I recently led worship for 300 children. You never quite know how kids will respond, but they all like to have fun. So I began by asking them, “Are you guys ready to have some fun?” And of course, that was all they needed to hear. All of them were excited and ready to go.
The projector wasn’t working, so there were no lyrics; but we laughed at that. Most of the kids couldn’t read the words anyways. I invited the children to sing if they knew the songs and to sing the echo parts after me.
From the first beat, all 300 kids started clapping. Nearly all of them were on beat. It was surprising to say the least. I have led worship at dozens of churches, for all age groups, and very few were ready to worship from the first beat.
Their echoes were loud and energetic. Their volume equaled the PA output. It was not the obnoxious singing, either. They sang like angels.
We ended by singing Chris Tomlin’s “We Fall Down.” At the end, the band cut out, leaving just a quiet acoustic guitar and the children’s voices. Let me tell you, it was indescribable. As the innocent sang, God’s holiness filled the entire room. I have never heard a purer sound.
I rarely cry when on stage, but as the children sang, tears filled my eyes. The sound was overwhelming. God heard the sound, and he overfilled the room with His presence. I will never forget it.
If you’ve got a handful of children in your church, bring them together and go for it. The more children, the better. For us, we experienced a little bit of heaven.