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“Children should be at the front of the church, not the back.” That was the refrain when the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), in a new official partnership, met recently.
Sue Mitchell, the children and families missioner for the Anglican diocese of Liverpool, has a twinkle in her eye when she speaks about the child-friendly church.
“We are looking at an area where we can have children, and where children want to be, where they belong, and where their voices count,” says Mitchell.
“We are passionate about offering opportunities for young people to experience God’s love, encounter Jesus and be transformed ever more into his likeness.
“We acknowledge the importance of family and the church community within the journey of faith.”
She has a child-friendly church award team that provides a self-assessment tool to help churches reflect on their existing ministry to children and families. The assessment considers areas that fall under the core components of church, children and community.
Mitchell notes that the assessment does not aim to prescribe how churches go about becoming more child-friendly, but instead serves as an easy-to-use tool to start them in that direction.
“The child-friendly church award is a team effort that provides a self-assessment tool to allow churches to reflect on their ministry.
“By applying for, and achieving child-friendly status, your church displays to your community that ministry for children and their families is taken seriously,” says Mitchell.
The assessment can also be used in churches where there are not children, enabling them to prepare for when they do.
Mitchell was speaking at a “world café” during a seminar with the WCC and UNICEF on promoting the rights of children on 19 November.
She attended the first seminar after the WCC and UNICEF signed an agreement to work together, held ahead of the anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child on 20 November.
WCC and UNICEF start implementing agreement giving a “Voice For Children’s Rights”
WCC and UNICEF sign global partnership to promote children’s rights
