The National Council of Churches encourages commitment to being an advocate in one’s community, in the nation, and throughout the world. The organization hopes that people will be moved to action on behalf of families and their children. “And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me.” (Matthew 18:5) The Commission on Children at Risk published a report, Hardwired to Connect: The New Scientific Case for Authoritative Communities, which presents scientific evidence that the human child’s brain is actually “hardwired” for both a deep connectedness to other people and to moral and spiritual meaning. According to the study, “our children need communities that put the needs of children and youth first: warm, nurturing, intergenerational communities with clear limits and a strong spiritual base.”

Being able to meet these needs requires the right resources and tools. For example, church nurseries utilizing JTECH’s PeopleAlert™ and SmartAlert® messaging systems are equipped to provide communication between the staff, parents and the youth ministry. The importance of the church nursery is often misunderstood. According to Peter Pufall and Richard P. Unsworth, editors of the book Rethinking Childhood, emphasis should be placed on two central ideas: voice and agency. By voice they mean that children have a cluster of intentions, hopes, grievances, and expectations that they guard as their own, and by agency they mean that children are much more self-determining actors than was generally thought. The church nursery is a pinnacle point in cultivating the voice and agency of our children. StaffComm™ micro-transmitters enable staff members to worry less about how to communicate with other staff members and focus more on how to communicate with the children.