The Church of England is investing half a million pounds in a major new programme to launch new worshipping communities for children and families, based on songs that are already popular in school assemblies.
iSingPOP which is part of the charity Innervation Trust, will support 300 churches to create new gatherings where families from local primary schools will be invited to explore faith together, drawing on the energetic worship songs children already know from school. It already engages thousands of children every week in classroom worship, alongside resources that equip teachers, clergy and volunteers to lead faith-based music sessions in schools and churches.
Miz Porter, director of iSingPOP told Premier Christian News: “It’s all about bringing school, church and community together to explore faith and explore worship. It's fun-filled and joyful, and we have different things that we do. We have our digital resources, which is an assembly-based resource, classroom worship, and we have around 70,000 children watching that every single week. It’s kind of like ‘Dick and Dom’ meets collective worship. It's really good fun, although we don't shout anything inappropriate!”
The iSingPOP team goes into schools for three days to teach pupils seven songs, which are all based around the Christian faith. The children then go into church and put on a celebration for the whole community.
Porter said the events are “always packed, and we always have to do two to fit everybody in, and it's just that moment of joy-filled fun, inclusive fun, where children and their families can celebrate in the local church”.
She added that it’s a great opportunity for families who would otherwise not engage with the church to connect with faith.
The investment follows a pilot in the Diocese of Worcester, which is trialling the integration of iSingPOP resources. The Church of England said: “The ongoing pilot is showing promising early growth, with 161 children engaging in follow on worship activities across nine new worshipping communities in its first year.”
Porter said the formula of engaging children through worship music is tried and tested.
“For 25 years, we have been working with churches and schools to create inspirational collective worship resources that uplift children," she said.
“We believe intergenerational worship has the power to introduce whole families to the Gospel, and we are delighted that this new programme will help churches across the country in deepen their relationships with local schools.”