Prelude: Thinking of Families and Kids
We have all read the news: “Canada set to lose 9,000 churches,”1 “Nearly a third of the country’s 27,000 faith buildings are expected to close permanently within the next decade,”2 and “Gone by 2040?”3
Many institutions in our society today are struggling. The church is no different. It’s not playing a central role in people’s lives, like it used to in recent generations. There are so many competing priorities for individuals and families. During Covid-19, people were feeling attached to some institutions—churches included—but that has waned somewhat. The glory days of full churches and huge Sunday schools will not return. As a result, it seems like most Canadian denominations are formulating a strategic plan or a vision for the future. Will it be enough? Is it too little too late? Can we reverse the trend, or slow it down?
At the church where I am currently the music director, the leadership has really worked hard to support and encourage families and kids, and it seems to be working. They have prioritized the Children’s Time in the service, designing some services that are family friendly and hosting Messy Church at times other than the standard Sunday worship. They have terrific leadership for the kids’ church (Sunday school) time, and they hold many family-friendly events that also attract people from the neighbourhood, like vacation Bible school, an Easter egg hunt, and a pet blessing. It’s not overflowing, but a very solid, substantial core of kids attend most Sundays. However, while this church is having success in the area of attracting and retaining families, several churches in the same denomination nearby are not. Have they not prioritized in the same way, or does like just beget like? Do the families and kids end up centralized at one church just because one church has reached a tipping point?
Maybe we need to think more broadly—co-operation rather than competition? Maybe we need to offer different things at different places. Maybe a strategy to centralize programs among nearby churches should be part of the plan.
One example of this kind of co-operation is the diocesan-wide children’s choir that the Anglican Diocese of Edmonton began offering a few years ago. This choir, still in its infancy, is attracting kids from many locations—not just from the church where they are rehearsing, but also from other churches in the same denomination. They are also attracting children from other denominations and kids with no religious background at all. Funding a choir like this (professional leadership, music, rehearsal venue, etc.) is difficult and takes work, but they have found granting agencies and donors, even ones outside the church, willing to help this ministry.
When it comes to kids and families, might we need to think in new ways?
Tammy-Jo Mortensen, Gathering Music Editor
1 Bonnie Allen, CBC News, March 10, 2019
2 Paniz Vedavarz, “Canada is losing its churches. Can communities afford to let that happen?” Broadview, July 24, 2025; https://broadview.org/cui-report-church-closures/
3 Tali Folkins, “Gone by 2040?” Anglican Journal, January 6, 2020; https://anglicanjournal.com/gone-by-2040/
Photo: Craig Adderley, Pexels
