Two fourth graders knocked on my office door. “We’ve written a song,” they declared, beaming. Probably in response to the bafflement on my face, they continued, “It’s about God, and the things He does for us.”
It took me a while to realize these girls used that phrase because they didn’t know the word “hymn” or what a “worship song” was, lacking a church background. But they had written a song about God, on the bus ride home after school. Because that’s what fourth graders do, right?
I’ve been writing songs for about 25 years, so I was nervous about what to say when they (Charlotte and Sophia) began to sing their song – I didn’t want to have to lie to them! But by the end I had two prevailing emotions: joy at what had just come out of their mouths; and embarrassment that two nine-year olds had come up with something just as good as I have ever managed.
He loves us, He cares for us, He’s with us
He’s the light of the world, He’s the light in the dark
He’s the light in my heart
We played around with the song for a few weeks, and I helped them add a bridge section, and then we sang it to the rest of the Lower School in our weekly chapel service. It was great – a nice end to the story. But it wasn’t the end. A few days later, another knock came on my office door: the next songbird had hatched. Then another arrived. And another. And another… For no particular reason, the Lower School students at Porter-Gaud suddenly began writing worship songs about two years ago, and they haven’t stopped.
Trying to describe what I do as a School Chaplain for young children is tricky. “Ministry of presence” is the classic phrase, but that doesn’t mean much to most people. “I hang out with small kids” sounds… sketchy. “I build relationships and try to live with my eyes open, to notice what God is doing with the students and support them in it” is technically accurate but rather amorphous. So if someone asks, I usually have to give a longer explanation and then offer examples.
My goal is to have a living, functional relationship with every member of the student body, the faculty, and the staff. A connection. Something specific to each. With around 280 students, that is an impossible task, but one I enjoy attempting nonetheless. And what comes out of those hundreds of connections and thousands of conversations is that when God is active in someone’s life, I often hear about it. Here is one example from a 3rd Grader:
One night I was laying in my bed. I looked out my door and the hallway light was off. Let me be honest, I do not like the dark – like I don’t. When I realized the light was off I started to cry.
I was scared.
I was about to go to my Mom’s and Dad’s room to tell them that the light was off, but then I remembered that God is always with you. Then I started praying, in my head I said, “God please help me!” Then out of nowhere I stopped crying, and I was not scared anymore.
Then I closed my eyes, but before I drifted off to sleep something else happened: I heard a voice that I had never heard before and the voice said “Don’t think of scary thoughts – think of happy thoughts.”
God was with me. Now I pray every night.
This story (which I have on file because the student asked to tell it in our weekly Chapel service) is not an isolated event. I have had multiple children telling me, in a very matter-of-fact way, that God has spoken to them – sometimes audibly, other times (in the words of another 3rd grader) ‘not in my ears but in my heart.’ It’s real, unforced, and beautiful.
I have a Google Docs file of songs that my Lower School students have written – there are 24 songs in there at the moment, but this week two girls told me that they’ve been writing a new one at recess (“Jesus is the hero, He has no fear – no!’), so soon that number might be 25. These songs are not theologically complex, and sometimes the rhymes need some help, but it has been incredible to see words like these sung to me:
I see God in the morning, I see God in the night
I see God in the darkness, I see God in the light
I see God at my breakfast, I see God at my lunch
I see God in the shadows, I see God in the Sun
– by Lucie & Avery
The God of Heaven, the God of glory
He takes my sin and carries it for me
– by Ava
Sometimes when things don’t go my way
I close my eyes and pray
– by Molly
God is amazing, God is strong
He will be with me all the day long
God is amazing, God is love
You’re in His heart, and it’s you He’s thinking of
– by Gray & Georgiana
Jesus’ love makes it a better day
Jesus’ love drives all the dark away
Even when He might feel far away, He loves you
– by Cameron, Lee, & Elin
Having typed out those lyrics, I’m now singing the songs at my desk. The tunes are great – far, far better than you have any right to expect from elementary-age kids. Our next step is to raise the money to make an album of worship songs, all written and sung by these brilliant young children. I don’t believe that is something that has been done before.
Being a chaplain for young children is a constant reminder that Jesus is perfectly at ease with these small humans. – He knows them, speaks their language, and walks with them. My job is not to train my students in adult spirituality, but to accompany, support, and learn from the authentic spiritual lives they already have.
It’s a magnificent job.
By the Rev. David Rowe, Chaplain, Porter-Gaud School
This article first appeared in the Summer 2025 edition of the Jubilate Deo. View the Jubilate Deo.
