What Are the Benefits of Family Worship?

NATHAN W. BINGHAM: This week on the Ask Ligonier podcast, we’re recording live from Ligonier’s 2023 National Conference, and we’re joined by Dr. Voddie Baucham. He serves as the dean of the School of Divinity at African Christian University in Zambia. Dr. Baucham, what are the benefits of family worship?

DR. VODDIE BAUCHAM: Boy, there are so many benefits to family worship. One benefit is that it strengthens the unity between a husband and wife when they gather together with their children and worship.

A second benefit is, especially to men, as we lead our families in family worship, it strengthens our relationship with God as it becomes incumbent upon us to not only prepare to lead family worship, but also brings a sense of accountability because we’re going to be leading family worship.

Thirdly, it strengthens our children in that it gives them exposure to the Word of God and exposure to the gospel on a regular basis.

Beyond that, fourthly, it also communicates to our children, and communicates to the whole family, that God is central to our lives and not peripheral, right? God is not someone that we call on just when the wheels fall off, but daily. It also reminds our family of our dependence upon God.

I could go on and on and on, but there are just myriad benefits to regular family worship. It shapes the character of who we are as a family, and it also has multi-generational benefits. When we create this as a part of our identity as a family, it has a greater likelihood of becoming part of the identity that’s shared from generation to generation as well.

NATHAN W. BINGHAM: What do you say to a father that thinks, “I couldn’t lead my family in worship—I’ve struggled to understand the Bible, I’m new to the faith,” or, “I became a Christian later in life”? How do you encourage them?

DR. VODDIE BAUCHAM: Yeah. Don’t overthink it. We just need to gather together and read, pray, sing, right? Just do that—if you just read, pray, sing—Proverbs, for example, right? We always talk about Proverbs: thirty-one chapters, thirty-one days in a month. You just read a chapter of Proverbs, pray together, and then sing together.

You can have a hymn of the week, you can have a hymn of the month, or whatever, right? That way, you’re learning the great hymns of the faith, you’re reading the Bible, you’re praying, you’re learning how to pray. Just make it simple: just read together, pray together, sing together. Maybe memorize something together, right? Don’t overthink it. You do not have to recreate church service in your home, right? Just really simple: a few minutes each day, read together, pray together, sing together. You’ll grow, and they will as well.