What is Family Worship?
Family worship is simply a set-apart time to read, sing, and pray together as a family. It’s a discipline that requires intention, but with practice it can become a natural part of your household rhythm. You can begin with once a week—perhaps on Sundays or on a designated family Sabbath day—and slowly work up to doing it daily, either to begin or end the day.
Puritan pastor Matthew Henry once wrote, “We must seek to have our families be little churches, for that will be the backbone of the visible church.” This small act of faithfulness within our homes can reach far beyond our four walls—not only shaping the hearts of our children as they grow, but also preparing them to influence the lives of countless others in the years to come.
Throughout Scripture, whole households are called to worship and serve God together. Joshua declared, “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” As parents, we have a joyful duty to lead our children in this way—training them to know and love the Lord through regular rhythms of worship.
How to Lead Family Worship: Three Simple Elements
Family worship doesn’t need to be complicated. Including just these three elements is a beautiful place to start:
1. Read Scripture Together
Read God’s Word aloud. This can be straight from your Bible, from a children’s Bible, from a catechism, or a family devotional—but ensure that Scripture itself is being heard. God’s Word planted in little hearts has power.
Great starting places include the parables of Jesus, His earthly ministry, the psalms, proverbs, Genesis accounts, or stories of His miracles—any passage the Spirit draws you to. We have also used these Scripture cards to help with family memorization of the Bible. If scripture memory is something you’d like to include in your family worship time, we have a blog post on that topic as well to help equip you!
2. Singing Praise as a Family
The Psalms are filled with the call to sing praises to the Lord. What a joy to participate in this together as a family! Sing a hymn, a simple chorus, or even a Scripture song. Your children will likely memorize truth through music long before they can read it. We have an entire product focused on Psalm 100, which highlights singing praises to the Lord! You can check that out here.
3. Pray with your Children
Scripture calls us to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Model this for your children and practice praying together. Your prayers don’t need to be long or eloquent—just honest and faithful. Let your little ones take turns praying too. For even more intentional lessons on prayer and what it is, check out our prayer lesson plans!
Overcoming Common Challenges
Little Ones
Wiggly children are not a barrier to worship—they are the perfect training ground for teaching attentiveness. Start small. One minute. Then three. Then five. Use gentle reminders, simple expectations, and even small rewards at first if needed. Growth will come over time.
Fear of Failure
It’s easy to worry about doing it “right,” but remember: God is not after perfection—He delights in our faithfulness. Anything done unto Him is not wasted. Even the messy, interrupted attempts matter.
Not Enough Time
In light of eternity, this practice is worth prioritizing. Can you carve out five minutes? Start there. Work it into existing rhythms—around the table, during bedtime routines, or even on a car ride. Ordinary moments can become worship when approached with intention and grace.
For more ideas on how to include worship into a daily rhythm, check out our post about a family discipleship routine!
You could even consider doing full lessons on what worship is before you embark on this journey, using our hands-on lessons with games, crafts, and more!
The Beauty and Blessing of Faith and Family Worship
Family worship doesn’t need to feel like one more thing on your list. Instead, see it as an invitation to transform everyday moments into moments of worship. It will be hard at times. There will be interruptions, crying babies, spills, and days that simply don’t go as planned—but your steady faithfulness is not wasted in the eyes of God.
As you plant seeds through Scripture, song, and prayer, trust that you will reap a harvest in due time. Our prayer is that your children will taste and see the Lord’s goodness through the daily, imperfect rhythm of family worship.
For a list of my favorite books, including the title on Family Worship - check out my free booklist!
