As a pastor, I watched as my family grew from one child to six children and the struggles my wife had managing them while worshiping and some of the things that people said about my kids, sometimes to my wife but often to others or in letters to the church leadership because of the noise or distractions that they felt about children in service. I had personally experienced things being said that were unimaginable before being a father and a pastor. Most every congregation desires families and yearn for children, but they may or may not be ready for them. A Church Rated was born out of this and the mindset is for churches and leaders to think about how safe the congregation is for families with small children as well as ask any families that may be a part of the congregation to offer their insight also. With this we can look and think about rating the congregation similar to that of a movie rating. It may help a congregation to think about how they can better welcome families and support their worship and faith growth.
