Learning the Value of Religious Participation
Children brought up within any religious congregation often take it for granted, and it is up to the leaders of their church to help them understand why they should remain within the same church as adults. Many of the concepts taught are difficult for adults to understand, so teaching children can appear to be an impossible task. Youngsters often need concrete examples to help them learn and understand, so churches often find ways to let them see how being in the church is beneficial.
Natural disasters occur all across the globe, and they are often the times when faith is tested the most. For church members, a belief in God is not enough to protect them. Children within a church system will find their own faith is tied with that of the local community, and they lose their own faith as those around them rail against the lack of protection. It can be restored when children from other parts of the globe help them in concrete ways to recover, and this is often a lesson taught by churches.
Whenever people of a related religious community are subjected to a disaster, allied church congregations will often collect necessary supplies to help them in their time of need. Children are included in the relief efforts, and it helps them to see they are doing the work of God when they support others. In this way, the church reinforces the belief that faith in God means support in this life as well as eternal happiness after death.
The value of church participation is not always apparent to all members of the congregation, and even the youngest members may suffer from a lack of understanding. While no one wants a natural disaster to happen to anyone else, it is a time when leaders of any faith can help their congregation learn and understand the value of choosing to remain with their religious family.