I have never been to a rave but a rave came to me.  A rave is a dance party typically held at a warehouse or club where a DJ plays electronic dance music.  I wish the family in the street behind us had used a warehouse or club.  It was a year 12’s graduation after-party. The family put a note in every neighbour’s letterbox explaining the rave was only going to be held between midnight and 2 a.m. and that the party had been registered with the police so we had absolutely no reason to complain about this once-in-a-lifetime event for their daughter.  It was impossible to sleep so I listened.  Well, short of booking into a motel in another suburb I had no choice.   

When the music started it was light and happy.  Over time the music descended into hard-core techno with trance-like pulsating repetition.  As the longed-for 2 a.m. hour approached, the music ascended again, from the depths back into the light and happy music that had been played at the beginning.  I realised that the DJ had taken the teenagers on a journey.

It made me think of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale of the Pied Piper of Hamlin. In the 13th century, a piper wearing pied, or multi-coloured, clothing promises to rid the German town Hamelin of a rat infestation. The mayor promises him money if he succeeds. He does, but the town now refuses to pay him. As revenge, he hypnotizes the town’s children with his music and leads them away, never to be seen again.  Robert Browning wrote a poem about it: 

Once more he stept into the street;

And to his lips again

Laid his long pipe of smooth straight cane;

And ere he blew three notes (such sweet

Soft notes as yet musician’s cunning

Never gave th’enraptured air)

There was a rustling, that seem’d like a bustling

Of merry crowds justling at pitching and hustling,

Small feet were pattering, wooden shoes clattering,

Little hands clapping, and little tongues chattering,

And, like fowls in a farm-yard when barley is scattering,

Out came the children running.

All the little boys and girls,

With rosy cheeks and flaxen curls,

And sparkling eyes and teeth like pearls,

Tripping and skipping, ran merrily after

The wonderful music with shouting and laughter.

Music in Kid’s Church

The music we play and the songs we sing in Kid’s Church are important.  The rave DJ would have spent a lot of time planning what music to use and in what order.  As Kid’s Church leaders, we can be a bit slapdash and throw a few songs together without giving the praise and worship part of the meeting the attention it deserves.  Praise is a declaration and worship is a devotion. 

With so many Kid’s Churches accessing YouTube, it’s never been easier to put a song list, or playlist, together. So, what songs should you choose?

Choose songs that are Fundamental to Our Faith

I grew up in the era of choruses.  A lot of the choruses were from ‘Scripture in Song’ so we were actually singing scriptures put to music.  In my Bible I have drawn small quavers next to certain portions of scripture that indicate a chorus I learned that has those verses in it.  I can still recall and sing them.  Singing straight from scripture is a good way to make sure what you’re singing is theologically sound!  When you’re introducing a new song check the lyrics.  A lot of songwriters make a short video of why they wrote a song or how the writing of the song came about.  Watching the clip is another way of checking you’re satisfied the lyric content is scriptural.       

Choose Songs that are Foolproof (for non-singers like me!)

Choirs sing choral music.  It’s written especially for an ensemble of singers.  Not every Christian song is written for corporate praise and worship. Choose songs that have simple, meaningful words and easy-to-learn melodies if you want your kids to fully enter into praise and worship. 

Choose Songs that are Favourites

Every school term in Kid’s Church I’d change the theme of the lessons, the room décor and the songs.  (I love a themed program!)  But it took the children weeks to learn the new songs.  I was causing praise and worship to start over every term instead of building on what the children had already learned.  I realised it was better to introduce one new song to fit the theme and then choose well-known favourites.  That meant the children were able to focus on Jesus and not on learning new words and actions.   

Choose Songs that Flow

My two sisters and my sister-in-law are all worship leaders.  They are called to lead the congregation in corporate praise and worship and they pay attention to the flow of the songs they choose.  I will never forget taking our Kid’s Church to an event that brought the city’s kids together for a special meeting.  It began with the leaders whooping the kids up with fast songs with actions.  They pulled the kids into full-on participation and it was amazing.  Then they threw on the brakes as it was time for the serious stuff.   One leader was exasperated because the children wouldn’t settle and he told them off.  I was so annoyed.  He’d just spent 20 minutes getting the kids hyped and all of a sudden they had to stop and sit still?  It exemplified to me how important it is to have a program that flows with one thing leading to another in a considered way. 

I learned something the night of the rave.  That DJ mix was powerful and it led teenagers to a place I personally don’t consider healthy.  As people who serve in Kid’s Ministry, we have a responsibility to be particular about the songs we choose.  Let’s use our praise and worship time to lead children into the throne room of God!       

Revelation 19:5-7

And a voice came from the throne, saying, “Give praise to our God, all you His bond-servants, you who fear Him, the small and the great.” Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.”