experience without first explaining what the sacrement is about.

Gauge When They Are Ready to Move Forward

Developmentally, around 1st-2nd grade is when kids are able to start comprehending faith in new ways. Wait for your child to express interest both during and outside worship services. Wanting to “grab a snack” during worship doesn’t necessarily indicate anything beyond an impulsive decision, but when they start mentioning it outside of service they are often more ready to enter into a spiritual conversation that can be meaningful and rich.

Gather Materials

An 8.5 x 11 sheet of cardstock (paper is ok, too)
Markers, crayons, or colored pencils
A Bible (the NIrV is used in the video, but the NIV translation also works well)

Familiarize Yourself With the Video

It is recommended to watch the video ahead of time if you can. If not, the main two things you need to know to help your child engage more are the games used to teach the material:

Pictionary

In the video it is encouraged to turn off the sound so your child can make their own guesses and not hear the answers from the kids in the video while Pastor Brian draws things. If you prefer to draw the pictures yourself, that would work well, too.

Find the Bible

This game involves hiding a Bible with verses for them to look up. To get your own child up and moving, hide your Bible and have them look up the verses as well. The four verses they look up will be:

Watch with your Child

The video is about 30 minutes, but feel free to break it up into two 15 minute segments if your kids get fidgety or need a break.

Invite Your Child to Partake in Communion With You

After all of the preparation, talk with your child about if they are ready to have communion with you. Sometimes even if they understand the meaning of communion, they may not be ready to take it.

Afterwards: Mark the Milestone!

Taking communion for the first time is a wonderful faith milestone. Like our other Milestones, marking this key spiritual moment in the life of your child in a way the child feels special is recommended and very meaningful. One idea is to plan a special outing with your child to enjoy before or after taking communion for the first time. Simply going out to a favorite restaurant for a meal or dessert could make the experience meaningful for both of you.

We hope this has been a helpful resource for you as we continue partnering in raising a Jesus-loving generation. If you have any additional questions or feedback, please feel free to contact the Pastor to Families, Brian Dietz, at brian@highrock.org

Other Milestones Webpages

Milestones: Intro
Milestone 1: The Call
Milestone 2: The Blessing
Milestone 3: The Disciple
Milestone 4: The Calendar
Milestone 6: The Bible

Highrock network news

Resources

Milestone 5: The Lord's Supper

Prepare Before you Watch

Watch with your Child

Invite Your Child to Partake in Communion With You

Afterwards: Mark the Milestone!

Other Milestones Webpages

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