Singing with the big kids

I am cleaning up my emails and came across something I wanted to share. A group of teens led Kids' Worship earlier this Fall. The younger children at church go to Kids' Worship during the sermon in what I fondly call "Big Church."
I wanted to share some feedback we received from a few parents of the children who were in that Kids' Worship:

"I just read your note about the teen praise team that led our youngsters in kids worship last week. I was finally able to make sense of some of the conversations I’ve had with my 3 year old! I just wanted to let you know that he LOVED it! He has talked about the “big kids singing the same songs we do in big worship” for two days! "

"Just wanted to let you know that EmmaKate really enjoyed the "singing with the big kids" on Sunday. She mentioned it a couple of times throughout the day. She also told me that she would be able to sing to the little kids when she "gets bigger".

So often, I think teenagers fail to realize how much younger children look up to them. That can be a blessing or a curse.
From the comments above, it's obvious that something as simple as leading worship for children can have a huge positive impact. Both children talked about the impact of what the teenagers were doing. One even commented that he wanted to follow their example.
Unfortunately, that desire to follow their lead isn't limited to good examples. If they see teenagers doing things like texting during worship or treating adults disrespectfully, they will often seek to emulate that as well.
I am proud of our teenagers for the example they set for the children at our church in Kids' Worship. This is a good time for teenagers (and adults as well) to remember that "little eyes" are often watching us. What we say and do has an impact. We should live every moment like someone is watching.

shine!
Jason