Communion at Redeemer

One of the questions we often receive from folks who are new to Redeemer is about when and how children begin taking communion. It’s a great question!

In our Presbyterian and Reformed tradition, we baptize children, as well as professing adults, as a sign of their entry into God’s covenant community, the church. Before any baptized person can partake in communion, they must make a profession of their personal faith to our elders. For adults, this happens during their membership interview when preparing for baptism. But for our baptized children, the process looks a little different.

We believe that God has promised to be at work in each of our covenant children, but that often looks different for each child. Generally, we see children in the range of 6-10 years of age begin to express a desire to participate in communion and publically profess their faith.  One of the resources we offer during this time parents is the Communicant Class.

The Communicants Class is a Saturday morning class designed to help children and parents become better prepared for making a profession of faith. We have an interactive curriculum that introduces children to concepts and helps them answer key questions such as: what is the church; who is Jesus; why did Jesus come; what is communion and why do we take it; what does it mean to be a member of the church. There is also a time for parents to gather separately to answer questions about the communion process, discuss their children’s spiritual growth with other parents, and to pray together.

When a parent thinks their child is becoming ready to make a profession of faith, we encourage them to attend a Communicants Class together. It will help them train and shepherd their child more effectively. Then, the parent can schedule an interview for that child with Associate Pastor of Spiritual Formation Matt Beham.

After making a profession of faith, children will be publicly received into membership with the next scheduled new member class. At that point they will be officially admitted to the Lord’s Table for communion. It is a wonderful process of spiritual growth for our children and it often creates positive memories that help our children to deepen their love for Christ and his church.