For Young Friends: What does it mean to be a Presbyterian?
Photo: Gerald Farinas.
A special family of faith
Being a Presbyterian is like being part of a really big caring family that loves God.
The word Presbyterian comes from a Greek word that means elder which is kind of like the wise grown-ups who help lead your family.
What do Presbyterians believe?
God loves everyone
Presbyterians believe that God loves every single person in the whole world. This includes people who don’t believe in God or believe something else.
God created everything so everything is precious.
God’s love is so big that it never runs out. There’s plenty to share. And we can share it with others, too, by being kind to others.
What are ways you can share God’s love with others?
Jesus is our friend and savior
Jesus is the son of God who came to Earth to show us how much God loves us.
We also believe Jesus is God.
Sounds complicated but as you get older, it’ll start to make more sense.
Presbyterians believe Jesus helps us learn how to be kind, loving, and good to others.
The Bible is our guidebook
The Bible is a special collection of books about certain people and share stories about them, and their relationship with God.
These characters and stories help us learn how to live a good life.
You might already know some of these stories. Which ones do you already know?
How Presbyterian churches work
Presbyterian churches are run in a really fair way. Decisions are made for the church by talking about the choices with everyone involved.
Everyone gets a say
Instead of just one person making all the decisions, Presbyterian churches let members vote on important things.
It’s a democracy where everyone’s voice matters. Everyone deserves to be heard and make their feelings known about things in the church.
The U.S.A. government was actually modeled after the way Presbyterians run things.
Helpful leaders
Churches have special helpers called elders and deacons.
Elders are like wise teachers who help guide the church.
Each church has many elders. One is always a teaching elder. This person is sometimes called a pastor or minister.
The others are ruling elders. They help measure out the needs of the church and find out how to fulfill them.
Deacons are like super helpers who take care of people who need extra love and support. They sometimes visit people who are sick or can’t come to church.
What happens at Presbyterian churches?
Singing and celebrating
Presbyterian worship has lots of singing!
Some churches use a blue book of songs. Some have purple ones. Others have red ones.
We sing two kinds of songs.
Hymns are like poems set to music. Contemporary or modern songs are like the songs you hear from your favorite singers today, but the words celebrate God’s love.
Some people love singing so much that they join the church choir. They get to dress up in robes and sing in front of everyone.
What are some hymns or church songs you already know?
Learning together
There’s a time at every worship when the teaching elder (the pastor or minister) shares a message from the Bible.
This message is called a sermon or homily.
It’s like story time but with lessons about how to be a good person based on characters from the Bible and what happened to them.
Praying as a family
We talk to God and listen for God’s love in our hearts. This is called prayer.
Presbyterians believe in sharing some of our prayers with each other so we can pray for those things together in worship.
There are also prayers that we might keep to ourselves quietly. We believe God hears these prayers, too.
Baptism and Communion
These are two special ceremonies we do called Sacraments.
Baptism is when someone officially joins the church family. Sometimes they’re a baby. Sometimes they’re older.
We usually baptize older people after Easter because Easter symbolizes being renewed and refreshed—like what God does to us when we’re baptized.
Communion is when everyone shares bread and grape juice (or wine) as a church family.
There are many ideas of what Communion means to different people.
Eating the bread and drinking the juice reminds us of the Last Supper. For some, it’s a visible reminder that God becomes a part of us. For others, it’s a reminder that God is doing what you do for those you love—you feed them.
Helping others
Being Presbyterian means caring about other people just like Jesus taught us to do. Sometimes those people are nothing like us—but we are created by the same God.
Mission work
Presbyterian churches help people all around the world by building schools, providing clean water, and helping during disasters like storms and floods. Sometimes we give money. Sometimes we volunteer time.
Community service
Many Presbyterian churches have food pantries, help homeless people, and do other projects to make their neighborhoods better places to live.
Name some things you could do to help the people in your neighborhood?
Taking care of creation
Presbyterians believe God wants us to take good care of the Earth.
Many churches work on projects like recycling, gardening, and protecting animals.
What are some things you could do to take care of our Earth?
Learning and growing
Sunday school
Most Presbyterian churches have special classes for kids where you can learn Bible stories, play games, and make friends with other kids who love God too!
Youth groups
When you get older, you can join youth groups where teenagers hang out, do fun activities, and learn more about their faith together.
Confirmation
When Presbyterian kids become teenagers, they can choose to go through confirmation.
It’s like studying to officially say “Yes, I want to be part of this church family.”
What makes Presbyterians special?
We think and ask questions
Presbyterians believe God gave us brains to think with.
It’s totally okay to ask questions about faith and God. In fact, asking questions helps us learn and grow.
We believe in grace
This means Presbyterians think God loves us no matter what, even when we make mistakes.
God’s love isn’t something we have to earn; it’s a free gift.
Everyone deserves God’s love.
What are ways God has shown you that you’re loved?
What are ways you can share God’s love with others?
We work together
Presbyterian churches work together with other Presbyterian churches around the world. It’s like being part of one giant family that stretches across the whole planet.
We also try to work with other churches that are not Presbyterian. We might help each other feed the hungry, find places for homeless people to live, or try to get leaders to do the right thing like stopping wars.
Being part of the family
When you’re Presbyterian, you’re never alone. You have:
A church family who cares about you;
Pastors and teachers who want to help you learn;
Friends who share your beliefs;
A worldwide community of people who love God.
Being Presbyterian means you get to be part of something much bigger than yourself.
It’s a family of faith that’s been around for hundreds of years and will keep going for hundreds more.
The most important thing
The most important thing about being Presbyterian isn’t following a bunch of rules.
It’s about having a relationship with God and loving other people.
Presbyterians believe that when we love God and love our neighbors (which means everyone around us), we’re doing exactly what God wants us to do.
Whether you’re 5 years old or 105 years old, being Presbyterian means you’re part of a family that will always welcome you, support you, and help you grow in faith and love!
Remember: Being Presbyterian is about love, learning, and helping others. And that’s something anyone can understand and be part of!
