2 of 6

Today, attendance tops 10,000 in five weekend services, and the church is poised to relocate to a refurbished art deco theater a few blocks from their present location. And the lines are always long. For the adult prayer meeting, ushers bring out chairs and tell those in the row to scoot over and make room.

But what about the children?

Gina Boccabella is a cheerful, outgoing woman, but she is a little frustrated when her key doesn't work. "We changed the locks today, and I don't have the new key yet." She apologizes and rings the buzzer. Though the neighborhood around the church is much improved, security is still an issue. She rings again, looks up at a small camera, and waves. "If they're singing, they'll never hear us," she says.

In a few minutes, we're buzzed in. Gina was right. We find 40 preteens upstairs singing loudly. Attendance is limited to 40 in the 8- to 12-year-old group and 30 in the 5- to 7-year-olds. "We would like to have more children than that, but we just don't have room," Gina says. "We often had more than 100, but it was too crowded." If parents don't get their kids to the prayer rooms before they are filled, then the children stay with the parents at the adult prayer service.

Florencia is leading the singing, a mixture of kid's songs and choruses popularized by the famous adult choir. Her accent reflects her Caribbean heritage, and we almost expect her to punctuate the lyrics with an occasional mon! "This little light of mine, mon!" At the keyboard, a young pianist, Joseph, is following Florencia. The tempo is slow, but deep, with extra beats in some measures. Joseph keeps up with the meandering melody line.

Worship begins with prayer and between songs Florencia calls for volunteers to pray. One child raises a hand, then another. Their prayers are specific, and some are long.

"The younger kids are freer to worship," Michelle Manga whispers in the back of the room. "By this age (pre-teen), they're getting worried about peer pressure. 'Somebody's looking at me'—that kind of thing. Sometimes it take a little time to get them focused."

Michelle is a marketing executive. She has led the children's prayer meeting for nine years, on one of three adult teams who rotate leadership.

Tonight it takes about 45 minutes to get the group focused. But there is still plenty of time to pray. The prayer meeting is two hours or more, depending on how long the adult gathering lasts.

next page... |  2 of 6

	What did you think of this story?
	Please to give us your feedback.

Home  |  People of Faith  |  Stories of Hope  |  Today's Culture
Build Your Faith  |  Laughing Matters  |  Archives  |  Contact Us

				Try 3 Issues of Christianity Today Free! Name Street Address City/State/Zip E-mail Address Subscribe to Christianity Today and get 3 free trial issues. No credit card required. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. Offer valid in U.S. only. If you decide you want to keep Christianity Today coming, honor your invoice for just $19.95 and receive nine more issues, a full year in all. If not, simply write "cancel" across the invoice and return it. The three trial issues are yours to keep, regardless. Give Christianity Today as a gift Order a gift subscription!